British homes swamped by 200 million unwanted eco-lightbulbs

[Aurora]

Daily Mail - 04/01/10

Energy companies have swamped British homes with 200million eco-lightbulbs over the past 20 months, despite warnings from experts that many go unused.

One supplier sent out an astonishing 12million unsolicited bulbs over Christmas alone, clogging up the postal service at the busiest time of the year.

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That bloody paper again!

[RenewableCandy]

It was NPower and they actually are a bunch of pillocks (at least, since after North Hoyle, which was actually quite cool). They once put a "safety" notice on the door of a past Chateau Renewable which told all and sundry the place was empty ("Dear Mr Squatter...") and in a separate incident tried to extort £9,000 out of a mate of mine who was too busy dying of cancer to put up a fight.

I hope they rot.

[emordnilap]

We took to 'energy-saving' bulbs when they first started becoming common (ooh, late eighties, was it? or was it later than that?) and one of the first I bought is still in use!

But a consequence of this is that several bulbs are in storage (about a dozen last time I looked) because they proved unsuitable for their proposed location - usually to big to fit or insufficient light output. I'd never return to the shop and try to exchange them! They do eventually get used somewhere as needs and situations change and I've sometimes provided friends with them from my 'stock' if it happens to suit their needs.

In the past, if an incandescent bulb 'went', we usually just went out and bought a replacement and rarely would we have one actually to hand.

Nowadays, I don't consider it a bad thing for anyone to have a stock of bulbs in the house, so long as that person has the sense to check them for suitability before buying any more.

adam2 would undoubtedly have an answer to this: is there a 'shelf life' on low-energy bulbs? Please say there isn't.

[JohnB]

Well I could do with some, so if anyone wants to share their surplus I'd be happy to receive them. But not all 200 million

[contadino]

They can send some over here. They're €7 each, and that's if you can find somewhere that sells them. And even if you find a shop that sells them, they're about 30cm, 30-40 watt, and enough lumens to light a stadium.

And I don't think we've had a single one that lasted more than 12 months, so poor is the quality of rural electricity.

[adam2]

adam2 would undoubtedly have an answer to this: is there a 'shelf life' on low-energy bulbs? Please say there isn't.

Yes, I believe that there is a shelf life, though it should be at least 5 years and more likely 10 or 15.
The glass discharge tube and the contents should last almost indefinatly, but the electronic ballast contains electrolytic capacitors that are apt to fail if stored to long.
The older types of CFL used a copper/iron ballast and should keep indefinatly, but these are heavy, bulky, liable to flicker, and slightly less eficient than modern ones.

I would expect the better makes to keep better.
I have some very cheap 5 watt CFL candle bulbs that have been stored for nearly 10 years, and they have been unreliable.
I dont know though if they were any good in the first place.

[nnnnnn]

Does it affect the shelf life if you were to power them up every so often. Would be a pita to do though!

[adam2]

Does it affect the shelf life if you were to power them up every so often. Would be a pita to do though!

Whilst frequent on/off cycling will shorten the life of most types of CFL, to power up spares once or twice a year might be desirable.
Though perhaps not worth the trouble.
Unused mains voltage capacitors deteriate if unused for many years, this is problem for those who restore old electronic goods, and may yet be a problem for CFLs.