On Mon, 12 Sep 2011 14:01:38 -0700 (PDT), RickH
wrote:

[snip]

The vast energy and large supply chain of parts that goes into a CFL
negates the savings. An incandescent has 5 parts. A CFL can have a
hundred parts each of which needs a deep global supply chain, mining,
and manufacturing of those complex electronic parts, not to mention
the toxic phosphors, gasses and mercury. An incandescent has no toxic
components and uses argon a harmless inert gas some glass, tungsten
wire, aluminum, solder and brass. This story is much like the ethanol
story, it takes more energy and pollutes more just to make the ethanol
(a low btu fuel that gets fewer mpg to boot). But a farm lobby that
keeps the boondoggle going in a few corn states.

This is a nice story, but not true. You don't even have to rely on
"experts" to tell you. You can figure it out all on your own.

Energy costs money, and the cost of energy used to make all products
is included in the price. It must be or the manufacturers of the
components and the final product would go broke.

If the energy used to make a CFL was more than the energy saved by
that CFL, then the cost of the CFL could not be so much lower than the
cost of the energy saved.

You may counter that the cost of energy to the manufacturer is lower
than the cost of energy to the homeowner. That is a fair comment.
However, even if you assume that the factories that make the
components for the CFL, and the CFL itself pay half the price per unit
of energy than the homeowner does, the cost of the energy saved by one
CFL far outweighs the retail price of the CFL.

I agree that the Ethanol situation is far different. That is why
Ethanol requires a subsidy to break even, while CFLs do not.

Vic Roberts
http://www.RobertsResearchInc.com
http://www.cflfacts.com
sci.engr.lighting Rogues Gallery http://www.langmuir.org
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