Wednesday, October 17, 2007

CFLs

We've been getting quite a few emails and questions regarding CFLs. Below you will find some information that I hope will prove useful:

5 Ways to Recycle a CFL

How to live with CFLs

Sierra Club's "Mr. Green" on CFLs

In response to those of you who have asked about "dimmable" and other types of CFLs, I suggest you inquire about them at your local hardware store or search online.

Yesterday I spoke with a representative from the SF Department of the Environment about the best way to dispose of used incandescent bulbs. Unfortunately, the best way to dispose of them is to put them in the garbage. The good news is that, if you're replacing your incandescent bulbs with CFLs, you'll be saving resources in the long-run!

3 comments:

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Unknown said...

CFL use may be ENCOURAGING light pollution! How? Here in Ontario, incandescent lighting is in the legislative process of being legally banned! Aided by the advertising campaign to switch homeowners to CFL’s, homeowners are now using CFL’s to OVERLIGHT all and any outdoor fixture. The common thought seems to be: "Gee, cheaper lighting! Great… now I can light up my house, driveway, front and rear yards, the neighbours yard and home as well as the street- all night long- with this new environmentally friendly and cheap lighting!"

My prediction is that CFL will set "Light Pollution Abatement Programs" back 20 years! To make matters worse, the “way” CFL’s are being used is creating unsightly and dangerous lighting glare. In almost all cases I have seen of their outdoor over-use, the bulb goes totally uncovered. The result is terrifying sudden glare when driving from a darkened roadway, past a home lit up with as many uncovered CFL’s as possible. All of them turned on, where the previous incandescent would have remained off due, to their conceived high power cost. Oh, if they had only known about the “proper” methods of environmentally friendly incandescent lighting!

I am sorry, but I fear the CFL will create a monster. Light pollution on to my home property is now so bad with neighbours using CFL’s that I can read a book anywhere. They light up the walls and - well everything- on my home. The only advantage is I no longer have to turn on my “full cut-off” lighting, saving ME as small amount of power.
Be careful what you wish for. Come to Toronto and it suburbs where the CFL’s promotion and legislation is creating the worst, ugliest, unsafe night time environment you have ever seen! PLEASE HELP, before it’s too late!!

G. White
Newmarket, Ontario