My Favorite CFL

I wrote about lighting and compact fluorescent (CFL) bulbs here and here before, as any treehugger should. The conflict comes when people (clear throat) actually use them. The complaints immediately spew forth as their delayed-on flickering blueish white light comes alive. I have a few of those crappy bulbs as I've made unconscious grabs at the 'energy savers' section at Lowe's or Home Depot. BUT, the very first CFL I ever bought, around 7 years ago, is still with me today and performs just as well as any incadescent - well except for the fact that I've had it 6 more years than any incadescent.

I finally, weeks ago, looked at it to see the brand and to finally be able to buy more CFLs that I can actually stand to have on in the living spaces of my home. The brand is Commercial Electric. So, since I didn't need any bulbs I completely forgot about it until a trip to Home Depot a few days ago where I picked up a round vanity light Commercial Electric bulb. It's now in the bathroom and it the brightest bulb in the row (the wasteful row of 6 bulbs when the room only needs 2; I have the rest unscrewed and just sitting there). It's instant on and the color is right.

I just did a quick search and found that a pile of Commercial Electric bulbs were recalled in 2004 because they can spark and burn up. I trust that problem has been solved by now.

So if you're like a lot of people and want to have CFLs in your home but are tired of the junk, go get some Commercial Electric bulbs.

LED Again

Ever wonder why you keep hearing, over and over and over again, that you should change your lightbulbs to flourescents or LEDs? Yes, I've mentioned it a few times already too. Well, it's because it's the easiest (how many average Americans does it take to change a lightbulb?), it's cheap, and it really makes a difference (energy=environment). In other words, it's where every aspiring treehugger should start ... Wait, no ... it's what anybody with common sense should do.

Thanks to my Brother-in-Law John for sending this email:

"And LED is truly the way to go if you can get the color temperature that you want. I have two fixtures that are designed for accent lighting right now that are fun ...http://www.chauvetlighting.com/fixtures/colorsplashjr_fix.shtml, but don't really do justice on the pure white or yellow tints since they use color mixing tech. These guys have a few heavy output jobs, but again, the prices...http://www.enluxled.com."

I couldn't get the Chauvet link to work this morning, but Enlux has a good site that discusses their green-ness very well. Enlux also has a photo gallery that really shows you what LEDs can do these days.

Lighting Myth

I heard that Discovery Channel's MythBusters did a bit on their show this week about lighting, and whether it pays to keep the lights on when running down to the coffee machine, or turning them off each time. Unfortunately, I didn't see the episode and I can't find the data they generated. I did, however, find piles of posts on their message boards all about their findings.

What I'm told is that you should just get rid of your incandescent bulbs (duh), that you should turn off your fluorescents if you're leaving for more than 23 seconds, and that LEDs don't burn out. All 3 of those statements require some qualification, but I'll leave that research up to you unless you ask for more info - which I'd be happy to dig up.

I've been shopping for more general-use LEDs and haven't come up with much. I wrote about them for Christmas Lights, and still love them. You can buy a few different varieties for general use, but you can't get the candlepower or lumens you can with CFLs anywhere in the affordable range. Give 'em time. If you want to see what's out there, search for "warm LED light" on Ebay.

So buy the penny-pincher on your list a few warm-colored (make sure) compact fluorescents for Christmas, and plan to buy them some LEDs in a year or two.

I'm Dreaming of an LED Christmas

Light Emitting Diodes (LEDs) are the latest craze in efficient lighting. They've been around for a long time for different uses. The first time I noticed them was maybe 5 years ago showing up on the upper brake light on luxury vehicles - when they were able to integrate the light into the top of the deck lid or into a spoiler. Then they started replacing street lights with them, and now every semi on the road has LED tail lights.

Why? They last a very long time and they use very little electricity. I won't bore you with the details, but it's true. They produce almost no heat too, which is another reason they are so attractive for live-tree-buying holiday celebrators who prefer not to burn down their homes this holiday season. Click here to read more about LED Christmas lights and their benefits.

I bought a few strands this year to try them out. We've had one large bulb color strand going for a couple months inside the house (don't worry, I didn't start lighting up the outside until after Thanksgiving) which my son really diggs. We put a few more white (kinda bluish really) and colored strands of the small bulbs on the tree. It is true that they produce almost no heat, which for those of you who don't understand the physics of it, means they are wasting very little energy. My son can walk up and touch them after being on for hours, and I have no fear of burns.

If you're looking to buy: I have found them at most stores I've surveyed. You'll pay a little more of course, but that doesn't seem to be keeping them on the shelves.