Comments on: I Hate Fluorescent http://melissablogs.com/2009/08/31/i-hate-fluorescent/ Information Pollination Sat, 11 Feb 2012 21:50:00 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 By: Shon Bury http://melissablogs.com/2009/08/31/i-hate-fluorescent/comment-page-1/#comment-16457 Shon Bury Sat, 05 Sep 2009 01:30:53 +0000 http://www.melissaclouthier.com/?p=14606#comment-16457 Epilepsy is found in roughly .5% of the population. I was referring to average people who have no problem acclimating to the light. Nice try, tho, Cranky... Epilepsy is found in roughly .5% of the population. I was referring to average people who have no problem acclimating to the light. Nice try, tho, Cranky…

]]> By: Cranky http://melissablogs.com/2009/08/31/i-hate-fluorescent/comment-page-1/#comment-16455 Cranky Fri, 04 Sep 2009 19:10:16 +0000 http://www.melissaclouthier.com/?p=14606#comment-16455 Shon Bury, you're right about one thing: facts ARE your friends. And you dismiss them. How on Earth did you come up with the claim that it takes "exactly 5 minutes" to become acclimated to the CFLs, for starters? Or did you just make that "fact" up? You ignore the very valid and very real concern of people whose medical conditions make CFLs dangerous for them. Have you ever seen a child have a seizure? Your casual dismissal of real people with real concerns simply because they do not agree with you is a perfect example of why The Left is out of touch with the rest of us. Shon Bury, you’re right about one thing: facts ARE your friends. And you dismiss them.
How on Earth did you come up with the claim that it takes “exactly 5 minutes” to become acclimated to the CFLs, for starters? Or did you just make that “fact” up?
You ignore the very valid and very real concern of people whose medical conditions make CFLs dangerous for them. Have you ever seen a child have a seizure?

Your casual dismissal of real people with real concerns simply because they do not agree with you is a perfect example of why The Left is out of touch with the rest of us.

]]> By: Shon Bury http://melissablogs.com/2009/08/31/i-hate-fluorescent/comment-page-1/#comment-16443 Shon Bury Thu, 03 Sep 2009 01:17:02 +0000 http://www.melissaclouthier.com/?p=14606#comment-16443 It takes exactly 5 minutes to get accustomed to the light difference. CO2 emissions are dramatically reduced by converting even a single household. Facts are your friend... It takes exactly 5 minutes to get accustomed to the light difference.

CO2 emissions are dramatically reduced by converting even a single household.

Facts are your friend…

]]> By: Peter http://melissablogs.com/2009/08/31/i-hate-fluorescent/comment-page-1/#comment-16422 Peter Tue, 01 Sep 2009 08:57:07 +0000 http://www.melissaclouthier.com/?p=14606#comment-16422 I'm curious about all these new poisons they've figured out. When I was a kid a broken thermometer was a big deal and we played with the mercury for hours. Then, as a teen I used mercury to get the lead our of gun barrels. Of course from the age of about twelve on I cast lead alloy bullets, too. Now it seems that lead and mercury are horrible poisons, killing any child that gets within a mile and a half of the merest trace. Were we just tougher than kids today or have the powers of those awful poisons multiplied? Or is the government shoveling horsecrap again? I’m curious about all these new poisons they’ve figured out. When I was a kid a broken thermometer was a big deal and we played with the mercury for hours. Then, as a teen I used mercury to get the lead our of gun barrels. Of course from the age of about twelve on I cast lead alloy bullets, too.

Now it seems that lead and mercury are horrible poisons, killing any child that gets within a mile and a half of the merest trace.

Were we just tougher than kids today or have the powers of those awful poisons multiplied? Or is the government shoveling horsecrap again?

]]> By: O Bloody Hell http://melissablogs.com/2009/08/31/i-hate-fluorescent/comment-page-1/#comment-16416 O Bloody Hell Tue, 01 Sep 2009 03:21:23 +0000 http://www.melissaclouthier.com/?p=14606#comment-16416 It's more important than that -- the supposed saving in the home is likely very doubtful. I have not verified this is the case with CFLs, but I see no reason to presume otherwise: Fluorescents work best (in terms of energy savings) in areas where the lights go on for a long time, and stay on constantly -- kitchens and bathrooms should generally have both in-place, since sometimes you go in there for a while, other times you're going in for 30 seconds and walking back out. This is due to the way fluorescents work, which is that they use a large "spike" in starting up and after that use notably less -- hence any start-stop-start activities actually use MORE energy. The typical "savings" come only if the light is on for something in excess of 5-15 minutes, depending on who you talk to (again, I have not verified the numbers for CFLs, but the behavior is unlikely to change, though that time-to-savings may change). The other element, of course, is the fact of the presence of mercury in CFLs. If a bulb breaks, especially around children, you should clear them out of the room and open the windows to actively ventilate the place, as the mercury content released into a typical household room, dispersed evenly into the air of the room, will put the ppm above allowable OSHA limits for lab tech exposure to mercury. And children are known to be far, far more sensitive to mercury than adults. I won't go into the issue of mercury in landfills when people start disposing of these things en masse in 3-5 years, but that, too, is going to be a major concern -- and will no doubt require a Federal Mercury Reduction Act to fix <i>that</i> problem. All for a chimerical "energy" savings that the sheer cost of electricity will do a remarkably effective job of producing without some BS federal intervention to cause it., and to cause still more problems that require federal intervention to "fix". It’s more important than that — the supposed saving in the home is likely very doubtful.

I have not verified this is the case with CFLs, but I see no reason to presume otherwise:

Fluorescents work best (in terms of energy savings) in areas where the lights go on for a long time, and stay on constantly — kitchens and bathrooms should generally have both in-place, since sometimes you go in there for a while, other times you’re going in for 30 seconds and walking back out. This is due to the way fluorescents work, which is that they use a large “spike” in starting up and after that use notably less — hence any start-stop-start activities actually use MORE energy.

The typical “savings” come only if the light is on for something in excess of 5-15 minutes, depending on who you talk to (again, I have not verified the numbers for CFLs, but the behavior is unlikely to change, though that time-to-savings may change).

The other element, of course, is the fact of the presence of mercury in CFLs.

If a bulb breaks, especially around children, you should clear them out of the room and open the windows to actively ventilate the place, as the mercury content released into a typical household room, dispersed evenly into the air of the room, will put the ppm above allowable OSHA limits for lab tech exposure to mercury. And children are known to be far, far more sensitive to mercury than adults.

I won’t go into the issue of mercury in landfills when people start disposing of these things en masse in 3-5 years, but that, too, is going to be a major concern — and will no doubt require a Federal Mercury Reduction Act to fix that problem.

All for a chimerical “energy” savings that the sheer cost of electricity will do a remarkably effective job of producing without some BS federal intervention to cause it., and to cause still more problems that require federal intervention to “fix”.

]]> By: Obi's Sister http://melissablogs.com/2009/08/31/i-hate-fluorescent/comment-page-1/#comment-16414 Obi's Sister Tue, 01 Sep 2009 00:34:00 +0000 http://www.melissaclouthier.com/?p=14606#comment-16414 We've been stocking up for a while. One thing many people don't get about flourescents is they flicker when they weaken. Flickering lights are bad, especially in the home, when you have a child with <em>photo-sensitive epilepsy</em>. Government morons. We’ve been stocking up for a while. One thing many people don’t get about flourescents is they flicker when they weaken. Flickering lights are bad, especially in the home, when you have a child with photo-sensitive epilepsy.

Government morons.

]]> By: ClaudiaGo http://melissablogs.com/2009/08/31/i-hate-fluorescent/comment-page-1/#comment-16410 ClaudiaGo Mon, 31 Aug 2009 20:27:54 +0000 http://www.melissaclouthier.com/?p=14606#comment-16410 I am a Facilities manager and all I hear are complaints about the poor lighting from Flourescents...so employees bring in their own incandescent and halogen task lights so they can see what they are doing! So much for saving energy! Of course all those pols in the old capital buildings aren't required to "upgrade" to the standards that the rest of us have to comply with!!! I am a Facilities manager and all I hear are complaints about the poor lighting from Flourescents…so employees bring in their own incandescent and halogen task lights so they can see what they are doing! So much for saving energy! Of course all those pols in the old capital buildings aren’t required to “upgrade” to the standards that the rest of us have to comply with!!!

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