Now they tell us!

[Chris Goddard]

No Jim is correct there ARE special LAMPS!! (Bulbs GROW in the garden chaps!!) meant for dimmers. But why all the kerfuffle?? These lamps ARE in effect just mini fourescent tubes anyway??

[Lid]

They also mess up electronic timing devices because of the inductive load (so I am told).

[Tog]

Jim mate - cheap bulbs is just that - cheap and nasty, quality makes will last several years.

 

You can get special dimmers and special bulbs for dimmers - although I'd suggest low volt halogen if you want to dim them as they seem to give the nicest light and last reasonably long.

As for Flou tubes causing problems, most old fittings used cruddy switchgear (starters and ballasts etc) which can give rise to flickering and be a fire hazzard. New electronic switchgear and light fittings are much better.

 

If you use computers at work and have ghastly flou tubes above request they be changed to cat 2 luminaries - these have reflector blades on them that chop up the light and make it go sideways as well as down - this reduces glare on your VDU.

[Jim Roper]

Jim mate - cheap bulbs is just that - cheap and nasty, quality makes will last several years.

 

The lamps that I have, are Phillips 'endorsed and subsidised by e-on'. Can't understand why a power company would want to subsidise something that will cut down consumption of it's product. They are supposed to last 8 years.

[Leon Roskilly]

Can't understand why a power company would want to subsidise something that will cut down consumption of it's product.

 

Reducing demand means having to borrow less to finance the building of more power stations, so the money can be paid to shareholders instead.

[Jim Roper]

Reducing demand means having to borrow less to finance the building of more power stations, so the money can be paid to shareholders instead.

 

Please don't post when drunk!

[Leon Roskilly]

Please don't post when drunk!

 

Why would a power company subsidise the sale of lightbulbs that use less electricity?

 

At a time when suppliers are seen as rapacious profit-takers, the idea that any would be encouraging us to use less power might seem perverse.

 

Yet Powergen, one of the UK's largest energy suppliers, is offering cash sponsorship to 200 major retailers around the country to enable them to sell compact fluorescent lights (CFLs) - which use about one-fifth as much power as normal incandescent bulbs, last more than eight times longer, but cost between £2 and £8 - for about 50p...........

 

........................And it's that saving which is useful to companies such as Powergen.

 

If their customers use less energy, the power companies don't have to build more power stations or wind farms - which saves them millions.

 

http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2006/...chnologysection

 

(More interesting stuff if you follow the link)

Edited January 3, 2008 by Leon Roskilly

[cha]

the lightbulbs we are talking about low engery ones contain a hight level of mercury and have to be desposed of in a proper manner

[chesters1]

i see were in for a hefty power rise this year can anyone explain just which power stations use crude oil ?

a lot of our gas comes from sweden i believe and theres a gas glut so why use the rising oil price as an excuse to hike up the bills?

 

why not use all nuke power and cut off the link completely if some companies offer "green" electric why not offer oil free electric at considerably less price?

[Jim Roper]

"If their customers use less energy, the power companies don't have to build more power stations or wind farms - which saves them millions."

 

This is the sort of rubbish that got NuLab into Government.

 

All you have to do is fool most of the people most of the time. That's politics, I suppose.

 

If their customers no more energy, the power companies don't have to build more power stations or wind farms.