This week, the Federal Environment Minister, Malcolm Turnbull, announced that the government would be phasing out the use of incandescent light bulbs in favour of compact fluorescent bulbs. Read more here (minister's media release .pdf) and here. This is a world first, apparently.
And I'm fine with that, but with a house containing a bunch of dimmer switches, I hope compact fluorescent bulbs suitable for dimmers (most aren't) can be found in the shops - I like dimmers and the lighting choices they offer! Likewise, I gather that movement-activated lights don't like compact fluorescents much either - they have a more limited life in this form of use.
So while it's undoubtedly a positive move (a compact fluorescent uses 1/5th of the electricity), it would have been good if issues such as these had been visibly considered ahead of time. In an interview I heard with the minister on the day, it didn't seem as if they had. For safety reasons alone, it's important - the wrong compact fluoro bulb in a dimmer-switched socket can cause a fire.
A few days later, there is a government FAQ site about some of these issues, here.
2 comments:
A friend of mine calls dimmers - instant housekeepers. He reckons that dimming the lights hides any dust!
I wondered about all that too. And then there's the comfort factor - I find fluoro light physically uncomfortable. Not the epilepsy thing, just yucky (for want of a more articulate explanation). I will be sad to see friendly incandescents go. My personal preference is for halogen and I really hope they don't can those. All us night time stitchers will go blind.
Post a Comment