[RE-wrenches] CFL lighting and the mercury hazard.

[Ian Woofenden]

Hi Joel,

(Michael, should this go to RE-Bitching or something?)

I wonder if you are encouraging your clients to use incandescents.

CFLs are not perfect, but they are a big step forward.

And there is certainly a wide variety of quality. 
Saying that CFLs are poor quality is like saying 
"cars are poor quality" -- ignoring the 
difference between a Hyundai and a Tesla (or 
something).

Also, light quality is very subjective. Some 
people like light on the 2700 Kelvin end of the 
range ("warm" yellow) and others on the 6000 
Kelvin end ("cool" white).

Personally, I think the fact that the brighten up 
slowly is a wonderful feature. I'm glad the days 
of delay and blink are pretty much gone though.

If we are not promoting (good quality) CFLs (with 
wattage and color temperature appropriate to the 
client's situation and taste), we are promoting 3 
to 4 times the energy use and PV system size. Hmm.

Best,

Ian


>Some more added thoughts. I am all for reducing 
>lighting electrical consumption, but only if the 
>"improvement" is somehow better, faster, cheaper.
>  Almost all CFLs have poor light quality and 
>take time to brighten up to full intensity. 
>Also, if you don't like mercury, then thank the 
>Bush administration for changing the Clean Air 
>Act mercury limit from 5 tons to 26 tons per 
>year for power plants. Sleaze like that travels 
>all the way up and down the mercury supply line.
>
>----- Original Message -----
>From: <mailto:peter.parrish at calsolareng.com>Peter Parrish
>To: <mailto:re-wrenches at lists.re-wrenches.org>'RE-wrenches'
>Sent: Tuesday, December 09, 2008 12:09 PM
>Subject: Re: [RE-wrenches] CFL lighting and the mercury hazzard.
>
>Carl is correct. I would add two thoughts. We 
>have been buying CFLs from Home Depot, Ikea and 
>we have been getting freebies from the Los 
>Angels Department of Water and Power. Both the 
>Ikea and freebies fail in 1-2 years, so the 
>story about 5-7 years life is a WAG. Second, 
>let’s all hold our collective breath: LEDs will 
>rule the illumination market fairly soon just as 
>they have conquered the indication market for 
>many years now. It would be great if anyone has 
>accumulated some lifetime statistics on LED 
>lighting.
>
>- Peter
>
>Peter T. Parrish, Ph.D., President
>California Solar Engineering, Inc.
>820 Cynthia Ave., Los Angeles, CA 90065
>Ph 323-258-8883, Mobile 323-839-6108, Fax 323-258-8885
>CA Lic. 854779, NABCEP Cert. 031806-26
>peter.parrish at calsolareng.com
>
>From: re-wrenches-bounces at lists.re-wrenches.org 
>[mailto:re-wrenches-bounces at lists.re-wrenches.org] 
>On Behalf Of Carl Emerson
>Sent: Tuesday, December 09, 2008 11:58 AM
>To: 'RE-wrenches'
>Subject: [RE-wrenches] CFL lighting and the mercury hazzard.
>
>Hi there,
>
>We have for years been advocating the use of 
>energy efficient Compact Fluorescent Lighting 
>(CFL) to reduce loads and reduce system cost.
>
>A recent study by DEP in Maine has raised the 
>alarm about mercury poisoning form these bulbs. 
>If there is a breakage the resulting levels of 
>mercury on the floor of the house are well above 
>acceptable limits. Secondly there seems to be 
>little serious effort to safely recycle these 
>bulbs in a manner that keeps the mercury out of 
>the eco system.
>
>I understand that LED lamps are mercury free. 
>This would seem to be a much safer alternative.
>
>While many of us have mercury amalgams in our 
>mouth the mercury is supposedly in a form that 
>is not significantly ingested, whereas the 
>mercury in a CFL is in vapour form when hot and 
>powder form when cold, and therefore can pose a 
>hazard to health.
>
>Can I suggest some discussion on this and can we 
>do our best to keep it scientific, I don’t mean 
>to spread emotional alarm without due cause.
>
>Thanks,
>
>Carl Emerson
>Free Power Ltd.
>Auckland N.Z.
>
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-- 
Ian Woofenden <ian.woofenden at homepower.com>, Senior Editor, Home Power magazine
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