CFL Rant
- Thread starter vulcancowboy
- Start date
- Views: 12797
JSanders10
Silver Member
Arghhhh, this thread is right on topic with me.
I am in the midst of restoring an old farm house, and currently buying some lighting fixtures, ceiling fans, etc., and yesterday was at the local Marvin's hardware. I stood there looking at the bulbs like they were aliens.
They ARE alien to me, I had to call for help over to ask where to find what I needed and what for this fixture, what for that one.
Gahhhh... so complicated now.
I am in the midst of restoring an old farm house, and currently buying some lighting fixtures, ceiling fans, etc., and yesterday was at the local Marvin's hardware. I stood there looking at the bulbs like they were aliens.
They ARE alien to me, I had to call for help over to ask where to find what I needed and what for this fixture, what for that one.
Gahhhh... so complicated now.
dave1949
Super Star Member
And when lots of high efficiency bulbs get used to save power, the power company wants to raise rates to make up the difference in income.
Bruce
Not only for higher efficiency, solar power has them worried too. Their revenue stream/strategy is getting out-dated.
MikePA
Super Moderator
The Institute for Energy Research reports solar represent 0.3% of all energy produced in the US. Why would that worry any power company?
dave1949
Super Star Member
Because it is growing rapidly in residential use. Grid-tied systems can cut your monthly net use to zero or even negative kWh but in the same month you can draw heavy loads overnight, AC for hot days, etc.
If you are billed on net use, but the utility still needs to meet your peak demands, that isn't what most utility billing strategies are set up for. They are already shifting toward higher monthly service/connection fees versus usage.
MikePA
Super Moderator
'Growing fast' is spin, e.g., from 2011 to 2013 solar energy as a percentage of total US energy produced tripled. Fast growth. Yes. Important? It went from 0.1% to 0.3%.
PILOON
Super Star Member
My main gripe is that they always have '40 watt equivalent' and we mainly use 100 watt incandescent.lighting.
dave1949
Super Star Member
Spin? Nobody is spinning anything. After natural gas, solar is the fastest growing energy source in the US. As of Feb. 2014 the total installed solar capacity in the US is around 12 gigawatts. That's up from 2.3 gigawatts in 2010. There is still a ton of potential residential market to penetrate in addition to some utility-scale projects.
As far as the impact on utilities, you don't seem to understand the grid-tied dynamic at work: meet peak demands with lower revenue. Every solar kilowatt is dinging them.
How would anyone know how much my solar system produces? The utility doesn't know my total usage, they only know how much I took from and sent into the grid. Only I know how much the panels produced; that can only be read on the inverter display in my garage. There could be estimates based on installed capacity but I doubt there are very accurate totals of power actually produced for many thousands of residential grid-tied systems.
MikePA
Super Moderator
Solar produces 0.3% of all electricity consumed in the US. FACT
This percentage tripled in 2 years. FACT.
It's growth from a minuscule number to a slightly less minuscule number.. FACT.
Calling that fast growth is true but deceptive, i.e., spin.
When facts get in the way, hurl an insult.
Here's the link, Click Here. Argue with and insult them. Perhaps they don't understand 'grid-tied dynamics' either.
/exit.
LD1
Epic Contributor
They make nice 60w and 75w equivalent bulbs. Where are you using 100w bulbs at? Most of the fixtures in my house are multi-bulb, like 3 and 5 bulb fans. I wouldnt want that many 100w bulbs in the same room.