We all know about the audio db restrictions the EU has placed on mp3 players that has caused confusion, frustration and so much annoyance with owners. There are people who come here almost daily seeking help/advice with this infringment upon their personal listening choices.
I just read they’ve now banned light bulbs with power rating of over 60 watts! Do they want peple who live there to all go blind by trying to read or work with inadequate light in the name of energy conservation?
We all know about the audio db restrictions the EU has placed on mp3 players that has caused confusion, frustration and so much annoyance with owners. There are people who come here almost daily seeking help/advice with this infringment upon their personal listening choices.
I just read they’ve now banned light bulbs with power rating of over 60 watts! Do they want peple who live there to all go blind by trying to read or work with inadequate light in the name of energy conservation?
Where’s it going to end?
The 60-watt replacement curlybulbs only use 13 watts, so you could use 4 of them for each of the old ones you could no longer use…plenty of light!
I guess the radio transmission towers are going to do dark. This bulb (I used to have one laying around, it’s a big monster!) is 620 Watts.
It’s hard to tell by the photo, but the globe is about a foot long. I salvaged one that was dropped from the top of the tower, landing in the bushes. Climbing the number one tower (50kW AM, one of four for a Marconi antenna installation) to install a potentially damaged bulb made little sense. Good thing there were two in the tool bag. Great view up there.
To get power up to the tower, one needs a special isolation transformer. In addition to being safer when changing the bulb up there, the power has to be isolated when the transmitter is live. Check out the huge toroids, about 18 inches.
I wouldn’t dare install a wee twisty bulb up there, as often as those things fail! Naturally, there will always be applications where the old school illumination is necessary. Electricity is expensive; the free market should be the primary driving force for improvement, rather than “feel good” legislation. Most of these “legislators” are familiar to us from school days, aren’t they? Remember the ones who always asked if they could copy your homework, and looked over your shoulder during exams. I rest my case.
An LED based flood light costs about $175, has a huge heatsink, and provides about 600 lumens. Getting better, but there are some real problems. Heat destroys LEDs faster then a tungsten filament, and powerful LED arrays dissipate plenty of energy as heat (though it can be less than thermal loss from a conventional filament). If they’re going to last, that heat has to be dissipated.
So, case in point, gentle listeners: how many flickering LED traffic lights have you seen recently? The culprit is poor heat dissipation in those sealed assemblies.
I have some cutting-edge lighting on my bicycle, high output LED, that I’ve been experimenting with. If I am not rolling along, I think I could light a cigarette with the lamp housing. On cold mornings, it’s a wonderful hand warmer. Weight is the name of the game, as well as bulk. I think I’ll make a housing that uses the handlebar as a secondary heat sink, it would look cool and retro…
p.s. Sunlite is due some credit. These chaps have some wonderful things for the propellerhead-based cyclist. (They haven’t really delved into this application.) I have had several motorists pull over to see what the hell that atomic fireball on my handlebar looks like. I dropped using Xenarc lamps, as weight, size, and most importantly, run time is superior.
