[TheForge] OT: Government waste

[Ries Niemi]

On Mar 22, 2012, at 11:17 AM, Bruce . wrote:

> Again, I emphasize that in my house incandescent lights produce
> absolutely NO waste heat, except for a few days in summer when I find
> it necessary to run the A/C.  The rest of the year I do not define the
> heat they produce as "waste."  Rather, it is an acceptable by-product.
> 
> That said, I would switch to halogen lamps in a minute were they available.
> 
> It is not necessary to ban 100W incandescent bulbs.  It suffices not
> to sell them where you and I can buy them.  And, for the most part,
> that has already happened.
> 
> 
> 

they still have em at Home Depot.
and the hardware store.
and the grocery store.

but maybe its different in New Jersey..

Nonetheless, I was thinking about this, and realize I use very few incandescent bulbs.

In the shop, which is about 2400 sq feet, I have 3 layers of lighting-

Up top, in the peak of the roof, which is about 20 feet up, I have a couple of HID low bay warehouse lights- mine are Metal Halide, not Sodium as I dont like that orange color. These are dirt cheap, with light bulb replacement currently at zero after 19 years.
Then, at the truss level, which is 12 feet up, I have T12 8 foot flourescent fixtures. These are crappy, and I cant wait to replace them with new Kenyan/Socialist mandated T8's or T5's, both of which give out more light, are cheaper to run, quieter, and dont have cold starting problems. I am hoping this summer to scrap the old T12's. I have T8's in my other building and I love em- they start right up in cold or damp weather, go to full brightness in a minute or two, and seem to last a long long time. 
Finally, above workbenches, I use 500 watt quartz fixtures for task lighting. These bulbs are cheaper than either LED's or CFL's, and give more, better light. They last a couple of years or so in my shop, replacement costs are minimal.

In the entire shop, there is ONE incandescent bulb, in the drill press. 

In my office, I have all Par 25 Halogen bulbs. They give much more pleasant light that old style incandescents, although they cost more. Still cheaper than LED's. Probably similar to CFLs.

In many rooms of my house, I use the Par 25's as well. In the kitchen, for example, we have ceiling cans where I use the flood version. Again, I like the color and the quality of the light.

In total, in all of my dozen or so buildings on the farm, there are probably less than ten incandescents- I just dont use em much. 


Ries Niemi
Industrial Artist
www.riesniemi.com