Can you believe it?!!! These are the very light bulbs I’ve been looking for for a really long time and I just happened across them. I could never figure out why I was having such a hard time finding them in any store whatsoever.
I just assumed everyone was out of stock and it was a huge coincidence. And these weren’t even on the shelf with all the rest of the light bulbs—they were off to themselves in the middle of the aisleway.
Well, I finally found out from various sources that the government is involved in making these particular light bulbs extinct like the dinosaurs. (Not that the government was involved in making dinosaurs extinct, too, but one never really knows.)
I had NO idea! And as much as I’m on the computer, you’d think I would have seen something flash across the Internet—but I never have. Who knew they were making it illegal to manufacture the 40-, 60-, 75-, and 100-watt incandescent light bulbs anymore?! Certainly not I.
Was it crazy of me to buy almost the entirety of the top two shelves of bulbs here? I mean, yeah, I now have about 50 packages of 4 in each package—but I figure they’ll last me my lifetime and I won’t have to worry about these so-called new bulbs. Plus I’m sure I’ll share with family who were looking for these very bulbs as well.
Now my lack of being able to find these is all starting to make sense. No wonder I haven’t been able to find this particular type anymore. So apparently my only choices in the future will be:
- compact fluorescent light bulbs (CFLs)
- LED (light-emitting diodes) light bulbs or
- halogen light bulbs
I understand the idea is to save energy, etc., etc., but if my home isn’t as bright as I’d like it to be because of these bulbs, I’ll end up with 10 lamps in every room—and is that really saving any more energy?!!
All three have their negatives and positives:
CFLs—take forever to brighten up a room and contain mercury. So if you accidentally break one, make sure not to inhale the mercury lest you severely damage the inside of your body. I’ve tried these bulbs before a long time ago and I absolutely hated them. And the one I tried was never as bright as the incandescents. But these supposedly last 9 years with normal use. Maybe the ones they make now are brighter. I don’t know, but who wants mercury around anyway?
LEDs—these are probably the closest in comparison to the extinct bulbs that I would get if, and when, I have no other choice. But these bad boys are going to cost anywhere from $10-$40 just for ONE light bulb!! That’s a far cry from $2.24 for a box of 4 incandescent light bulbs. Granted the LEDs are supposed to last approximately 25,000 hours or 23 years with normal use. Hard to believe, but I guess we can only test it out. I guess it’d be worth the price at that point.
Halogen—these are made with halogen gas under high pressure and burn hot. Why do I want something that burns even hotter than incandescents do? Won’t that start a fire of some sort?
I mean, why don’t we all just go back to the good ol’ days of lighting fires and carrying around oil lamps and candles?
Maybe I’m just being overly resistant to change or maybe I’m spot on in my thinking of wanting to keep my incandescents. But that’s neither here nor there. I finally found the one store that still has my old favorite and I know the aisle way they’re in.
I don’t want to cause a panic so I refuse to say exactly where. Plus, I probably need to hoard the bottom two shelves as well just in case I live to be 520 years old.
So, if you have nothing else to do today, locate your old standard incandescent light bulbs in the nearest store in your hometown. I’d suggest you hurry and locate these and buy them out. Once they deplete their stock they won’t be getting anymore.
Take-Away Life Lesson: Apparently you may need to rent a storage unit for situations such as these.
Good points. I never thought I’d need help in the light bulbs aisle! There are ever new things on the shelf.
I, too, was distressed at mercury bulbs becoming the #1 choice because of the mercury contaminants—how many of these are not safely disposed of and end up leaching into landfills and water?
Fortunately, LEDs, becoming more affordable and available in more varieties, will win the “bulbs race”.
Important for eye health: what do retina specialists say? Notice the bulb’s Kelvin ratings, written as “K”. The lower the better, meaning less blue light is emitted. Blue light is not good for the retina and contributes to macular degeneration. K 2700 (in the warmer spectrum) gives off light very similar to incandescent.
link: http://lowvision.preventblindness.org/daily-living-2/artificial-lighting-and-the-blue-light-hazard#problem
Interesting article. Thank you. I think the LEDs will probably win out, too—at least for me they will if I ever have to get any.
This drives me up a wall. Ugh. Normally I’m all for anything reasonable that saves energy and cuts down on heat produced, that sort of thing… but I hate those CFLs. They take forever to brighten up like you said…then I find they’re not bright enough to actually make the room like I want, but they’re painfully bright when you start looking closer in their direction. (I think I sound crazy. But we have one in our spare room, I hate it.) I think there are a few more options in “styles” like trying to mimic more natural light, so maybe I’ll give it a chance, but I’m definitely stocking up on old lightbulbs myself! Whatever. I’m not a crazy energy hog, so I think this can be my indulgence. Thanks for the info about the other types!
You’re welcome. Stock up while you can. They’ll all be gone before you know it. I think I have enough to last my lifetime.
I agreed with you about CFL. I do not like them much for the main reason about mercury when they shatter. The second reason is they just look not so great, IMO. Other than this, I like their energy efficiency and potential (emphasize potential) lasting (they do go bad sooner than expectation too).
Now the prices of LED bulbs have come down a lot, I will take them to replace the CFL when they break next. They are even more safer and a whole lot more efficient.
I think I’ll try the LED too when it comes down to it.
You have NO idea what I went through making the transition myself. I have a thing about bright lights, especially in the kitchen. Truth be told once I discovered “Daylight” dimmable CFL bulbs, I was in love! Havnt changed a bulb in my apt in a little over a year 🙂 It takes some getting used to. Luckily for me, I also have great natural lighting that comes in too.
So you love them now? I figured there would be people on both sides of the fence. Maybe I should give them another try. I may have just gotten the wrong type for what I like and just assumed they were all that way. But now I’m so fully loaded with the old bulbs it may be a while before I have to buy one anyway. 🙂
Ay, Mrs. Walker!
You live in 5th Ave. Why are you so worried about light bulbs?
😀
I started to wonder that myself, Hari! Born & bred on 5th Ave. 🙂
The previous owner of this house left a huge supply of incandescent bulbs. We changed out everything to the new ones years ago, so had no use for them. Had a hard time giving the old ones away!
Really! I know tons of people that want those old bulbs. So what’s your opinion of the swirly Q mercury light bulbs since you’ve been using them or are you using LED or halogen?
wow thanks for the heads up!
Yeah. Not everyone knows. I sure didn’t.
My husband and I loaded up on bulbs yesterday because we hate the colour of the light with the other bulbs and the mercury issue. We had one break in our basement after the kids were playing rough and had to evacuate before being able to clean up. It’s just crazy!
OMG! Now that’s just insane having to evacuate over a light bulb. That’s exactly why I loaded up on the incandescent bulbs—I hate the color of the other ones, the way they lighten, and the fact that they’re more dangerous. Just stock up enough of the other ones so you have some to last the rest of your life!