B****** Light Bulbs

[Arch]

Maybe. But it's my money is it not? We leave lights on all over the house. Does it cost more than switching them off as you leave the room? Yes, but I'd rather a warm, bright home than feel like I'm living in a cave! Will I get fined for that next? Or fined for leaving my Hi-Fi on standby? It's not far fetched, you can already be finned for having your car ticking over unnecessarily, with unnecessarily being defined by some moron in a cheap suit and more facial hair than is prudent.

I just happen to think that waste is wrong. Do you need to leave lights on in rooms you're not in? How does that make the room you're in any brighter or happier?

I don't know anyone who leaves lights on when they aren't in a room, and I don't know anyone with a house 'like a cave'. I dunno how many caves you've been in, but very few of them have carpet, wallpaper, telly, heating etc....

 

[Mr Pig]

I just happen to think that waste is wrong.

It's not waste. It's me spending my money in a way that makes me comfortable. To define waste your way would include heating the house more than was necessary to keep it dry. Do you turn the thermostat down and wear three jumpers?

 

[Arch]

It's not waste. It's me spending my money in a way that makes me comfortable. To define waste your way would include heating the house more than was necessary to keep it dry. Do you turn the thermostat down and wear three jumpers?

I don't have a thermostat, I have a fan heater to take the edge off, and yes, I wear jumpers.

Oh hang on. Are you afraid of the dark?

 

[Davidc]

I don't mind the energy bulbs. I don't think the light is different, and taking a while to come on doesn't really bother me either.

BUT

Why don't the manufacturers just replace like with like? Some fittings (notably those 'trendy' kitchen spotlights or modern chandelier/cluster type affairs) don't have an energy bulb equivalent. Why not? Replace the entire range of (say) Osram filament bulbs with the SAME bulb in CFL format - problem solved. IMO.

As yet there's no real low energy alternative I know of to the low voltage decorative dichroic spots used a lot in kitchens and bathrooms. Recently some better ones have appeared with supposedly the same light from a 35w as formerly from a 50w lamp. (Even B&Q do them).

The mains (230v) ones with a GU10 base do have a low energy equivalent. They are still very slow to start. I have read that the problem is lack of space for the drive electronics, but a fast start version is supposed to be on the way. I'm waiting, and as soon as it appears my kitchen main lights get changed over. (Unlike Mr Pig I have better things to spend money on than wasting it using inefficient and dingy victorian lighting technology.)

 

[Davidc]

Well this one make me feel ill.

Just don't actually be ill if they're replaced by a Cameron one.

BTW can you still get mantles for gas lamps? Much nicer light than those nasty electric things you know.

 

[Mr Pig]

BTW can you still get mantles for gas lamps?

I don't know. Until we got the lecric last year we lit Castle Pig by burning Englishmen. Smelled bad but was strangely satisfying.

 

[Davidc]

I don't know. Until we got the lecric last year we lit Castle Pig by burning Englishmen. Smelled bad but was strangely satisfying.

Strange thing is we do the same south of the border, but it's not Englismen that're burning!

I've thought for a long time that if the Scots want independence they need a referendum in which the English have a vote, then its 100% guaranteed!

On a slightly more serious point, according to a TV documentary I watched quite recently there were many people who wouldn't have electric lights in their houses when public electricity supplies became available. In some cases because people were deeply suspicious of electricity, in others because they preferred the light from the gas or oil lamps they were using.

 

[Arch]

Just don't actually be ill if they're replaced by a Cameron one.

BTW can you still get mantles for gas lamps? Much nicer light than those nasty electric things you know.

York City Council can, we still have gas lamps around the Minster, they are lovely on a wintery evening, very evocative. But they do burn day and night, so not very efficient.

 

[marinyork]

Strangely enough a few sewer gas ones survive elsewhere too.

 

[rich p]

I don't see that turning the thermostat down and wearing a jumper in the winter is a bad thing

 

[Arch]

I don't see that turning the thermostat down and wearing a jumper in the winter is a bad thing

indeed, I find a jumper much more comfortable than a bag of crisps...