Light bulb insanity

[Steve Rozmiarek]

I just got notice of my power company's upcoming rate hike. It'll be 10% this year. This coincides with the outlawing of incandescent bulbs at the first of the year. Now I get the pleasure of not only having to pay a lot more for bulbs, but any savings that the new bulbs create is offset by another rate hike. I'm sure all parties meant well, but....

Yes, I'm venting.

[John McClanahan]

I think the incandescent light bulb mandate has been either delayed or repealed.

John

[Mark Engel]

Prices are starting to come down on LED and CFL bulbs. Put in LEDs and you may not have to replace them for a looooong time.

I picked up some 40 watt equivalent LED bulbs that only use 3 watts. Makes a big difference in a 9 bulb light fixture.

[Pat Barry]

I don't think the light bulb police are going to come to your house and arrest you for using incandescents (just yet anyway)

[Rich Engelhardt]

Pfft!

I'm still fighting a skirmish w/my Kohler water waster - five-flush-special...

The bulb police would be a welcome diversion.

[David Weaver]

I just got notice of my power company's upcoming rate hike. It'll be 10% this year. This coincides with the outlawing of incandescent bulbs at the first of the year. Now I get the pleasure of not only having to pay a lot more for bulbs, but any savings that the new bulbs create is offset by another rate hike. I'm sure all parties meant well, but....

Yes, I'm venting.

This is similar to the water and sewer bills here. People have been (by law) decreasing their water use with more efficient appliances and toilets, etc, but that has put the sanitary authority and the water company in a pinch because it appears the maintenance of the system is the big factor in the cost. So, with reduced consumption comes higher rates (there's no assitance for people who have clogs due to the reduced consumption not being enough to flush their older lines, of course).

In the end, the net effect is that the water bill is still higher. They'll get it out of you one way or another.

[Bryan Rocker]

I have been trying CFLs and LEDs for some time. While CFLs are much cheaper because they are usually subsidized by somebody I have found them to last no longer and sometimes much shorter than my incandescent bulbs. I have decided that I am abandoning CFLs, they are hazardous which has happened and I much prefer LEDs.......

[Dan Hintz]

I don't think the light bulb police are going to come to your house and arrest you for using incandescents (just yet anyway)

The law is for manufacturing, not use... I believe the end of 2013 is the end of 75W+ bulbs. End of 2014 is the end of 60W+...

[Bruce Wrenn]

Here in drought about five years ago, water utilities BEGGED everybody to conserve water. Many upgraded to low flush toilets amongst other things. Fast forward, utilities are going to raise rates because we are now using less water as per their request. I expect during next drought, or crisis they will be told to go to HE77, if they ask us to cut back on usage. In the last year, we have replaced both of our refrigerators with energy star models. Bill went UP! Next door, I have had well pump on separate meter for years. Last month used $1.53 worth of electricity, but after junk fees and sales taxes on junk fees, bill came to almost $27.00. That what, about a 2000% mark up.

[Alan Sweet]

The DOJ will not be using armed agents to arrest, detain or neutralize users of incandescent lights until the end of 2014. They will work with the IRS however to identify and register all user of incandescent lights at the beginning of 2014.

[Mike Henderson]

Southern California has been pushing people to use less water for years. Low use toilets are pretty standard here and they seem to work well. One powerful tool that almost all of the water and electric companies use is to make the product more expensive the more you use (tired rates. Low tier is cheap per unit, last tier is very expensive per unit). So there's a strong financial incentive to use less water and electricity.

My house is pretty much all CFL (compact florescent) and it makes a big difference in my electricity usage. I have a lot of ceiling cans and when they are on, they'd draw a lot of power if they were all incandescent (and they'd produce a lot of heat).

We all need to use less of the earth's resources. Southern California especially needs to use less water because one day the water we're getting from the Owens Valley and Northern California is going to be cut off. And we're doing pretty well. We're taking less "foreign" water even though the population has grown.

Mike

[If you really want to cut your electricity bill, install solar. My annual electricity bill is zero or negative, but even if you cut your draw from the electric company in half, you will generally save a lot of money because of the higher cost of electricity for greater usage (if you have tiered rates in your location).]

[Mike Henderson]

Pfft!

I'm still fighting a skirmish w/my Kohler water waster - five-flush-special...

The bulb police would be a welcome diversion.

Get a Toto low flush toilet. Works very well.

Mike

[Leo Graywacz]

Almost sounds like the mandated MPG rules for cars. The constantly tell us that we need to save gas, conserve, buy a fuel efficient car. What happens? We use less fuel, but the oil companies expect to make a certain amount of money per yer, no matter what. They boost prices. And another effect is because we use less fuel there are less taxes paid and the road maintenance that comes from these taxes are depleted.

I have noticed that anytime they tell you to save something by reducing use, the price of that something will go up.


I replaced all my bulbs in my house with CFL's and then the power company boosted their rates. Net zero. Well, negative because I had to buy the bulbs.

[Brian Elfert]

Power companies in many states are in the unique position of getting a guaranteed return on equity. Rather than cut costs when demand drops like most companies have to do they just apply to the state to raise rates because they aren't making enough money.

Government laws that require power companies to close coal powered electric plants and replace them with wind and solar is also causing rates to go up. Coal is generally the cheapest way to produce power.

[Mike Henderson]

Government laws that require power companies to close coal powered electric plants and replace them with wind and solar is also causing rates to go up. Coal is generally the cheapest way to produce power.

Actually, the conversion is from coal to natural gas most of the time. It's pretty impossible to replace a standard fossil fuel power generating station with wind and solar.

Also, coal may be the cheapest way to produce power but it has a lot of external issues, one of which is that it produces the most greenhouse gas. And unless the plant is equipped with the latest and greatest scrubbers, it also puts out a lot of sulfur that comes back to earth as acid rain.

Mike