Taking a Dim View

[callmemadam]

So. Farewell then the 60W light bulb. I am one of its millions of fans.

Here's what cybersofa had to say about low energy light bulbs on Jan 20th 2006. (It took me ages to find this, because now that the journal is in ‘memorial status’, it’s not searchable, nor can I link to the right page. What a brilliant journal it was.)

Let's make some light bulbs. Mine's got a piece of wire in a simple blown glass envelope from which I've extracted the air. You call this technology Victorian, but I call it appropriate. Yours has got two heated filaments, a load of electronics to generate a high voltage, a glass tube bent and twisted to increase surface area, filled with a rare gas, and coated with a radioactive chemical. OK, it uses less energy – er, not counting energy used in manufacture or disposal, obv. It also lasts longer – for that money, so it damn well should. It's still ugly, and it still takes nearly a second to light up after you switch it on.

I see I’ve also mentioned the subject before.

How lucky that I have a few proper bulbs stashed away.

Comments

[aellia.livejournal.com]

Broken a new light bulb? Open all doors and windows,wrap it up well and dispose of at a specialist place!
I wondered why I couldn't buy my soft tint 40 watters. I loathe the brightness of the new ones in table lamps.

Thought you might like this

http://1800recycling.com/2011/08/planters-recycle-light-bulbs/

[callmemadam.livejournal.com]

So true!

Some of those light bulb ideas are really pretty! Too fiddly for me, though.

[gwendraith.livejournal.com]

Whereas I much prefer old light bulbs they have always seemed to pop every 5 minutes for me. Maybe I've been unlucky. I'm hoping that technology moves fast and they can come up with something better than the current ugly and user unfriendly "low energy" ones.

[callmemadam.livejournal.com]

I find they go in threes ...

[trixiebacon.livejournal.com]

Pssst! There's a new electrical shop opened up in local town that deals... I could get you some.

Also, very expensively, but maybe for a special corner:

http://www.FilamentLightbulbs.co.uk/

[callmemadam.livejournal.com]

I wonder how they get away with that? I've been getting mine from ... Pssst!

Those bulbs *are* nice but what a price! I'd expect them to last forever.

[debodacious.livejournal.com]

This house uses hardly any "proper" light bulbs because it has lots of halogen fittings but we are now down to the ugly low energy ones even in the table lamps. I shall have to seek out a local purveyor of under the counter 60watters.

[callmemadam.livejournal.com]

Law-abiding folk turn to black market, Tsk!
Dim lighting is so depressing.

[dorianegray.livejournal.com]

Is there something weird going on in your country? It's perfectly possible to get bright (100W equivalent and others) energy-saving bulbs here.

[callmemadam.livejournal.com]

100W bulbs are being phased out completely!

[ooxc.livejournal.com]

I switched to low energy in my former home, when i found that I was changing bulbs twice a week - but, in my new home, the original low energy bulbs have lasted for three years
I don't like the 50 watt equivalents, except in wall lights, but the 100 watt equivalents are fine.
Agreed that yuo have to be careful if they break - but, in seven years, I've never known one to break

[callmemadam.livejournal.com]

Glad someone doesn't mind the new bulbs. I just think they're less fit for purpose than the old ones.

[joyeuce]

I don't find the low-energy ones ugly myself - and frankly I don't see why it matters what a light bulb looks like - but anyway, there are always lampshades.

[callmemadam.livejournal.com]

I'm thinking there's a generation gap in opinions here :-)