Comments on: Greentime Episode #15 - CFLs

By: Steve Elbows

Steve Elbows — Thu, 23 Aug 2007 19:17:31 +0000

I also like the CFL’s last a very long time, although it remains to be seen how much the claims of quite how many years they last have been exagurated.

I think here in the UK

By: Rhett

Rhett — Fri, 24 Aug 2007 16:01:08 +0000

Wow. It’s THE STEVE ELBOWS! Wow. I feel in the presence of celebrity! And somehow we missed that you live in the UK. You do know that Amy lived in Cornwall for six years, right?

Anyhoo, about the lifetime measurements…I think they’re potentially accurate, because we have years of fluorescent light engineering on which to guess a days of use statistic. The real kink in the system is that CFLs are likely turned on and off more frequently than other fluorescents, which will change their lifetime. Use patterns like that can be hard to estimate with great accuracy in the lab. I know, because we deal with this all the time when making cellphones at Motorola.

I’d really love to see total lifecycle metrics on these things, though. What’s the embodied energy in producing a CFL? In recycling one? I can’t find anything on this.

By: Cheryl Colan

Cheryl Colan — Sun, 26 Aug 2007 16:12:36 +0000

I was wondering what the heck you meant by “lead” bulbs and whether they wouldn’t be more dangerous than mercury when I realized you were pronouncing “LED,” not “lead.” LOL!

By: Rhett

Rhett — Mon, 27 Aug 2007 15:20:52 +0000

LOL, Cheryl! I guess coming off of talking about mercury, one might have initially thought that. I’m a product of my surroundings, and most of the electrical engineers on my team pronounce “LED” as “lead”.