Uh Oh. You may want to start stockpiling bulbs

Here: http://redgreenandblue.org/2008/10/11/eu-bans-incandescent-light-bulbs/

If you were hoping to get some sort of Edison bulb or squirrel-cage bulb or even just these nice low-wattage bulbs that are so nice for soft illumination... now is the time.

They are doing that in California too and it really annoys me because the light from them is generally really ugly and harsh. Pluse I can HEAR most CFLs. Very much not happy about it.

There is a local supplier of light bulbs Sunlan lighting who has more bulbs than I've ever seen before in one place and probably will ship to CA. It's worth a shot...

If not then my plans for a light bulb smuggling ring are coming to fruition! Mwahahaha!

Z.

WHAT?!?


You mean other people are already contemplating starting up lightbulb smuggling rings?!? Oh! Dangit! Now I have competition.

I'm going to be relying on the fact that certain lower wattage bulbs cannot be replaced by CCFL lamps - namely those found in microwave ovens, gas / electric ovens, and certain other household items such as electric sewing machines. Should see me alright for bulbs up to 15watts or so (which I tend to use for certain lighting applications).

The rest of my lights are Halogen based, so still incandescent - and are not too bright if used with a dimmer.

I do need to stock up on 40W clear 'golf ball' bulbs though, as one of my ceiling lights requires 5 of them (and the cheap crap they make these days, do not last all that long!). I think I migt just order a whole box full, so that's probably around 200 or thereabouts.


However the very large crystal chandelier in my mothers house is going to require rather more spares......it uses 20. And another 8 for the matching wall lights (big victorian dining room). And then there are three other smaller 6 lamp crystal chandeliers elsewhere in the house, and a further 8 double lamp wall lights too.... I've seen CCFL lamps fitted to a crystal chandelier - not a good look! (and due to medical reasons, she is light sensitive - so blue and UV emitting lamps such as CCFLs, HID, and LEDs, are completly out of the question anyway!)

Now I just need to figure out where to store 2000 light bulbs.....

SS

lilibat wrote:They are doing that in California too and it really annoys me because the light from them is generally really ugly and harsh. Pluse I can HEAR most CFLs. Very much not happy about it.

you should try some of the LED based bulbs, they make them with like 12 LEDs to replace the common 60w bulb. The advantages to LEDs- long life, no heat, no noise, less power usage than CFLs.

here is a link to a LED bulb site
http://www.ccrane.com/lights/led-light-bulbs/index.aspx

they are a little pricer to start but better in the long run

Yeah, the light from LEDs isn't really as pretty as the full spectrum stuff though. *sigh*

lilibat wrote:They are doing that in California too and it really annoys me because the light from them is generally really ugly and harsh. Pluse I can HEAR most CFLs. Very much not happy about it.

My wife can too.

I would have been able to hear them in my younger days. There was one department store we used to shop at that would turn on its ultrasonic detectors about half an hour before closing (to stabilize, I suppose), and that drove me out of the place every time.

I could also clearly hear the noise made by the flyback on TV sets, even from some distance outside the house where it was located. That didn't really bother me though.

One point on LEDs: All of the white LEDs I've come across so far seem to give off quite a lot of UV. So UV-sensitive people might want to avoid them.

Flourescent light makes me queasy. Spaces lit with it all look like prison blocks!

And if I'm subjected to this harsh, glaring light for any length of time, I develop a blinding migraine. Bugger!

Rather ironic to implement a measure to "save the environment" which actually makes our immediate environments less liveable.

Hmmm... maybe I'll have to have the gaslights re-installed in my Victorian-era house when I can't find any more contraband incandescent bulbs. [But for all I know, indoor gaslight has already been banned.]

The"lightbulb smuggling ring" idea sounds good to me.
we cam store them behind paintings and in the dungeon.

WE could all use oil lamps.

Not likely. 'Tisn't legal, I fear. Using any flammable material for lighting is considered arson, should the fire escape and burn the building, since you're taking an 'unsafe and adknowledged risk'.

Dr. Oliver Cross wrote:Not likely. 'Tisn't legal, I fear. Using any flammable material for lighting is considered arson, should the fire escape and burn the building, since you're taking an 'unsafe and adknowledged risk'.

Good thing nothing I used flammable lighting in ever burned down. Great blackout a few years ago in southern Ontario... arson if someone knocked a candle over?

My folks used to light the house exclusively with oil lamps of a Sunday when I was a kid.

Stupid laws and their stupid consequences. -grumbles-

5.6. Kaboom wrote:

Dr. Oliver Cross wrote:Not likely. 'Tisn't legal, I fear. Using any flammable material for lighting is considered arson, should the fire escape and burn the building, since you're taking an 'unsafe and adknowledged risk'.

Good thing nothing I used flammable lighting in ever burned down. Great blackout a few years ago in southern Ontario... arson if someone knocked a candle over?

My folks used to light the house exclusively with oil lamps of a Sunday when I was a kid.

Stupid laws and their stupid consequences. -grumbles-

I don't think it would be arson in Canada, since you (presumably) don't actually intend to burn down the building. (Canadian jurisprudence puts a great deal of importance on intent.) Probably the worst you could get is Criminal Negligence, and then you'd have to have a) deliberately done something that "obviously" escalated the risk of a fire, and b) killed someone.

(Note: I am not a lawyer, nor do I portray one on television...)