[ChumpusRex]

[q]Dave, have you measured the power use of the bulb in a fixture without a dimmer? I'm curious if the dimmer uses any power at full brightness. I'd check myself, but we don't have any lights with dimmers in our place.[/q]

In general, the bulb on its own will use more than the bulb and dimmer.

The dimmer will obtain its power by taking some of the power that would have gone to the bulb - and because of the way the dimmer is connected, any power diverted away from the bulb will also mean less power taken in total.

Maximum power on a dimmer is actually about 98-99% of an undimmed light bulb.

[PrairieMule]

I replaced 10 60w bulbs with 14w compact flourecent last Oct. My November bill showed a 10% overall drop of 84 KW used and a $12 monthly savings! This helped offset the 25% rate hike TXU passed on to it's consumers. F@#* You TXU Electric! F@#* You very much!!!

[Frank]

There are different manufacturers and quality levels of CF bulbs. We've replaced every bulb in our house with nothing but positive effects. There is less heat generated, electricity consumption dropped dramatically, they don't burn out all the time (I've had two burn out in a 2 year period and we probably have 50 in the house all together.) I've never noticed any issues with "flickering" or the like. It sometimes takes a few seconds for them to reach full brightness but it's no big deal. I switched the house over the course of about a year (as incandescents burned out they got switched).

Every person who takes energy consumption seriously should switch over. It's really a no-brainer.

Gego: why do you think they are dangerous? I missed that point.

[untothislast]

The strand of insanity running through the current dash for energy security, is that governments seem obsessive about replacing the present inputs - without ever giving much thought to how energy is presently used or wasted. The idiocy of privatisation obviously feeds into the problem; governments love companies and businesses - and they in turn need consumers to ramp up consumption to keep the profits rolling in.

Here's a UK regional council, taking a first small step towards weaning the public off the energy teat:

'Street lighting is to be switched off at midnight by a council aiming to cut energy bills and reduce carbon emissions. Essex County Council, one of the UK's biggest councils, hopes to reduce energy consumption by a third through the scheme, which begins in the autumn . . .'

http://news.independent.co.uk/environme ... 178563.ece

[americandream]

Wow.......and I thought you Poms had all the answers!!!

[newhunter-gatherer]

If the council are so concerned with reducing carbon emissions, why arent our buses running on veggie oil?

[EnergyUnlimited]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('untothislast', '
')Here's a UK regional council, taking a first small step towards weaning the public off the energy teat:

'Street lighting is to be switched off at midnight by a council aiming to cut energy bills and reduce carbon emissions. Essex County Council, one of the UK's biggest councils, hopes to reduce energy consumption by a third through the scheme, which begins in the autumn . . .'

http://news.independent.co.uk/environme ... 178563.ece

[BrownDog]

This reminds me of a thought I have from time to time. I sometimes wonder how much "fear of the dark" affects both our unwillingness to cut back consumption, but also our unwillingness to address peak oil in general.

[FishAreBest]

Street lighting actually makes things worse. Without it, your eyes adapt to the dark. With it, your night-vision is ruined, dark shadows are created, and as soon as you leave an illuminated area, you are blind.

Ban all street lighting.

[EnergyUnlimited]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('BrownDog', 'T')his reminds me of a thought I have from time to time. I sometimes wonder how much "fear of the dark" affects both our unwillingness to cut back consumption, but also our unwillingness to address peak oil in general.

[BrownDog]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('EnergyUnlimited', 'R')esigning from electricity (lights) is NOT a solution to PO, it is only a failure to find and apply one.

[smallpoxgirl]

Seems to me like a prime example of the hubris that has caused this problem to think that the solution to crime is to eliminate night time. I personally think street lights should be illegal. I love living someplace where I can see the stars and not be blinded by a million mercury vapor eye-sores.

[rogerhb]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('smallpoxgirl', 'I') personally think street lights should be illegal.

[EnergyUnlimited]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('smallpoxgirl', 'S')eems to me like a prime example of the hubris that has caused this problem to think that the solution to crime is to eliminate night time. I personally think street lights should be illegal.

[untothislast]

At the present time, this initiative is still in the realm of eco-friendly cost cutting, and isn't mandatory. However, given the very real and imminent energy crisis facing the UK (huge urban populations/declining oil, gas and nuclear provision), it's only a matter of time before such measures are applied universally.

The only way any government would be able to control both civil unrest, and the wind-down in such basic community services as street lighting, would be by the imposition of martial law and after-dark curfews. So, chances are we won't be troubled by the absence of street lighting, because - until dawn breaks - we'll probably all be safely confined in our own homes.

[mrobert]

Why not try and use those nice garden lights, that have a solar panel on top to charge the batteries, and make light at night?
This would work for public lighting, and it would be very eco-friendly ... offcourse, adapted for larger light bulbs.

I saw some at ~ $12 / piece.

[Troyboy1208]

"Why not try and use those nice garden lights, that have a solar panel on top to charge the batteries, and make light at night?
This would work for public lighting, and it would be very eco-friendly ... offcourse, adapted for larger light bulbs.

I saw some at ~ $12 / piece."

Here where i live in florida there are streetlights that are not near powerlines where they have a solar panel stuck on the top of the pole. Ive driven by that streetlight at 2 in the morning and it is still on.

[mrobert]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Troyboy1208', 'H')ere where i live in florida there are streetlights that are not near powerlines where they have a solar panel stuck on the top of the pole. Ive driven by that streetlight at 2 in the morning and it is still on.

[traz]

I don't have a problem with street lighting... it's the excessive use of lighting by private businesses at night that gets my goat. I know it's meant to be some sort of theft deterrent, but I'm sure if they switched off half the lights they used they'd still get the same deterrent effects.