[aprssig] CFL Bulbs and Shack backup power ;-)

[Bob Bruninga]

> Tell you what, Bob -- I'll buy the first 
> CFL's, for every fixture in my house IF 
> you'll agree to replace all the ones that 
> die in less than a year.  ;-)

All this fuss over having to replace a failed $1 bulb that will save $48 in energy?  

I just counted 54 CFL bulbs in my house, I have had about 4 or 5 fail (usually in the first 2 seconds), and maybe 3 have been replaced over the 5 or so years.  Some are more than 10 years old in my kids rooms.

Let's see, these 50 bulbs are saving me probably $2400 in electricity, several tons of CO2, particulates, sulfur dioxide and other trace pollutants from breathing (I can see the coal plant 4 miles away out my window).  I think the extra $5 I spent on the bad bulbs and the effort to reach over and replace them is worth it.

> in our area the places that sell CFL bulbs 
> do not take the burned out bulbs back.

I take mine to work where there is a recycling committment.

Keith:
> Moving to CFLs was part of my overall plan ..[for]
> an affordable back up power system that can keep 
> the radios - including everything for APRS - running 
> during the outages from winter storms.

Amen.  After those initial fialures, I started writing the install date on the base of each bulb.  But none have burned out since!  Sheesh...

Bob, Wb4APR