Comments on: Are ESLs A Mercury-Free Replacement for CFL Lights?

By: MidiMagic

MidiMagic — Sat, 05 Oct 2013 04:56:11 +0000

There are several errors in the article:

1. There is no mercury in a CRT TV tube.

2. The main emitter of X-rays in TVs was the high voltage rectifier tube, not the CRT. Only color CRTs emitted X-rays, and they were weak. Te fix for most TV sets was to replace the high voltage rectifier tube with one designed toi block X-rays with metal.

3. There is no europium in LCDs or LEDs. There is just a red filter on some pixels. Only CRTs and some fluorescent lights contain europium.

4. Not all krypton is radioactive. Only that produced by nuclear fission is radioactive. The starters contained radioactive krypton to make them more uniform. There is less radioactivity in the krypton than in the americium in smoke alarms. And most fluorescent starters used neon instead of krypton.

5. Europium is not the only red phosphor. The other red phosphors were just too orange to use for color TV. So the light bulb does not need europium.

6. There is not nearly destructiveness of the vacuum in the bulb as there is in a much larger TV tube. The amount of force depends on the size of the tube. So the ESL bulb should not have any more vacuum than a normal light bulb.

7. Phosphors can be externally stimulated, making the bulb last forever.

8. The ESL seems to have dropped out of availability. I have been trying to obtain one for three years.

By: clinical studies montreal

clinical studies montreal — Wed, 18 Jul 2012 10:24:55 +0000

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By: Brian Nitz

Brian Nitz — Wed, 14 Mar 2012 01:26:58 +0000

crjc & Jap8283: Incandescents are actually from the 19th century. The carbon thread incandescent was patented by two Canadians in 1874. If you count the even less efficient shorter lived carbon-arc lights that pre-dated Edison’s success and utility infrastructure, they’re early 19th century inventions (1806). 138 years is a pretty good run for any technology. But the improvement in LEDs over the past decade beats the improvements in incandescents over those 138 years.

The light bulb and the automobile also faced quite a bit of resistance when they were introduced. People don’t like change and probably would have stayed with the oil lamp forever if they weren’t running out of oil. Edison’s bulbs came about because they were more convenient, safer and their 5% efficiency was better than what an oil lamp could deliver.

By: Brian Nitz

Brian Nitz — Wed, 14 Mar 2012 01:02:25 +0000

Tony P, the deposit & rebuild/refurb model makes a lot of sense. But if the company doesn’t do it, maybe you should. Somebody can make money on these things, especially with China’s export tariffs on rare-earths.

By: Jab8283

Jab8283 — Wed, 14 Mar 2012 00:12:54 +0000

Oh crjc you completely missed the bus. The incandescent
light bulb is old outdated expensive technology from early
20th century. If you are a multi-millionaire there is no
problem, but for the other 90% of the world who live on a
budget the old habits must go. These new bulbs consume up to
80% less energy than the old bulbs. If you run 10 lights at
once at 100-watts each you can pay for 1000-watts versus
220-watts per kilowatt hr. If you can afford to pay hundreds
of dollars per month on your electric bill then Merry Christmas
to you but for the rest of us, a $25.00 monthly light bill
is the better choice.

By: crjc

crjc — Tue, 13 Mar 2012 18:33:21 +0000

I’ll stick with my incandescants, thanks. They aren’t banned here in Canada yet, and look like they may never be, since all the new bulb types are made elsewhere. The 95% heat output is quite welcome for 8 out of 12 months, and for the other 4 the sun shines for longer than I’ll be awake.

By: Tony P

Tony P — Mon, 12 Mar 2012 23:08:31 +0000

Well, you could build in a solid recycling program for the Europium. Make it so a small fee is applied, and recycling is EASY. Perhaps return it to place of purchase and get 10% off your next bulb or something to that effect. That way the Europium is in a closed cycle.

Granted, some people will just toss them into the trash. So that means trash sorting needs to be cognizant of these ESL bulbs, pull them out and sent them to centralized recycling facilities.

By: Brian Nitz

Brian Nitz — Mon, 12 Mar 2012 22:10:56 +0000

Rosie, nice description. I imagine they start up more like a candle or an old oil lamp. Cozy indeed!

By: Cliff

Cliff — Mon, 12 Mar 2012 22:07:40 +0000

They will not separate the electronics from the bulb because that way they can build a finite lifetime into the electronics and force us to buy a whole new bulb when the electronics burns out.

I have been buying LED bulbs. Despite the fact that the LED element will last essentially forever, I have found that the electronics do not, so the bulb essentially lasts no longer than an incandescent. What a waste. What a scam. I am sure it is deliberate.

By: Brian Nitz

Brian Nitz — Mon, 12 Mar 2012 21:58:12 +0000

Peggy, thanks for the information! I’m really looking forward to being able to personally review the EMEA version of these bulbs. The optical properties, color spectrum and versatility of Edison bulbs have been difficult to duplicate.

Yan, you have me on that one. Thanks for the correction! Now I must admit that I’m not old enough to have seen it.