A sad farewell to the 60 Watt bulb

[Ravensky]

Great idea banning them, if people don't do things voluntarily governments need to take action.

Like teaching you how to think! Hasn't the UK taken away enough of your rights? When are you going to stand up for yourself... When they tell you what beer to drink?

[Starbuck84]

I'm all in for moving forward and new technology, but actually banning a bulb? What's next? "Oh noes, he's buying a bulb, get him boys!"

I do want to say I actually loved reading that article, very nicely written! 'domestic species' :rofl:

[Southern Patriot]

I changed every bulb with my house about two years ago, now I have got used to them I prefer them.

Plus, it has saved me a small fortune.

Up to this point in your post, I agree completely. I did the same thing. However:

Great idea banning them, if people don't do things voluntarily governments need to take action.

That part I certainly don't agree with. Governments interfere in our lives far too much as it is. The last thing we need is for the government to interject itself into every little facet of our lives. We are supposed to tell the government what to do, not the other way around (at least in the US, and I realize you aren't in the US, but the principle is the same). Government banning things simply because they think those things are bad for us is the very definition of a "Nanny State".

Although I don't believe global warming is a human thing, I don't think it hurts to act anyway.

I changed all of mine (well, almost all, my refrigerator light bulbs and one outside security light are still incandescent because I can't find CFLs that fit them) for the long term cost savings more than for any environmental reason.

[Lexcyn]

I do agree that LEDs are fairly expensive, but as someone said, they last pretty much a lifetime so really the cost of ownership is very minimal.

Also, my GF has the habit of leaving a ton of lights on even if she isn't in the room, so switching to LED will save us $$ on our power bill, LOL.

[]SK[]

My missus is the same, she walks around turning them on, I walk around turning them off.

Im so tight.

[etempest]

Switched to cfc bulbs completely and haven't had to change a single bulb since then.

So far lighting been nice.

They have improved the "warm" up time to almost instant now if cold inside your house.

I tried an led bulb in chandler... they all stopped working within 6 months and were a bit pricey.

I suspect brown out's fried the bulbs electronics / not happy about that.

[Roger H. Veteran]

Wanna swap misses? LOL. My girl is from Germany so their power costs are higher than in the US. We get like 0.069c/kW or something like that while for them it's 19cents/KW. So one CFL light bulb (14w replacement) would have to run for 90hrs or so before it costs me 7 Cents! My lights are on say 3-4hrs a day so that would take about 3-4weeks before 1 bulb costs me about 10 cents. As i said however, i generally have about 4-6 bulbs on at any given point depending on the rooms i was just in so at the end of the month my my energy costs from my lighting usage (i have some 23W - 75W replacements as well) only costs say $2 of my whole bill.

[Skin]

It?ll be good for the environment and our wallets though, on long term.

el oh el... do you even know what they are replacing them with... and how much more they cost?

[HawkMan]

Do you know how to do math ? Cost is a lot more that itial purchase

[Wolfbane]

Energy saver bulbs are horrible.

I don't see why people don't use LED bulbs, since they're cheaper to make and run than anything else, produce better light, and don't blow.

However I've only ever seen them for like $100 per bulb (like 1000 times the cost to make them). Someone's making a lot of money off of them, lol.

[Gerowen]

Reminds me of this little guy that's still going after over 100 years. They even built a website around this one light bulb.

http://www.centennialbulb.org/

Edit: You can even watch it on webcam here:

http://www.centennialbulb.org/cam.htm

[HawkMan]

Energy saver bulbs are horrible.

I don't see why people don't use LED bulbs, since they're cheaper to make and run than anything else, produce better light, and don't blow.

However I've only ever seen them for like $100 per bulb (like 1000 times the cost to make them). Someone's making a lot of money off of them, lol.

LED lights are not the same pric to produce as the little LEDs used in computers and electronics.

Right now they're still a lot more expensive to make. However I've never seen them for 100, 30-40 however.

[Fred Derf Veteran]

Mostly CF and LED here, but for some things they cannot yet replace incandescents - floods etc.

They do make halogen flood lights which are slightly more energy efficient than a standard incandescent.

According to Wikipedia,

"Approximately 90% of the power consumed by an incandescent light bulb is emitted as heat, rather than as visible light."

We are talking about a very inefficient design (at least for summertime and/or warm climate use).

[Hum]

^ They advertise an oven on TV that uses a halogen bulb.

[HawkMan]

Halogen lights can be made to make either a lot of light or a little light and a lot of heat. Halogens also get hotter than regular incandescent, but they're still ore efficient, not by much though, it's all down to the frequencies they radiate heat and light in.

[linsook]

LED lights are way too expensive here in the west, it's ridiculous. They have them in China for a fraction of the cost. I recently outfitted the main floor of a house with LED potlights. 15 lights Pulling 3Watts per (the bulbs were 2 dollars, the potlight set was around 5) vs the 100W Halogens. Imagine the cost savings there on your hydro bill. I wonder why nobody has imported them and flooded the markets.

[Southern Patriot]

They do make halogen flood lights which are slightly more energy efficient than a standard incandescent.

They even do make CFL flood lights, but I have yet to find a model that properly fits the fixture I have on my carport. Even though I've tried the model that is supposed to replace the type of bulb that my fixture was designed for, either the neck is too short or too wide to fit right.

I still haven't found a CFL bulb to replace the ones in my refrigerator either.

On a related note though, this news also means an end to the classic versions of the Easy Bake Oven.

[HawkMan]

LED lights are way too expensive here in the west, it's ridiculous. They have them in China for a fraction of the cost. I recently outfitted the main floor of a house with LED potlights. 15 lights Pulling 3Watts per (the bulbs were 2 dollars, the potlight set was around 5) vs the 100W Halogens. Imagine the cost savings there on your hydro bill. I wonder why nobody has imported them and flooded the markets.

Not the same kind of led.

[linsook]

Not the same kind of led.

thats what you think. if you ever been to a trade show there, or heck you could probably find them on taobao or ebay. you'd see they have similar offerings to the philips stuff... hologen style pot lighitng bulbs, or normal screw in e27's. but perhaps i'm wrong. whats the difference?

[speedstr3789]

They have LED bulbs now that have mimiced filiments and glow at the same 2700K color temp, and actually look nice! just put a couple in the other week... brightness seems about the same,and dimmable too!

have you read the directions on what you need to do to expose of a broken bulb?

Good for the environment? No more so than the normal bulb. Bad for human kind's health? Yep.

[Shock Doc]

Energy saver bulbs are horrible.

I don't see why people don't use LED bulbs, since they're cheaper to make and run than anything else, produce better light, and don't blow.

However I've only ever seen them for like $100 per bulb (like 1000 times the cost to make them). Someone's making a lot of money off of them, lol.

Well, they need to charge a lot for them, since any lamp company selling LED lights to a consumer at the price of a regular bulb would be committing suicide. People only need to buy them once.

[Rohdekill]

You are all aware that the U.S. is doing the very same thing, correct? 60W bulbs are to vanish from store shelves in 2012. I forget the other wattage and year of retirement. But this was passed long time ago.

[Jebadiah]

The once ubiquitous 60W light bulb is about to plop off the production line for the last time across Europe. But while its light may be dimming, it is still illuminating many of our homes.

It is at once a thing of delicate beauty and robust science.

Encased in its own glass world, a miniature laboratory keeps a tiny thread of tungsten burning brightly. There is even a touch of romance in its soft flare, as it casts a painterly glow over the room and the faces of its occupants.

The 60W has long been the bulb of choice for the modestly-sized rooms in the typical British home. But this very domestic species will be put on the endangered list on Thursday 1 September, when an EU-wide ban on the manufacturing and importing of 60W incandescent clear light bulbs comes into force.

Customers will still be able to get hold of a 60W bulb but once stocks run out, it will go the same way as candlelight and gaslight before it.

People are being forced to use energy-saving light bulbs. And no matter how much fans of compact fluorescent lamps proclaim their virtues, there will be some who will see Thursday as the day which consigned their homes to eternal dimness.

But the 60W tungsten bulb means more than a warm glow, it is a beacon of modernity. The "perfect demonstration of a brilliant idea" is how cultural commentator Stephen Bayley describes it.

"Because it is such a very legible design, the tungsten light bulb became a symbol of switched-on genius. It's literally, as well as metaphorically, illuminating.

"Its one fault? Like many a genius, it gives off as much heat as light. So it now joins tallow and the gas mantle on technology's scrapheap."

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Sad? Bloody good riddance. **** incandescent bulbs. Energy hungry, 2700K lighting which is nowhere near daylight, and the piece of **** emits UV. I wonder how many people knew about the UV part or even cared to find out.

CFLs are also bad because of its Mercury content and some too emit UV because the filters are not that good.

With LED bulbs that are way way way more energy efficient and give a wide range of color temperatures, it should become mainstream. I personally like the cool 6500K-7500K range and mine gives out 1,600 lumens. Now reduce the ****ing price of the LEDs. I have 2 and I need more. LOL

Like teaching you how to think! Hasn't the UK taken away enough of your rights? When are you going to stand up for yourself... When they tell you what beer to drink?

When the govt. does good things, you should appreciate it. When they do bad things, you need to stand up for yourself. Forcing LED bulbs is a good thing for you and the environment where you live.

You are all aware that the U.S. is doing the very same thing, correct? 60W bulbs are to vanish from store shelves in 2012. I forget the other wattage and year of retirement. But this was passed long time ago.

No, the US is not. The republicans voted against it. Bring on the Tea Party idiots and that's what you get.

[PyX]

el oh el... do you even know what they are replacing them with... and how much more they cost?

You probably forgot to read the words "on long term" and where I said I wasn?t sure though if people would actually recycle them.

I replaced most of them 3 years ago and with the money I?ve saved on my electricity bill, I reimbursed the bulbs completely and am just starting to get some payback out of it, and that, for the next 10-15 years if they?re not faulty.

[HawkMan]

have you read the directions on what you need to do to expose of a broken bulb?

Good for the environment? No more so than the normal bulb. Bad for human kind's health? Yep.

I think you're thinking of cfl's. Which have mercury and some other stuff, but theyre minor amounts that won't affect anything, at least not on the new models, there are even some without mercury.

thats what you think. if you ever been to a trade show there, or heck you could probably find them on taobao or ebay. you'd see they have similar offerings to the philips stuff... hologen style pot lighitng bulbs, or normal screw in e27's. but perhaps i'm wrong. whats the difference?

Pored quality LED, meaning less light per watt and inconsistent quality. But primarily they have poor drivers, causing them. To burn but really quickly.

You're also ignoring basic international economics. Evert ing costs a lot more in the west, but if you where to compare us price relative to Us wages and then Chinese price relative to Chinese wages, you'd see that the prices aren't that far off.