Rep. Fred Upton (R-Mich.) may have some explaining to do to fellow GOP colleagues as he seeks the chairmanship of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, given the incoming wave of new conservatives who may not appreciate some aspects of Upton's voting record.
Upton joined with Rep. Jane Harman (D.-Calif.) in 2007 to co-author the legislation that effectively banned indoor incandescent light bulbs in the United States. In the last Congress, he an Harman teamed up again to offer new legislation that would extend the ban on incandescent bulbs to outdoor lighting also.
"In 2007, Harman and Upton introduced bipartisan, bicameral legislation--which became law as part of the Energy Independence and Security Act--that bans the famously inefficient 100-watt incandescent light bulb by 2012, phases out remaining inefficient light bulbs by 2014, and requires that light bulbs be at least three times as efficient as today's 100-watt incandescent bulb by 2020," explained a 2009 press release put out by the two House members. More on this
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10 comments:
Forcing us to use mercury filled bulbs in all locations.
Getting rid of incandescents is a good thing, although I don't exactly agree with a gov't sponsored "ban".
cfl's(compact flourescents) are dirt cheap these days. Why pay for 100 watts when you can get the same amount of light for 10 watts? Personally, I like them because they lower my lighting costs, and they last for much much longer then incandescents.
anonymous 9:25, its a whole lot worse than that.
The new T-8 fluorescent lamps put out an unbelievable amount of Ultra Violet and Violet Radiation, more so than ever in the past. The radiation is invisible to the human eye but the more you have the more it makes you squint. You THINK the light is brighter, but its not.
Our government really screwed up in this department and there's very few of us out there that know the absolute truth. I'm one of the few experts in fluorescent lamps and trust me, it's not good.
And the price?? They ain't cheap. I KNOW when you are a millionaire Senator, it's pretty easy to tell your maid or one of your dozens of staff members to go buy a couple of packs of packs at $6 per bulb (or more). Life is good at the top of the food chain. There are at least 25 light bulbs in my house. I can't be that unusual. Groceries or light bulbs. Kids lunches or light bulbs. water bill or light bulbs. Thanks Congress. I wonder if the guy has stock in the companies who are going to get rich. Or, if his WIFE does.
anonymous 9:37, your full of crap! I've been in the business for 30 years and this is one area none of you are even going to try to challenge me on.
They do NOT last longer. Just because the package tells you so, its complete crap. Some do last longer but most do not. As for the illumination factor, go back to my previous comment and see that while they are somewhat brighter per watt, most of the illumination is ultra violet reflecting off white, light tan and gray walls/paint. Put that same lamp in a room with dark colored walls and the illumination is instantly absorbed and does not bounce, therefore its nowhere near as bright.
An incandescent lamp does NOT put out ANY ultra violet and violet radiation. The Electric Companies have been squirming to reduce energy because they don't have enough power to supply all of the businesses and homes. The Government stepped in some 10+ years ago, (knowing what was ahead with power) and threatened to open their own power plants and compete with the energy companies. Why do you think the local power companies are offering FREE compact fluorescent lamps. It's one of the very few industries in America that's actually BOOMING. The energy act was a load of crap. In fact, if you really research it you'll find that in Europe they have FAR better ways to illuminate areaswithout anywhere near the risks Ultra Violet wise and the watts are much less than what we use in the US. T-5 lamps for example offer far more lumens per watt that what our government threw down every ones throats with T-8 lamps years ago. We totally screwed up in that department, but thats our government for you.
For what its worth, I met with Congress personally on this matter more than 10 years ago and I told them the TRUTH about what to expect. The researched my information and found out I was absolutely correct. However, guess what, it was already too late and they couldn't turn it around. THAT'S A FACT.
Compact fluorescents do NOT last as long as they claim. To prove it, each lamp has a ceramic base to it. Use a marker and put the date of the lamp on it when you install it. See if you get 10,000 hours out of it. If its a fluorescent lamp, write the date on the lamp too and see you'll get nowhere near 20,000 hours on it. The lamp manufacturers used to replace any lamp that did't last as long as they claimed. Now they don't! They now claim it's because of your ballast.
We're going backwards in the lighting business and that's one reason I retired.
anonymous 9:37, your full of crap! I've been in the business for 30 years and this is one area none of you are even going to try to challenge me on.
They do NOT last longer. Just because the package tells you so, its complete crap. Some do last longer but most do not. As for the illumination factor, go back to my previous comment and see that while they are somewhat brighter per watt, most of the illumination is ultra violet reflecting off white, light tan and gray walls/paint. Put that same lamp in a room with dark colored walls and the illumination is instantly absorbed and does not bounce, therefore its nowhere near as bright.
An incandescent lamp does NOT put out ANY ultra violet and violet radiation. The Electric Companies have been squirming to reduce energy because they don't have enough power to supply all of the businesses and homes. The Government stepped in some 10+ years ago, (knowing what was ahead with power) and threatened to open their own power plants and compete with the energy companies. Why do you think the local power companies are offering FREE compact fluorescent lamps. It's one of the very few industries in America that's actually BOOMING. The energy act was a load of crap. In fact, if you really research it you'll find that in Europe they have FAR better ways to illuminate areaswithout anywhere near the risks Ultra Violet wise and the watts are much less than what we use in the US. T-5 lamps for example offer far more lumens per watt that what our government threw down every ones throats with T-8 lamps years ago. We totally screwed up in that department, but thats our government for you.
For what its worth, I met with Congress personally on this matter more than 10 years ago and I told them the TRUTH about what to expect. The researched my information and found out I was absolutely correct. However, guess what, it was already too late and they couldn't turn it around. THAT'S A FACT.
Compact fluorescents do NOT last as long as they claim. To prove it, each lamp has a ceramic base to it. Use a marker and put the date of the lamp on it when you install it. See if you get 10,000 hours out of it. If its a fluorescent lamp, write the date on the lamp too and see you'll get nowhere near 20,000 hours on it. The lamp manufacturers used to replace any lamp that did't last as long as they claimed. Now they don't! They now claim it's because of your ballast.
We're going backwards in the lighting business and that's one reason I retired.
My problem is that the CFL's should be recycled, but there is no place to do that (to my knowledge).
anonymous 10:23, for what its worth, ALL fluorescent lamps are supposed to be recycled. Or at least disposed of in a hazardous waste dump site. The EPA sued many big companies for not doing so. Heinz is a big one I recall.
I really hope that the repub co-sponsor was defeated or did not run for re-election. You expect this sort of nanny state mentality out of the dems, but repubs should be held to a higher standard.s
Also, Joe, I can't use the cfl's with a dimmer or photo-eye, both of which are energy savers that will become useless? That;\'s no good.
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