[Outcast_Searcher]

I do not agree that CFL bulbs should be classified as toxic waste. The amount of mercury they contain is quite minute and even if one of these bulbs breaks in your house I don't think it is something you need to freak out over. Telling people that the bulbs are toxic and cannot be discarded in regular garbage just gives people another excuse to continue using inefficient incandescent bulbs.

No questions regulators go bonkers over mercury. OTOH, if they force retailers who sell such bulbs (Home Depot and Lowes come to mind in the U.S.) to accept spent bulbs for recycling -- what's the big deal? That way anyone who is willing to bother can easily dispose of the bulbs in a way to be "properly" handled, recycled, etc.

The problem I have is that in many small cities (I live in central KY) it is VERY hard to dispose of hazardous waste safely. I have volunteered to PAY to have chemicals, etc. handled by the government recycling and disposal sites -- and they just turn you away unless you have some specific thing like computers.

So then most people dump stuff in dark plastic bags and out it goes to the landfill. Now how does THAT help anybody?

There needs to be some rational, clear, reasonably convenient way(s) to dispose of such things for those responsible enough to be willing to do it -- especially if they are willing to PAY for the privelege. (Standing in line 4 hours (with everybody else) once a year with your car running, in some government sponsored "waste disposal day" fiasco doesn't count as practical, resaonable, or convenient, in my book).

[Outcast_Searcher]

That sounds like a fairly short-sighted law, in a few years it may well be the case that LED bulbs completely outperform CFL's in the future with builders forced into installing lamps that householders don't want.

It's unfortunate, but costs outweigh consumer convenience, future maintenance, etc. in nearly everything, and the trend continues to grow. For things like lights, they just make them cheap and expect the consumer to replace them (and throw the old ones away, of course).

For example, over the past 35 years, I've watched simple things like changing burned out lightbulbs in a car's headlights or tail lights go from something I could do in under 5 minutes and figure out VERY easily, to something so bizarre, I let a mechanic do it. At a place like Jiffy Lube, I am often apologized to for how long it takes by the attendant -- and always express gratitude for them doing it so I don't risk screwing up the electrical system in my car -- or put up with the aggravation.

Engineers I know explain that's it all about it being cheap and convenient for the manufacturing process -- and to hell with the consumer when it comes to maintenance.

Only regulation could fix this -- as consumers look at the initial sales price as being key, so doing these things is a competitive advantage (sadly). Since government is so bad at writing and enforcing regulations -- I'm not sure the end result would be better, however. (It WOULD be a lot more expenive, of that we can be sure).

[dolanbaker]

For example, over the past 35 years, I've watched simple things like changing burned out lightbulbs in a car's headlights or tail lights go from something I could do in under 5 minutes and figure out VERY easily, to something so bizarre, I let a mechanic do it. At a place like Jiffy Lube, I am often apologized to for how long it takes by the attendant -- and always express gratitude for them doing it so I don't risk screwing up the electrical system in my car -- or put up with the aggravation.

Engineers I know explain that's it all about it being cheap and convenient for the manufacturing process -- and to hell with the consumer when it comes to maintenance.

Only regulation could fix this -- as consumers look at the initial sales price as being key, so doing these things is a competitive advantage (sadly). Since government is so bad at writing and enforcing regulations -- I'm not sure the end result would be better, however. (It WOULD be a lot more expenive, of that we can be sure).

A French friend of mine once told me that the French recently introduced a law that forces car manufacturers to design lights that allow the bulbs to be replaced without any tools, I'm not sure when that starts from, but it's a good idea.

[Surf]

Surf wrote:

I have built a LED plant grow lamp with leds wired in a series parallel configuration and it is powered by a 12V power supply and some small resisters. With a 40W power consumption it is painful to look at directly and has no heat sinks and no fans. The key for this type of assembly is to insure that the leds operate at a reasonable and stable temperature. My grow lamp operates at a temperature of about 100F which is well below 130C temperature limit specified by many LED manufactures.


Interesting, how well does your grow lamp work? Would you do it again, or is the payoff too small for the effort? Did you have plans for its construction, or did you design it yourself? Do you happen to know the light spectrum it emits?

Sorry for all the questions, but it sounds like a nice project.

Thanks,
Cliff

I like Orchids. I can keep them alive but they seldom flower. I believe the problem is the lack of sunlight I get through my windows. In the summer I get a little bit of sun in the morning but in the winter I get no sun and indoor lighting was not enough.

I put up some shelves for another reason and on the bottom side of the bottom shelf I attached LEDs. The shelf is 6 inches by 24 inches and it is made of 10mm thick glass. and it is located about 20inches above the floor. I then made a curtain of reflective Mylar and attached it to the shelve with magnets and put more reflective Mylar on the wall. I didn't purchase a kit or download any plans. I just did my own research and looked for sources of the materials I needed.

I purchased LED strip lights. These are flexible ribbons about 1/4 inch wide that can be cut to the desired length. These ribbons can be cut every 3 inches. I purchased only red and blue LEDs, Mainly because plants reflect most to all of the green and yellow light. I purchased 435nm and 460nm blue, and 626 and 660nm red. So I Basically cut the lights into 24 inch long pieces and glued them to the shelve until I ran out of space. the shelve has about 50% red and blue. Each strip needs 12V DC. I wired the strips together in parallel.

One orchid has 3 new stems growing at the same time (first year it has done that in 10 years). The other 3 are growing by more slowly. Somehow a Snapdragon seed got into one of the pots, sprouted and it now has a flower. Almost all of the light in the last 2 months that they have received is from the grow light. If i buy more orchids I might make another.

[Subjectivist]

Unfortunately, it's not as simple as that, it appears that as the lights are more efficient more are being used to illuminate the areas than previously. Still a saving but not as great a saving as would have been made in a like for like substitution.

I think there is a fair mount of truth to this, places where I had 60W incandescents to save power are getting replaced with brighter LED bulbs when I upgrade them, but power consumption is still lower than before. Makes a big difference in spots like basements where fixtures are wide distances apart and in reading lamps where bright light is good to have.

[KrellEnergySource]

OTOH, if they force retailers who sell such bulbs (Home Depot and Lowes come to mind in the U.S.) to accept spent bulbs for recycling -- what's the big deal? That way anyone who is willing to bother can easily dispose of the bulbs in a way to be "properly" handled, recycled, etc.

I wish I had the confidence that the recyling streams for such items (CFL's, Cell Phones, Toner Cartridges, whatever) are properly handling the items and recycling them truly to the degree that most people think they are. Same with the household weekly recycling bin pickup in my city. I have a degree of skepticism that the whole process is a net positive and really offsets much.