I was in the local Costco yesterday and I witnessed what I thought was a strange occurrance.

I saw a guy with one of the big carts LOADED with cartons of incandescent light bulbs of various sizes. When I asked him about it, he stated the federal government is prohibiting the manufacture of this type bulb begining next month (2012) and consumers will be required to switch to LED's or CFL's as replacement. It is a part of the government's enery saving program. The sale of existing stock will be allowed, however.

He is anticipating a higher resale market as the shortage developes.

I returned home and discovered confirmation of this on the web. Just thought you would like to know.

EDIT>>>thought I should include that I am speaking of "household" type bulbs. Here's one fast article that is related.....

http://www.smartmoney.com/spend/fami...1323802604355/

 

They kind of sorta killed it for now.

http://www.forbes.com/sites/christop...b-ban-sort-of/

 

While I don't like being told what to do, and this wouldn't effect me as all the bulbs in my house are already CFL's I don't see the big deal here. They do make CFL's that are the same color temp as regular bulbs, they do save money in the long run, and during the Florida summer its very nice that they don't produce as much heat. I have also read of a new more efficient 100 watt bulb that would not be illegal under this law.

The true victims here are young children that can no longer use their old Easy Bake Oven.

 

Why do they take so long to get to a decent brightness? That I hate.

 

I believe its because of the fact that its a fluorescent light. That white part under the bulb is the ballast for the light, and I guess it takes a moment to come up to full power.

 

28 seconds. I timed it last weekend. I might as well wear a miners cap with a candle.

 

That's really slow. Mine take a few seconds.

 

The big deal, for me, isn't the new technology overtaking the old. If it's really better it will anyway. It's overfed, oversexed, power-mad politicians and bureaucrats dictating how my household is to be run. That's what gets my goat.

 

And if you have a stupid old house like mine where the wiring is all messed up, you have bulbs you have to screw in to turn on. I was doing this with a CFL until one snapped in my hand when turning. Now I'm likely mercury poisoned. I use the new lights where I can in the home but certain places are not practical. My wife hates one over the kitchen sink because it makes her feel like she's at the OBGYN. Outside in the cold, they're very dim.

But mostly, I hate the government getting involved. I bet Ron Paul would repeal this if elected. (not trying to get political here)
JIm

 

I have some vintage lamps that won't accept the new bulbs..... No, I'm not tossing my lamps. From what I understood they were rolling this out in stages, starting with 100watt bulbs, but lower wattage were okay. Did they change this?