[Lowfer] Government Mandated Noise ???

[John D]

There's a lot of difference between different brands of CFLs, and cheaper is 
definitely not better.  I've had no noise problems out of the GE lamps that 
I use almost exclusively.  Only one has failed to work out of the box, and 
none have failed in service (thus far) after about three years.  If light 
output and safety are important, one should stick with the Energy Star rated 
ones.  They are required to meet a certain percentage of rated luminance 
within a certain time from startup, and they are supposed to not emit any 
flame or fracture the base during failure (odor and a certain minimal amount 
of smoke are permitted).

Noise potential aside for the moment, the biggest drawback to them is the 
environmental (read: health) risk from introducing yet more mercury into the 
consumer world.  Just this year, mercury disposal warnings FINALLY started 
appearing on the packaging.  It ought to be pretty clear to all of us that 
there is no good mercury vapor recovery/recycling infrastructure in place in 
the mass market.  And if nearly ALL lamps have to be CFL in the future, 
there's going to be a lot more of it out there, getting dumped into everyday 
trash, than is already the case.

Joh