Ask Umbra: Watts up with Lightbulbs? > 자유게시판

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A nonprofit, unbiased media group devoted to telling stories of local weather solutions and a just future. Ask Umbra: Watts up with lightbulbs? A reader wonders which sort of lightbulb is greenest. Umbra sheds some gentle. Ship your question to Umbra! I know you’ve written about lightbulbs before, but it surely seems like there are lots of recent choices on retailer shelves. Are incandescents even being bought anymore? And what about LED lights? I tried some a couple of years ago and, along with being hella costly, the sunshine they gave off was cold and blue and institutional - I couldn’t stand it. Are there other low-power varieties? Which kinds of bulbs work with dimmers? Can you - ahem - shed some gentle on this complicated subject? Grist thanks its sponsors. To assist our nonprofit environmental journalism, please consider disabling your advert-blocker to permit ads on Grist. Thanks for reminding me that it’s time for our semi-demi-hexi-annual revisitation of the lightbulb subject.

And what better day than Earth Day to undertake this quest? For years, "change a lightbulb" has been cited as a simple step folks can take to help the planet. Now even that command is starting to feel difficult, a state of affairs that does not assist our trigger. However I promise it’s not likely as difficult as all that. For EcoLight outdoor those with short attention spans, the answer is: Go buy LEDs. Grist thanks its sponsors. To assist our nonprofit environmental journalism, please consider disabling your ad-blocker to permit ads on Grist. Here’s the rest of the story: Back in 2007, George W. Bush (you remember him) signed an Power Invoice that, among different things, intended to make America extra energy efficient. It included rules that would end the manufacture of wildly inefficient lightbulbs. Some political shenanigans ensued, however the short model is that in 2012, the phaseout of standard incandescent bulbs started, beginning with the 100-watt varieties.

This 12 months, 75-watt bulbs are to get the heave-ho, followed by 60-watt and 40-watt models. Should you want to know more, the EPA has a useful explainer on the subject. This shift may save U.S. 6 billion in 2015 alone, says the company - try this calculator to see figures specific to your own home. However new lightbulbs also can really feel confusing and costly when we’ve spent our lives grabbing a well-recognized 75-watt bulb and paying $1 for it. Halogen incandescents are as close as you can get to the acquainted incandescent bulbs now being phased out. These excessive-tech versions of the old standby final two to 3 times longer and use about 25 % much less power. They look the identical as the previous variations, so that they may be comforting to people who suppose newfangled bulbs are weird. They may also be used in your dimmers! That is an space of product development that is likely to be price maintaining an eye on: One consultant told The brand new York Times that the bulb laws, once they have been brand new, had spurred "more incandescent innovations within the final three years than within the final two a long time." But you’ll nonetheless save more money and EcoLight products vitality with a CFL or LED.

Compact fluorescents (CFLs) final 10 instances so long as traditional incandescents and use seventy five % much less vitality. They're an excellent vitality-saving option, and some will be used in dimmers (verify particular person packaging), however they have drawbacks. They include a tiny amount of mercury, EcoLight which means you can’t simply toss them within the trash - though disposal has gotten easier due to recycling programs at main retailers together with House Depot and IKEA. CFLs additionally require some relearning: We mustn't flip them off as religiously as we’ve been skilled to do with incandescents, because they even have a finite variety of on-off cycles. Frequent switching might be one motive they burn out early. Listed below are a few other things that may do in a CFL. Light-emitting diodes (LEDs) final 25 times as lengthy because the previous incandescents and use seventy five p.c much less power as well. Truthfully, Liza, they're the best way of the future. Scratch that: They're the way in which of the now.

Forget your cold blue expertise of yesteryear and EcoLight products look into the array of choices obtainable at present, lots of which are covered in this helpful New York Occasions overview. LEDs get brilliant immediately (versus having an annoying "warm-up" period like CFLs), aren’t weakened by on-off cycling, and can be used in your dimmer. Sure, they're expensive up front, but their value has dropped dramatically within the final couple of years, and should continue to take action. If you may handle $5 to $10 for EcoLight products a bulb, I promise it can repay handsomely over time in decrease power payments, much less bulb-altering, less pollution from the ability plants that electrify our houses, much less buying, and fewer angst. By the best way, energy-efficient bulbs if you really need to geek out on the subject of lighting, here’s a enjoyable quiz from the parents at Nationwide Geographic. You may even study sufficient to concoct a strange new sign-off. Grist is the only award-winning newsroom centered on exploring equitable solutions to climate change. It’s vital reporting made solely doable by loyal readers like you. At Grist, we don’t imagine in paywalls. As a substitute, we depend on our readers to pitch in what they can so that we can proceed bringing you our answer-based climate news. Grist is the one award-successful newsroom focused on exploring equitable solutions to climate change. It’s very important reporting made entirely attainable by loyal readers such as you. At Grist, we don’t consider in paywalls. As a substitute, we depend on our readers to pitch in what they will in order that we can continue bringing you our resolution-based mostly climate news. Koch brothers want to buy L.A. Grist thanks its sponsors. Grist thanks its sponsors.