If you're looking for another reason to visit the land down under, consider this - Australia will be phasing out the old incandescent light bulbs and replacing them with more energy-efficient compact fluorescent bulbs. It might seem like a small thing, but as Hayden points out, the energy savings are huge. The initial cost of the compact fluorescents is higher than the good old-fashioned bulbs, but the life expectancy is longer. And really, what price can you put on the environment?

I'm all for this.

It takes thousands of small steps all over the world to help the environment and it's not as if anyone is going to suffer because of this change.

I agree its a step in the right direction..... but.....
the compact flourecent bulbs seem to give out half the lumens. Maybe that's why they use substantially less energy. ie a 60 watt incandecent bulb lights a room better than the equivalent compact flouro.

Does anyone have a comment?

MH

Every time I replace a light bulb in the house, I replace it with a CF bulb. I have the same amount of lumens. Electricity is expensive in California, and this is one of the many ways where I am thrifty.

"One 100-watt light bulb costs $18.98/year to operate four hours each day, while one 25 watt Compact Fluorescent Lamp costs $4.75/year to operate for the same time period. Therefore, the savings for one year of operation of a CFL is $14.23. The annual savings more than pay for the initial investment of the bulb and with the $2 product discount, the initial investment is even lower. Over the life of the CFL—an average of 6 years—the $14.23 annual savings can translate into $85.38." Source

quote:

Originally posted by MHeckendorf:
I agree its a step in the right direction..... but.....
the compact flourecent bulbs seem to give out half the lumens.

Does anyone have a comment?

CFL bulbs take a few minutes to reach peak light output. So when you first turn them on, they probably aren't as bright as traditional bulbs. Give them a minute or two and they'll be bright as ever.

And for those quick trips to the basement that require lots of light, why not try an LED home lightbulb.

I've had the same CFL lightbulb in my room for 3 1/2 years - i take it with me if I move house too! ha ha

My housemate meanwhile goes for the cheap option and buys old style lightbulbs, and of course they then blow every few months. He'll be fumbling round it the dark for a new lightbulb, so i'll have to come in with my wind up torch and provide some light!

Being eco-friendly can actually be much cheaper in the long run. Great move by the Aussie government. I hope other countries copy the idea.

quote:

Originally posted by everett:
I've had the same CFL lightbulb in my room for 3 1/2 years - i take it with me if I move house too! ha ha

Me too!

They last forever! I think that alone makes them a better option in most peoples' minds.

The cost and energy savings are much more 'real' in the long run. But that argument won't win over fat traditionalists nearly as easily as the fact that they don't have to climb a ladder for seven years.

My housemate and I had been replacing blown incandescents with the fluoro ones as they blow, ever since we moved into our place. When news came out that they were going to be outlawed I thought - WOW.

I'm sure most peole would have been eventually converted, but having it "out there" and being prominent and important should get people off their behinds to get more pro-active about it. It did that for us. We just thought - "Why wait for the rest to blow - let's just replace them all right now and be done with it!" And we did just that on Sunday. With the exception of the heat lamps in the bathroom - we are a "fluoro household".

The one thing that irritates me a bit is that most of our old lampshades don't fit over the things. I'm not fussy, so we have a naked fluoro bulb in the corridor and lounge, but it might be a good idea to invest in companies selling lamp shades

quote:

but it might be a good idea to invest in companies selling lamp shades

Very good idea. If lightbulb manufacturers only sell a set a bulbs to a household every seven years they may struggle to stay in business - if, however, they also produce lampshades to match their lightbulbs and produce a new fashion every year or so - bingo, they stay in business!

I wonder if there are any house makeover shows yet that green up someones house? eg put in eco-bulbs, solar panels.

Also, another eco-friendly and money saving household thing that some of you might like are the eco-balls for washing machines.

They're three balls with pellets inside and they clean your clothes just as well as powder, but can be used for 1000 washes, after that you change the pellets - and get another 1000 washes. I've been using them a while now and they really do work.

So maybe in the future washing powder will be banned too!

I heard they're going to ban the bulbs here in the U.S. soon as well.