According to a number of sources, Australia has indicated that they will ban incandescent light bulbs in three years in an effort to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, becoming the first country to do away with this technology. They will mandate use of Compact Fluorescents. California has also been exploring this change. Supposedly, Australia will still permit halogen bulbs and a few other applications.
This whole movement bothers me, for there are so many applications where compact florescents just will not work. I just can’t see how compact florescents will work in dimmer switches, or situations where unfrosted bulbs are required. They can’t work in high-heat applications (ovens), and possibily refrigerators. Due to their ballasts, they can’t work in quick-on-off situations, such as blinking theatre marques. The ballasts also prevent their use in certain small bulb applications, such as candelabra bulbs. I don’t see how compact florescents can be used for simulated flames. They also don’t give out the right color light in all situations. There are also environmental concerns with their disposal, as the interior coating contains mercury.
Update: Apparently, there are dimmable compact florescent bulbs, but they still have some problems. But they can’t be used in a recessed fixture, and some have trouble with timers. Specific CF bulbs are also required for cold applications or DC applications.
Thus, I see lots of problems with this legislative direction. As a homeowner, it concerns me. What am I going to do with all my dimmer switch applications? Ceiling fans with built-in dimmer switches? Perhaps I can afford to replace some of them. Many can’t.
I think someone needs to think this out thoroughly. Perhaps someone will have a better idea.
