amitymamaThe Attachment Parenting Community

freedomlover · 07-11-2007, 04:35 PM

to save energy for the planet is that they contain

mercury

if you break one, you need to do a toxics cleanup and be very careful

you can't throw them in the garbage when they break or go kaput either.

They don't last as long as they are advertised either.

I have decided to just save on electricity in other ways for now,

turn off things, disconnect things (using a power strip to on/off them), etc.

Thoughts?

Maura · 07-11-2007, 04:40 PM

Flourescent bulbs give me headaches

3Gs4Me · 07-11-2007, 04:58 PM

flourescent bulbs have been proven to effect children negatively in school settings. They emit (sp) the wrong colors of light and they also pulse. We used to use them in our basement and couldn't stand it so we now use reg. lighting but conserve electricity as much as possible.

juliebelle · 07-11-2007, 05:56 PM

i hate em too...

branwyn · 07-11-2007, 06:01 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mom2avasteph

Flourescent bulbs give me headaches

yup the sound they make drives me insane as well as the headaches

tracey · 07-11-2007, 06:07 PM

i wasn't aware they contained mercury. good to know.

my compact flourescent bulbs make no sound and give the same light as incandescant lights...

i bought them in multi packs at ikea...we use mostly CPBs now.

juliebelle · 07-11-2007, 06:09 PM

the compact bulbs that were in this house when we moved in did not give off the same light at all...

mamabear · 07-11-2007, 06:23 PM

The cfb's have really improved and they now have more full spectrum ones.

We compromise. I get SAD if I don't have natural light, so we use daylight bulbs for most of our light in the house. But we use cfb's for exterior lights, the basement, the garage. So we have about half and half.

Alohamelly · 07-11-2007, 06:30 PM

My ILs use them here in their house and I hate them. I don't know what it is, but I just don't like the way they give off light. Plus one of my lamps is not used to the bulbs I guess, so it takes forever to turn it on. But I'm not the one paying the electric bill, so ...

bubbles · 07-11-2007, 07:01 PM

I have all of those same issues with them. They are so expensive and in most cases don't last nearly as long as they are supposed to. I just can't get myself to spend the $ and try them again.

xt · 07-11-2007, 11:56 PM

I have some that are going on 7 years - I've had the really weird shapes (globes, torches) not last as long, but the standard spirals last me forever.

They contain small amounts of mercury - it's not like you have to call in the EPA, as per the rumor.

Urban Legends Reference Pages: CFL Mercury

Ikea collects them for recycling, as do most municipalities, so the mercury can be disposed of safely.

I'm planning to replace my bulbs with LEDs over time, but since they CFLs are lasting me 3-7 years, it'll be a while.

Especially with a house full. I can count the incandescents in my house on 2 fingers.

tracey · 07-12-2007, 12:38 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mamaxt

I can count the incandescents in my house on 2 fingers.

me too. ikea made it very affordable...

brayg · 07-12-2007, 12:59 AM

Over the longrun, there's more mercury involved in the production of regular lightbulbs over the amount that is in the compact fluorescents.

What About Mercury From Compact Fluorescents? (TreeHugger)

scorch_dc · 07-12-2007, 01:42 AM

We use almost all compact flourescent bulbs. The spiraly ones have lasted us 3 1/2+ years thus far, without any burning out yet. We use them outside as well as all inside lights. I have natural colored lamp shades on all my lamps, so I don't think the light looks much different in the living areas.

IBelieveInFae · 07-12-2007, 03:03 AM

I've found a lot of variation in CFBs. I'm leery of them because of my Epilepsy. I have one friend and she has all of her bulbs as CFBs and they have the weird blue light and the flicker and everything that makes me feel like the room is spinning. I get the GE ones at Wal-Mart and they aren't blue, don't flicker, and don't make the world a crazy spinning ride.

I do some compromising with the lights in the house, too. In places where people don't sit for long periods of time we have CFBs. Hallways and the like. The CFBs don't work outside here because of how cold it gets in the winter. In rooms where I spend a lot of time I try and have in full spectrum bulbs. I also do mixtures in rooms. In my bedroom I have the ceiling light a CFB but the lamp next to my bed has a full spectrum since I read by it for about an hour before I sleep.