Posted on 12/01/2008 7:50:04 PM PST by Chris DeWeese
It's time to start reflecting on the past year, and I want to kick mine off with some admissions on places where I was flat wrong.
Compact Fluorescent Light Bulbs - boy, did I get on that train. When I found out that those little bulbs operated at roughly 1/3 the wattage of normal bulbs and they lasted for 5 years, I ran out and outfitted the entire house with them. I'm not some earth-worshiping, tree-hugging, enviro-nazi, by the way. I'm just a guy who loves technology, electronics, and efficiency, and who doesn't like to change light bulbs.
One place they worked great was in the flood light sockets over the driveway. Because of the reduced heat and wattage, I was able to put 150W equivalent bulbs there and just drench the driveway and street in light. This is cool since we don't have street lights.
The problem came in with the whole "they last 5 years" bit. They don't. Not by a long shot. I bought those dang bulbs this year and already we've lost 5 or 6 of them. One of the floods is out over the driveway already. It was a total rip off. The only way to offset the cost of the bulbs (about $3 a piece) was if they lasted the 5 years and operated at the reduced wattage. They didn't even make it one year. Wow, was I wrong.
Another area that I had to "chiggity check myself" this year was with ethanol based fuel. We got a Suburban back in 2006 and when I found out that it could run E85, I was all over it. Again, my focus was not on some ridiculous notion that man can in any way affect the environment of the marvelously created planet earth, but was on patriotism. I really wanted to embrace a fuel that was made in America, by Americans, and not send money to regimes that could hurt us. E85 looked like the answer.
Now, there are people out there who want to crush people who advocate the use of ethanol as fuel - the anti-ethanites. These folks will exaggerate and emphasize on all the negative aspects of this fuel while ignoring any positives. It is unfortunate, but hating ethanol turned into a religion.
One place where ethanol would have worked wonders was in developing and using it regionally. You see, oil is pumped out of the ground (or melted out in Canada), then transported great distances to be refined, and then the final product is transported great distances to the end users. I think that if a fuel could be made in the midwest and used in the midwest, then that would eliminate a whole lot of distribution energy and cost, as well as providing another level of national security and independence.
Unfortunately, as ethanol's use as fuel was increased dramatically through law, nobody planted more corn. It turns out that we use corn for almost everything we eat in America. We eat it as corn, we use it to sweeten our soft drinks, we feed it to milk cows as well as other animals we eat for food. So, we made our fuel compete with our food without planting more corn, and ethanol flopped. It flopped in a huge way. So, I was wrong, again.
Don't get me wrong, these two instances aren't the only places where I was wrong this year. Ask my wife. But these are the only two I'm going to share here!
But I agree with you on ethanol. It is the asbestos of fuels.
Bio-Diesel. Diesel is a good, proven technology and adapts easily to Bio-diesel.
My one CFL is in a basement stairwell I like to leave lit all the time except when I'm asleep. I is on 18 hours a day instead of just when I'm running up and down the stairs like when it was a normal bulb.
The life of CFL's are greatly reduced if they are turned on and off frequently.
I'd be curious if the author's problems are related to this. If the one in the driveway is on a motion detector, it might be cycling repeatedly.
If you don't leave the light on for less than 10 minutes at a time, stick with an incandescent bulb.
The cheap gas station in my neighborhood is always busy.
Sometimes its just easier to pay 10cents more per gallon
on the opposite corner station rather than try to line up and wait.
However, the more expensive gas station has a 5% or more ethanol in their gas. I pay more for it and it gets less power and MPG than 100% real gas. Seems the gasoline industry should use marketing along the lines of Florida Orange Juice and Wisconsin or California Cheese.
Some good observations. In regard to the above quote, let me clarify that it is my religion that pits me against ethanol, not that my anti-ethanol stance has become a religion. I consider it a sin to burn food that could feed someone or some critter, whether by putting garbage that could feed birds or other critters in an incinerator or growing corn or other consumable crops to put in a gas tank.
I'm all for technology and especially like the idea of cutting funding to the Saudis by 700 billion dollars a year. I just don't want to burn food or use land that could be used to grow food to grow something that we intend to burn. That's all.
Nope, no motion detector and I never turn that switch off. I think I will replace those with CFL's anyhow. The heat reduction is a bit of a safety feature, IMO. And yes, they are CFL floodlights.
The ones that went first were the fancy ones in the vanities - $$$ - out the window.
CFLs are a joke just from the way they “work”.
They fail to light immediately.
They also fail to reach full intensity immediately.
This is regressive, not progressive. If this is indeed forced on us I will have to tell my baby son someday that once upon a time, lights went on immediately and they didn’t brighten up over a minute or so, they were always as they started.
What’s wrong with asbestos? You won’t find a better heat retardant.
“If you don’t leave the light on for less than 10 minutes at a time, stick with an incandescent bulb.”
Could you rephrase that?
One other unannounced problem with CFL’s - they cause migraines.
Something about the intensity of the lights, triggers the head pains in vunerable people.
I began to get them, and I am not a sufferer.
Yep tried to do the same thing. Then instead of replacing all my dimmer switches back to standard on/off I just replaced all the CFL's with incandescent that worked with my dimmers.
Maybe the new LED's will work better.
i WON’T BUY THEM CAUSE OF THE MERCURY...
Maybe, its ok, but just the thought of one breaking freaks me out!
They fail to light immediately.
They also fail to reach full intensity immediately.
Oddly, I didn't have that problem. Well, unless it was cold outside. The ones I put outside of the doors take a way long time to get going if it is under 35.
An even earlier more standard fluorescent did the job for 10 years.
The deal is the unit is "semi sealed" ~ ice can't get in.
About the migraines - all light bulbs ‘flicker’ constantly when on an AC circuit. It doesn’t matter with incandescent bulbs, since the glowing filament stays hot, even though the elecricity is constantly stopping and reversing direction. The flourescent bulbs rely on excited gases, and the flickering is a real problem - causing eye fatigue in some people, leading to headaches.
Also the whiteness of the light is an issue - which is helped by coating the bulb with mercury. You can buy bulbs at 20 dollars apiece that produce close to white light (sold at aquarium stores).
I think the last energy bill means we are stuck with these things (or without real bulbs) after a certain date.
BTW, if you go to a service academy, the cadets or midshipmen who aspire to be pilots are easy to identify. They will have shelved their flourescent desk lamp and purchased a real incandescent lamp to save their eyesight.
Yepper. I've seen LED's in electronics work for remarkably long times. Usually the gear becomes obsolete and goes to the trash heap with a bunch of working LED's on board.
That's what I did, and I didn't read a book for a week before pre-commissioning physicals. It worked.
Awwww Mercury lights are safe. My grandmother had bottle with 12 pounds of mercury in it that got broken in the kitchen. I spent all summer in 1978 picking up that mercury with playing cards and an eye dropper and I am just acckkkplhhffftthhttt fine, just fine I tell you.
It takes a 1.3 barrels of oil to make one barrel of ethonal. Complete scam.
Pray for W and Our Troops
Hardly. Ethanol production and use is steadily increasing.
I've had a couple die early. I took them, and my receipt, to the big box hardware store (the one where you “save big money”), and got new ones on the spot.
BUT— they are florescent, and you can install them out in the weather -OR- turn them on and off daily, but don't do both at the same time or they will die.
I don't give a wet slap for ethanol until they get it down below the cost of gas without government subsidy, and even then I'd rather they didn't make it out of food.
I haven’t had the piggy-tail light bulbs all that long (a year?) but I already noticed that I’m changing light bulbs a less often.
Every time I read an article about the gov't mandating these horrible things I first get furious, then I try to figure out how I'm going to light my entire house with candles and kerosene.
I've heard that they are also not good for people with fibromyalgia.
How many barrels of oil does it take to transport crude from the middle east to the Gulf of Mexico?
I'm betting this is true, but don't you think the incredibly adverse affects to food prices that mandating ethanol use has is going to give pause to anyone advocating its widespread use? It sure changed my mind.
You can see the difference between paying for the oil at source versus destination at the following links.
F.O.B. Costs of Imported Crude Oil for Selected Crude Streams
http://tonto.eia.doe.gov/dnav/pet/pet_pri_imc2_k_a.htm
Landed Costs of Imported Crude for Selected Crude Streams
http://tonto.eia.doe.gov/dnav/pet/pet_pri_land2_k_a.htm
If I read that right, it looks like it costs more to produce "landed" oil? Huh?
The point of my question to the other poster is to illustrate that it takes oil to produce gasoline as well as ethanol. The inference I see when folks say "well, it takes 1.3 barrells of oil to make ethanol" is that geologists have found naturally occurring pockets of 87 octane all over the US and have instructed Conoco to build refueling stations at each one. They completely ignore the energy consumption required to bring gasoline to our cars.
FOB. (Free On Board): A shipping term which indicates that the supplier pays the shipping costs (and usually also the insurance costs) from the point of manufacture to a specified destination, at which point the buyer takes responsibility.
Landed Cost: Commonly, the total cost of a landed shipment—including purchase price, freight, insurance, and other costs up to the port of destination. In some instances, it may also include the customs duties and other taxes levied on the shipment.
Yes, "Landed" cost more because it contains the cost of shipping.
They completely ignore the energy consumption required to bring gasoline to our cars.
It cost more to ship ethanol than gasoline due to the affinity with water making pipeline transport through the petroleum pipeline infrastructure very difficult.
How many barrels of crude does it take to make a gallon of gasoline? Just wondering.
Flourescent light bulbs have been breaking ever since they made the very first one, a long time ago. I probly have more mercury in my body from playing with it with bare hands in science class than from broken CFLs.
My major gripe is the “longevity lie”. They only last as long as advertised when you leave them on and let them warm up for 20 minutes. There goes your 1/6 energy savings when it takes less than 5 minutes to do your business, (as you set there and watch the brightness of the bulbs increase over said 5 minutes). If you shut them off cold it drastically reduces their life span.
A barrel of crude makes many products including gasoline. Because most of Crude Oil is heavier, longer molecular chains than the components of gasoline, you actually get more gasoline and other products measured in volume than the crude oil you started with.
If you measured it in mass or molecular components, you would see the loss of product through refining. But when measured in gallons or barrels, there is an increase.
It was probably shot out by the neighbor across the street. Idiots with floodlights... bad combination.
Actually FOB is always qualified with a location.
FOB factory means free on board or loaded on board the means of transportation at the seller's site free of loading charges. The buyer pays the freight charges from the loading site to his destination.
FOB destination means the seller will pay transportation costs to the destination of the goods.
Yes, the link I provided above provide oil cost based upon the crude oil stream. Nigerian Forcados Blend was listed separate from Ecuadorian Oriente and also Mexican Mayan for example. Following the links would allow you to see the total shipping cost for different locations.
I once thought I was wrong.
...but I was mistaken
I never really had that problem with CF bulbs, but they do tend to have a shorter life outside in cold temps. What I need now is a low-energy bulb that works on a dimmer switch. A 3-way CF bulb would be nice too.
LOL!!!!
It’s ok. I thought I’d made a mstake last year, but I was wrong.
Ah, I forgot that little problem. Yes, that’s something I don’t like either!
You mean it’s sort of like turning on and off your car or computer over and over, vs. letting it run, on wear and tear of the critical parts.
Has ethanol really forced up food prices? A bushel of corn sells today for only slightly more than it did 35 years ago. If we factor in inflation, corn is far cheaper than it was 35 years ago.
http://futures.tradingcharts.com/menu.html
Many of my indoor CFLs have lasted far in excess of five years, even the early ones which these obviously are. They do lose brightness with time, which is usually the reason I finally replace them.
The one situation where CFLs haven’t lasted any longer than incandescents is when I install ordinary indoor units outside in the winter (such as in a fixture under the eave).
In that case some worked only a couple months, presumably due to the cold or temperature change. And, of course, they come on slowly while they do work.
I imagine units designed for outdoor year-round conditions probably hold up fine.
I have heard on the radio that once CFL production took off, the quality plunged. This is probably why the older ones are still truckin' along.
When farmers stop planting hops to switch to corn because corn is more profitable, I think it is safe to say that corn is worth more today than in the past. Just sayin'.
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