[ale] OT: Disposal of standard fluorescent lamps?

[Jeff Gehlbach]

Sorry to zombify this OT thread, but someone might benefit and I didn't
see it mentioned previously...

On 03/28/2011 03:53 PM, Greg Freemyer wrote:

> My mine desire is to be able to have incandescent lights in places I
> use a dimmer.

After having been nearly 100% CFL for several years, I recently had to
eliminate CFLs from our house for medical reasons (60Hz flicker can
trigger vertigo and migraines in a family member).  My inner tree-hugger
was bummed about the situation but our compromise solution conveniently
factored out the mercury, so he's off skipping through a field right now
feeling the wind in his beard.

Most halogen lamps (bulbs) are unaffected by the current and pending
efficiency legislation in the U.S.  "Most" means those that are on
average >= 28% more efficient compared to a tungsten-filament
incandescent with the same lumen rating.  These lamps are becoming
widely available in base and shape configurations that my grandparents
would have recognized as only slightly odd.  They're instant-on, work
just fine with dimmers, and don't suffer the color-temperature problems
that tend to plague CFLs and LED lamps.  I'm finding that they're priced
at or slightly below comparably luminous CFLs.  Lowe's has a decent
selection, and I believe IKEA may too, though I haven't made a trip
there since they declared end-of-life on their incandescent stuff.

-jeff