Now I see 1.6 gallon/flush toilets that work as well as toilets ever did. And you have a bad number - the old ones were even worse than you say - they flush 5 gallons. In a few localities there was an interim requirement for 3.5 gallons for a while.
In the Philadelphia area, I still see mostly 5 gallon/flush toilets.
The lack of energy gain from corn ethanol is touted by a study that is flawed by assuming that all corn requires irrigation.
However, I am against mandates and subsidies for biofuels specifically from corn as opposed to biofuels not limited to specific products associated with best-paid lobbyists.
Maybe there's a market for a bulb pre-heater? Something similar to "standby" on the TV or computer. Small heating coil using no more than, oh, 50 watts to keep the 15-watt CFL at a reasonable temperature so that the CFL could put out as much light as a 60 watt incandescent bulb.
There are now incandescents with enough energy efficiency to not be affected by the 2012/2014 bans. Also, many 150 watt incandescents and nearly all incandescents 200 watts or more are not affected by the
2012/2014 bans - only a certain range of light output is affected, which in my words is "roughly 30-35 watt incandescent" to "dim side of 150 watt incandescent". This means incandescents 25 watts and less are also unaffected by the 2012/2014 bans.
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includes an April 19 posting by Paul Eldridge that says what will be banned and what will not be banned. Even within the affected light output range, that article mentions exemptions for a lot of incandescents including some that can be used as "general purpose" (though with reduced light output and energy efficiency - better to use the Philips "Halogena Energy Saver" [3,000 hour life expectancy and dimmable] or CFLs instead!).
There are longer-lasting regular bulbs with only mild compromise in energy efficiency. Best example I can think of is Philips "/99" series - available at bulbs.com. Those are rated to last 2500 hours.
Longer life requires greater compromise in energy efficiency due to lower filament temperature. The energy efficiency of the famous "century bulbs" is well known to be especially lousy. You can get your own "century bulbs" with similarly lousy energy efficiency by getting 230V ones - bulbs.com has them. A 200 watt 230V one draws close to 75 watts at
120 volts, and produces somewhat more light than an ordinary 25 watt lightbulb. All the famous "century bulbs" have energy efficiency no better.
As for a whiter CFL - there is now a wide range of color choices.
If you want an incandescent approximation but found ones to be too purplish/pinkish or too greenish, you can make an adjustment in that area by switching brands, since some brands have different philosophies than others in which direction is most tolerable for straying from "incandescent" in color.
If you want slightly whiter and leaning to the purplish/pinkish side as opposed to greenish, get Sylvania 3000K, the most-standard CFLs at Lowes.
If you want whiter still but warm, get 3500K ones. Those include most Sylvania "Daylight" (as opposed to icy cool that everyone else means by "daylight") (available at Lowes), or N:Vision "Bright White" at Home Depot.
Whiter still - at risk of "dreary gray effect" - 4100 K ones of the Westpointe brand at some True Value hardware stores.
You can go higher. N:Vision "Daylight" ones at Home Depot are 5500K - icy cold pure white to very slightly bluish. I have seen 6500K ones, almost definitely slightly bluish - GE brand at Target, and IIRC Sylvania ones at Lowes.
There was push in some areas a few years ago to regulate outdoor grilling. When the obvious sh** storm ensued, they backed down suggesting it was a just one overzealous bureaucrat. Of course it was.
I have not been entirely happy with the color of CFL I have tried. Your list should help.
When I was looking at several manufacturer sites recently, all the CFLs had a CRI [color quality] of 82. Any idea why they were all the same? IIRC 82 is not particularly good.
I find myself agreeing with you. Well written, good fellow.
Liberals say that everyone is entitled to a light bulb. They create a massive federal bureocracy to make sure that everyone has a light bulb. To accomplish this, they take light bulbs away from anyone with 100,000 light bulbs a year or more, and give to worthless trash who never worked a day in their lives. Then, they wonder why rich Americans don't get many more new light bulbs. They also institute studies to find out why poor people either sell the light bulbs on the black market for beer money, or break them in frustration. Rich people are tired of having their light bulbs taken by force, and charities sit in dark offices for lack of donated bulbs. Domestic bulb production falls to near zero. All bulbs are now made in China.
Conservatives let the free market operate. People get light bulbs by working and paying for them. Some folks leverage their income, and get a constant supply of light bulbs. Rich people donate generously to charities, who are able to keep thier offices lit, and give bulbs to the poor. Charities teach job readiness, and the poor people get jobs at the local light bulb factory. Federal revenue soars, as the economy rebounds.
C'mon party primaries. Quit nominating dim bulbs.
Actually, 82 is pretty good. And it is not a measure of the overall color of the light, but of the way the light renders colored objects.
All common CFLs use the same basic phosphor formulation known as "triphosphor". Their spectra look alike, except for minor differences between the different rated color temperatures.
Some may actually often achieve 80 or 81, while others may actually often achieve 83. This number for a CFL is generally unaffected by color temperature bing higher or lower, and is only slightly affected if the color is, by normal extents, on the greenish side or the purplish side (the two sides of the "blackbody locus" curve on a chromaticity diagram).
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