Re: Save the Light Bulb!
Came across this article in the WSJ, by a noted lighting designer, who rants on compact fluorescent lighting being foisted on the unsuspecting public by the big, bad, government. I simply MUST respond.
* The Wall Street Journal
* OPINION
* AUGUST 30, 2009, 7:19 P.M. ET
Save the Light Bulb!
Compact fluorescents don't produce good quality light.
By HOWARD M. BRANDSTON
"The Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 will effectively phase out incandescent light bulbs by 2012-2014 in favor of compact fluorescent lamps, or CFLs. Other countries around the world have passed similar legislation to ban most incandescents.
Will some energy be saved? Probably. The problem is this benefit will be more than offset by rampant dissatisfaction with lighting..."
I'm afraid Mr. Brandston is living in the past. A past where Edison lights cast a warm glow and the man of the house spent his evenings banking the coal furnace for a long winter's night.
One would think that a lighting designer who relit the Statue of Liberty would embrace new technology, especially when the world as we knew it is fast disappearing in a swirl of forest fires and hurricanes.
If everyone in the nation had been nudged into energy efficiency the way Californians have since the advent of Title 24 (California's energy code that has kept our energy usage at 1990 levels for decades), we would be well on our way to solving our energy conundrum, and less far down the road of global warming.
Fluorescent, and newly, LED lighting are revolutionizing the way residential spaces are lit. Designers who have embraced the technology and found creative new ways of lighting our homes and lives should not be intimidated by those who would take us back to the horse and buggy. Nor should those who still need to learn how to design with fluorescent lighting. We have blazed a path for you and the learning curve is not steep, nor the goal trivial.
Homeowners, don't fall for such drivel. You are the ones who are driving the expansion of demand for truly green homes with energy efficient lighting along with energy efficient appliances, solar, windows, HVAC, insulation, sealing, etc. Do not waver. The planet cannot wait any longer.
Peggy
Posts
LEDs are a fool's paradise for sustainability. To make LEDs requires a cleanroom environment, new factories, and tons upon tons of fresh water. Not to mention the disposal issues. Environmental disaster just for a wee bit of energy savings.
ReplyDeleteI posted your comment "Anonymous", but I do not agree. Take a look at this article on "White LEDs to plummet in price" at http://www.rsc.org/chemistryworld/News/2009/January/30010901.asp
ReplyDeleteLEDs are the lighting of the future!
Peggy
Hi Peggy -
ReplyDeleteLEDs probably will be the lighting of the future, whether I like it or not. But what concerns me the most, even more than the environmental angle, is this: LEDs do not burn out. They keep getting dimmer and dimmer and dimmer. As the median US population age increases (baby boomers), most of us will need more light to see well. This seems in direct conflict with LEDs lamp lumen depreciation. No manufacturer has any method to indicate when the lumen output has degraded to, say, 70%. Any reason why this issue is being ignored ?
Craig
AHAH! It's Craig is it?
ReplyDeleteThat was a telling clue, but I won't tell if you don't.
I agree that LED lamp depreciation is a problem that will need to be solved. But, after all, isn't that what progress is all about?
The first LED downlights I looked at, in an (unnamed) LED lighting manufacturer's showroom, were so dim that I, and my accompanying designers who toured, joked that candlelight would be brighter. Really!
That was about three years ago.
Since then we have viable products on the market that are surprisingly bright. I have one installed in my own kitchen (a CREE LR6), and it is far brighter than the other downlights in the room.
The CRI (color rendering index)is 92 on that fixture. Better than anything else but sunlight!
Am I worried that I may have to replace it years down the road when it dims to the point where I notice it? No.
I am confident that its replacement will be exponentially better by that time.
Peggy
I'm not worried about you Peggy, because you are aware of the lumen depreciation issue and will be looking for it. I'm worried about the whole group of boomers who won't know why they can't see anymore in 10 years but won't replace the lamp because it still works. I also wonder if many of them will be able to even afford a replacement.
ReplyDeleteI am a professional lighting designer so I also have seen a lot of LED product as well. I agree with you that the initial lighting quality and quantity is acceptable and will only get better with manufacturing improvements.
I am just advocating for the manufacturers to put some kind of failsafe, timer, lumen maintenance program - ANYTHING to alert the occupant that it is time for a replacement.
Craig Oty, IALD
Oops. I thought you were ANOTHER Craig. Mea Culpa.
ReplyDeleteAgreed. LED fixtures should "turn green" or something similarly alarming when they need to be replaced.
Good dialog. Thanks Craig.
Peggy
"especially when the world as we knew it is fast disappearing in a swirl of forest fires and hurricanes."
ReplyDeleteAnd you accuse critics of drivel.
Look, make arguments if you wish, but A) make sound ones, and B) for goodness sakes, you're preaching against incandescents when your job is to renovate kitchens! It would take thousands upon thousands of incandescents changed to CFLs to make up for ONE kitchen renovation. If you really thought it was that critical, you'd get another job.
Lighting design is an integral part of kitchen design, Anonymous; or it should be. It certainly is in my practice. That's why I take such an interest.
ReplyDeleteHere in California a kitchen renovation requires conformance with Title24 lighting guidelines.
That's why we Californians use less energy than 1990, while the rest of the country has continued to increase use.
Kitchens will still need to be renovated; even as we fight global warming with actions to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
Where better to start than in our homes and buildings? That's where individuals have some control and can make a difference.
Peggy