Panic-buying of 100 watt bulbs in UK

May 19, 2009

According to reports by Alastair Jamieson of  the UK  new source Telegraph consumers are buying the 100 watt incandescent lamps by the armful.  This is due to the pending August deadline to end the sale of the lamp in the EU.

One store general manager was quoted as saying   “A lot of our customers are not convinced that these new bulbs, which will end up on landfill sites, are any better and do not see why they should not have the choice to buy what they wish. We are selling lots of the traditional bulbs, sometimes at up to 50 at a time, and we keep having to scrap around to find new suppliers to restock the shelves.”

Another said consumers are buying as many as they can carry,  20 – 50 at a time.

So the question is …If you had 15 incandescent bulbs in your house which you dimmed them to 80% output and ran 6 hours per day on average, how many bulbs would you have to buy to last you a lifetime?  How many if you wanted to leave any for your children’s inheritance?  

See the Original Article

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Don’t worry, it’s still burning!

May 9, 2008

On April 26th we posted on the longest burning light bulb, The Centennial Bulb at the Livermore Fire Deparment.

Just this past weekend it was featured on NBC nightly news which became one of MSN’s most popular videos of the week.  On May 5th the Los Angeles times did an article on the bulb.  

Currently, the Centennial Bulb Site is recovering from a tremendous amount of hits bringing their “..server to it’s knees” per webmaster Steve.   Which means the live feeds of the Video Cam posted on the internet and this blog are not linking.    We’re hoping they decide to upgrade their server soon.

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IALD Position Statement / Macy’s and The Ban of the Incandescent Bulb

May 5, 2008

The International Association of Lighting Designers recently released their statement on the US ban of the incandescent bulb and the worldwide movements to strike this technology.

It’s important to note that the IALD emphasizes in their leading bullet point:

  • “There is presently no lighting technology that can replace certain types and uses of incandescent lamps. ”

The IALD further notes replacement technologies still suffer from poor ability to render color, bad dimming performance and high costs. 

The primary target market for this ban is the residential consumer.    After years of trying various 15 watt fluorescent bulbs to replace the 60 watt screw in in their living rooms the consumer is justifiably skeptical.  

The sad thing to watch is how their opinion and desire for the quality and characteristics of light of the incandescent is being shamed and legislated into oblivion.  

Macy’s, in their recent Spring Home Sale advertisement, marginalized the qualities and character of light of the incandescent bulb when they hijacked the green movement to promote sales.   The Macy’s ad says, “Go ahead,  make the change” in reference to switching to the “green” compact fluorescent lamp.    Perhaps the message is not that there isn’t a quality change but that you should do it anyway.   And shame on you if you don’t.     The circular then goes on to promote the latest seasons colors of appliances, plates and dishes. 

Are the savings from the switch supposed to compensate for the ecologic damage of the consumerism promoted by the color of the season for pots?   What is the message here?  Macy’s Spring Home Sale

The consumer should feel confident in their reluctance as it has basis in fact.   There is currently no lighting technology that can on par replace the incandescent lamp.

The complete text of the ban can be found on the IALD website. http://www.iald.org

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Longest Burning Bulb

April 26, 2008

 

Surprise ! The longest burning bulb is an Incandescent.
It was originally used as a nightlight over the fire trucks in a Livermore, CA fire station.

Installed in 1901, it’s life is so celebrated by it’s local fan club that it has acually been transported via police and fire truck escort.

It’s connected load is suprisingly only 4 watts! Not bad for an incandescent.

The attached video is a live web cam updated every 10 seconds.

for more info you can go to: www.centennialbulb.org

for the 2nd and 3rd runner up….  http://www.roadsideamerica.com/set/lightbulbs.html

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