A client asked me how to dispose of (expensive) CFL bulbs. I called around and learned they're classified as hazardous waste and it takes a special trip to the HAZ-MAT yard to get rid of them. I don't know if we get a net energy saving, but I do know that the law gets ignored a lot.
I buy incandescents at yard sales and thrift stores. They're better for reading than the CFLs. And our leaders do want us to read, don't they?

Actually, you can take your dead CFLs to Home Depot or Lowes, and they'll recycle them for you.

I should use gas (and time) going to Home Depot in order to save
energy in my house?

You are correct. If you never leave your house, this is a losing
strategy. However, if, once or twice a year, you happen to pass
near one of those stores on the way elsewhere, then that's when you
load up your dead CFLs and drop them off. Of course, you do have
to remember in time to do this.

I always wonder with the light bulbs. How much GE had to bribe (contribute) to the gov't to make it's competitors products illegal.

"need no air conditioning"- I'm pretty sure no house needs airconditioning especially if its built right. I have lived my entire life without airconditioning in my residence. In fact, the first time I encountered airconditioning was when I joined work and now though I can afford airconditioning and do have quite a few airconditioners in my house, I have never used them. And the place I stay in is way hotter than any part of the USA in any season. And I just love fluorescent lights and their proper white light(6500K light) which is almost like sunlight. Definitely beats the 3000-4000K light of incandescents any given day.

There’s no need to fret. Incandescent light bulbs will continue to be available at your friendly neighborhood hardware store only they’ll be labeled as heaters. With this problem solved you can move on to bigger and better things.

CFLs don't provide the benefits promised.

CFLs have a longer warm-up time than incandescents and can take a few seconds (or minutes) to reach full illumination.

If turned on and off frequently and left on only for short periods of time, they wear out quickly. Because of that and their longer warm-up time, CFL use in short-term situations like closets, garages, and hallways, is not optimal.

Cold weather seriously shortens a CFL's life. So, as outdoor lights, they're almost worthless.

Before being forced in to obscelescence, incandescent light bulbs were constantly being improved and were getting close the to the lifespan promised for CFLs.

So, you end up pending ten times as much for a bulb that actually lasts about the same amount of time as a the cheaper incandescent bulb. And now you have a toxic waste disposal problem to boot.

Thanks, environmentalists.

Also, some people with certain medical contitions, such as autoimmune diseases, can't use CFCs, as it worsens their condition.

Don't forget that, while waiting for your annual trip to Home Depot, you have to store the CFLs. Should one happen to break, the EPA will probably declare your house a biohazard site and want you to spend several grand to have it decontaminated.

Shannon M. Howell:

You have succumbed to an urban legend. The real goods:
http://www2.epa.gov/cfl/cleaning-broken-cfl

Just as an aside, this whole incandescent vs CFL becomes moot in a
few more years as LED bulbs become cheaper and even more efficient.

"need air conditioning". No, not NEED in the sense of needing food or water. But it's regularly 110 and humid here in the summer. Our LOWS are sometimes 90 in the middle of the night. It's hard to be a functioning thinking productive human in that heat. Plus metropolitan senters have higher heat than the countryside, so it really IS hotter than it used to be (if you live in the city).

We were 91 yesterday. Fun.

"So…I should use gas (and time) going to Home Depot in order to save energy in my house? Got it!"

Actually, the more you USE your Insight, the more justification you have for buying one. The actual environmental impact would be lower had you bought a used Buick LeSabre from some pensioner. You would be able to see better when driving, carry more, and possibly even pay less for insurance, too. Your food store probably has these bulbs - maybe even within walking distance. I'm sure you have maybe a half-dozen within a mile.

"How much GE had to bribe (contribute) to the gov't to make it's competitors products illegal."

I just got home from a Home Depot. There are several manufacturers building this product. So much for that.

@Ron True dat. I was talking to my local waste management factotum today and she said the cities are phasing out CFLs because they create such a disposal problem. She said encourage your customers to install LED fixtures.

I just got home from a Home Depot. There are several manufacturers building this product. So much for that. -- Radwaste at November 18, 2013 5:27 PM

There was a website years ago (fatherhood.gov) that I quoted on Amy's blog:

Buy compact florescent light (CFL) bulbs, which last about 5 years and use less energy. Switching just one standard bulb to a CFL can help you reduce your electricity bill by as much as 75 cents per month.

Even with the current inflated electric prices as the wipe out the coal plants it probably is now a savings of $2.25 a month.

But Rad, I want you to learn to step back and look at totality of circumstances and understand how shorthand works, especially with leftist media. So someone blaming GE for the bribes is also not realizing the scope.

I was working in the banking industry in 2006 when the Mortgage Bankers Association of America (MBAA) convinced Congress to drop the final depression era restrictions on risky mortgages. We all know what happened. The MBAA is made up of everything from J.P. Morgan Chase to Podunkville National Bank.

It's the same with Congress changing the copyright law at the behest of the MPAA. We all know Disney was the driving force, but other companies were advocates as well.

So blaming GE is generally valid, but is assisted by a trade association.

The best thing is to always follow the money.

CFLs are also fire hazards when they burn out. I don't know the mechanism, but it happens. A friend just had a house fire. The investigation shows the fire was started by a spark from a newly burned out CFL. She was told by the insurance adjuster that this was not an uncommon problem.

"I ordered 120 incandescents . . . I Live in a small house"

My God, Amy, where do you have room to store them?

You must keep your closets clean of other junk - good for you!

I have several dozen stashed downstairs. I'd get more, but I'm too lazy. Given the small size of my house, and relatively few incandescent fixtures, these should last a few years.

That's a good place to store them, Amy, as long as it doesn't get hot enough to destroy the bulbs (unlikely, as their temperature is several hundred degrees when they are on).

Jim P: if a coalition of manufacturers is involved, then cite the coalition and the collusion involved. A single manufacturer is not driving this market, which is my point.

I have several compact fluorescents, because I am personally curious about their performance, and I have not had trouble with most of them – but I know that there are significant quality differences between manufacturers.

I find it sad that there are so many hoaxes, and that there is so much misinformation about their characteristics.

It appears now that LEDs, although quite expensive, will ultimately succeed in the marketplace, because the bother of replacing them becomes more costly with time.

You might notice that halogen headlights are guaranteed forever now. This should be the case at the house.

I spent $93 on gas last year. All last year.

DRIVE IT MORE.

I keep telling you - read the manual! It even specifies driving it every week!