The Lemon Fool

The Yanks have been incredibly wasteful with energy for many many decades and it will take a lot to change that attitude. I recall staying in a luxury skiing chalet in Beaver Creek years ago (as guest of a friend). It had a separate central heating system for the drive to make sure there was never any ice on it! It was owned by a Canadian banker who used to fly down to it in his private jet from Toronto.

Al ‘Inconvenient Truth’ Gore used 231,000 kw a year in just one of homes!

https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/al-g ... can-report

What we use in the UK is going to make b** all difference to whether the world survives global warming but I suppose we should at least try, given that we invented the industrial revolution.

swill453 wrote:

XFool wrote:Question there is: Is the higher initial cost of efficient bulbs offset over their lifetime in saved electricity costs due to that efficiency?

Cost to you, or cost to the planet?

Scott.

Cost to the consumer. 'Money talks'.
Although, as ever, even if they cost less over the long term, a high upfront cost could still deter those on low incomes.

XFool wrote:

swill453 wrote:

XFool wrote:Question there is: Is the higher initial cost of efficient bulbs offset over their lifetime in saved electricity costs due to that efficiency?

Cost to you, or cost to the planet?

Scott.

Cost to the consumer. 'Money talks'.
Although, as ever, even if they cost less over the long term, a high upfront cost could still deter those on low incomes.

Isn't this mental arithmetic?

I bought a led globe from Ikea yesterday for 3AUD.

It's a 15watt consumption giving equivalent light to a 100watt bulb.

So about an 6th of the running costs (100/15)
Present cost per unit from my supplier is 31.46c
So operating time to save cost of bulb based on efficiency is around 100hrs which would be the break point if I were given a 100w incandescent for free (they're illegal though)

Even at two or three times that price for the globe you'll be saving money on a regularly used bulb in a month or so (and they run for a typical 10000 ish hours)

Plenty of folk whinged about the switch over (and yes the CF bulbs and "efficient" halogens are pretty poor) but I think it has become an absolute no brainier given how good and cheap LED lights are now - especially when you add in the benefits beyond the financial

- sd