Are Fluorescent Light Bulbs In Thailand Safe Or Energy Efficient

[livinthailandos]

The reason i am asking this is because in the US I had changed some bulbs to Fluorescent Light bulbs, but here I'm wondering if its safe or effective here in thailand, I'm sure its probably expensive to but just curious as an answer to this. All your experiences in the issue would be welcome. Do any of you have any good recommended brands to choose here in thailand. look forward to all your answers

[Meridian007]

Are you afraid of fire hazard? Or that there won't be energy savings? Are you looking at residential or commercial? I'm not sure what hesitation is?

I think that for residential, the bulbs are just as safe as anything from home, the cheaper ones won't last as long (same as home), but I don't forsee them being anymore dangerous than the ones at home. The rated wattage should tell you what the expected electricity savings are, you can double check by doing a month to month comparison of your electric bill between the two types (but keep in mind that your usage of electricity will also be affected by other large appliances).

It's not that expensive, the Thai brand of residential bulbs is somewhere around 30 Baht at Tesco, and they work fine. They seem to last at least 2 years from my experience.

[givenall]

Are you afraid of fire hazard? Or that there won't be energy savings? Are you looking at residential or commercial? I'm not sure what hesitation is?

I think that for residential, the bulbs are just as safe as anything from home, the cheaper ones won't last as long (same as home), but I don't forsee them being anymore dangerous than the ones at home. The rated wattage should tell you what the expected electricity savings are, you can double check by doing a month to month comparison of your electric bill between the two types (but keep in mind that your usage of electricity will also be affected by other large appliances).

It's not that expensive, the Thai brand of residential bulbs is somewhere around 30 Baht at Tesco, and they work fine. They seem to last at least 2 years from my experience.

Personally I think they are hocks. First of all tey are safe, but not very cost effective

They are sold as energy saving device which they are but in long run they are very expensive for the consumers and also create toxic problem in the land fill when they are discarded

They are expected to last 7 years but since we turn them on and off often they last less than a year and if you calculate the cost of the bulb and the energy saving foe a year incandescent light by far more cost effective. They are cheaper to buy and last couple years easy

[Harcourt]

In considering light output, fluorescent lights are far more energy efficient than incandescent bulbs.

But....because fluorescents have a big spike in energy usage when first turned on, they are not a good idea for lights that are frequently turned on and off....say the toilet.

But for a light that stays on for a while.....say kitchen or lounge room, they are much better.

The tubes have an inside coating that contains mercury, which is not good as it causes brain damage and can even be deadly if consumed in relatively small quantities, and accumulates in the body to boot....so a consumer can get a damaging dose over time.

This may be negligable in landfills if you think about the random dispersion of waste fluorescent tubes in a landfill plus the relatively small amount of tubes in relation to all the other rubbish.

Personally, I think a combination of bulbs/tubes, depending on the application, is the best economically and environmentally.

[doggie888888]

What about compact fluorescent bulbs? They are supposed to be long lasting but so far, I am replacing them just about every 3-6 months or so! Might as well revert to incandescent bulbs.

[heykki]

I have found the energy saving fluorescent bulbs to be much longer lasting if you are lucky enough to find a good brand (not Chinese). LEDs would be much better if they offered them at a reasonable price in Thailand, something which I'm not aware of. For comparison, fluorescent bulb beats incandescent 15W to 60W in energy consumption. The thing about mercury is that the when producing extra amount of energy that an incandescent lamp uses, more mercury is released in the air than what a fluorescent bulb contains (less than 4 mg in quality lamps).

Edited November 26, 2009 by heykki

[heykki]

A simple calculation:

Energy saving lamp (12 W) lasts for 8000 hours during which time it consumes 96 kWh.

4 Baht/kWh makes it 384 Baht during it's lifetime.

Incandescent lamp (60 W) consumes 480 kWh during the same time, which makes it 1920 Bah.

One should also bear in mind that incandescent lamps warm up the room due to being less energy efficient (95 % heat, 5 % light), increasing the A/C energy consumption.

Edited November 26, 2009 by heykki

[klons]

I wouldn't know if they are energy efficient but I think they are quite safe. Yesterday I was out in the country visiting relatives. In the irrigation

canal that ran through the farmlands I noticed quite a few fluorescent bulbs (tube type) floating around in there along with the other garbage.

I'm sure they wouldn't throw them in there if there was some kind of poison to worry about, like mercury.

[TallForeigner]

The compact fluorescent bulbs are certainly much more energy efficient and in the long run save you a lot of money. Years ago I used to change incandescent light bulbs bought in Thailand every few months. That means that in my home at least one lightbulb failed every week. That was very annoying. 5 years ago I changed all my incandescent bulbs to compact fluorescent bulbs and I haven't had to exchange a single one since then.

[toptuan]

I wouldn't know if they are energy efficient but I think they are quite safe. Yesterday I was out in the country visiting relatives. In the irrigation

canal that ran through the farmlands I noticed quite a few fluorescent bulbs (tube type) floating around in there along with the other garbage.

I'm sure they wouldn't throw them in there if there was some kind of poison to worry about, like mercury.

Did you forget your "rolling eyes" or "whistling" emoticon?

[mahtin]

The American Dental Association (ADA) has asserted that dental amalgam is safe since its foundation in 1859.

So let the people bow and pray to the neon gods they made.

[doggie888888]

The compact fluorescent bulbs are certainly much more energy efficient and in the long run save you a lot of money. Years ago I used to change incandescent light bulbs bought in Thailand every few months. That means that in my home at least one lightbulb failed every week. That was very annoying. 5 years ago I changed all my incandescent bulbs to compact fluorescent bulbs and I haven't had to exchange a single one since then.

What brand of compact fluorescent bulbs do you use? The ones I am using seem to blow ever so often and they are meant to last hundreds of hours.

[londonthai]

a brand name, like philips, should last long.

problem with electricity in thailand, that at some times it can have low voltage and have power surges - compact bulbs life might be shortened because of that

[elkangorito]

When I first moved into my current accommodation, I replaced all the 40W incandescent lamps with CFL's (Panasonic EFU8E652V - 8W @ 6000 hours). In a light fitting that stays on for at least 8 hours every day, it lasted a year (it was on for a total of about 3000 hours).

In the last 12 months, the local energy authority has done some major upgrades to their system. Instead of getting 10 power outages a year, we are now unlucky if we get 3 power outages a year. This indicates to me that the electricity may also be a lot "cleaner". Also, the CFL in the lamp that stays on for at least 8 hours every day, has almost lasted 2 years.

Quality of supply & installation conditions (overheating) are very important...as well as price.

What's that old saying, "I'm too poor to buy a cheap product."

[h90]

Are you afraid of fire hazard? Or that there won't be energy savings? Are you looking at residential or commercial? I'm not sure what hesitation is?

I think that for residential, the bulbs are just as safe as anything from home, the cheaper ones won't last as long (same as home), but I don't forsee them being anymore dangerous than the ones at home. The rated wattage should tell you what the expected electricity savings are, you can double check by doing a month to month comparison of your electric bill between the two types (but keep in mind that your usage of electricity will also be affected by other large appliances).

It's not that expensive, the Thai brand of residential bulbs is somewhere around 30 Baht at Tesco, and they work fine. They seem to last at least 2 years from my experience.

Personally I think they are hocks. First of all tey are safe, but not very cost effective

They are sold as energy saving device which they are but in long run they are very expensive for the consumers and also create toxic problem in the land fill when they are discarded

They are expected to last 7 years but since we turn them on and off often they last less than a year and if you calculate the cost of the bulb and the energy saving foe a year incandescent light by far more cost effective. They are cheaper to buy and last couple years easy

Toxic is not a real issue that mercury is nothing one falling thermometer is more than all the bulbs you may use in your life, but are they cheap?

Well they are much cheaper in Thailand than in Europe as it seems.

Some seem to last forever. We have one of the first one when they came on the market and it is switched on switched of all the time for years if not decades. While the last two I bought maybe less than a year ago are already broken.

Don't know if it is the brand or luck.

I somehow don't like the light, but can't tell what is different.

I think if there is a light which is running all the night for nothing (we are in Thailand) than it is a good choice. But I think soon is the time for LEDs

[nisakiman]

I think they are bloody awful things.

The light is terrible, they aren't instant, they cost a lot to buy, they look horrible, they use far more energy to produce than incandescant bulbs, they contain toxic mercury (yes h90, I know it's not much, but when you multiply it by millions, then you start to talk hazardous), and worst of all, they are being foisted on us here in EU by the powers-that-be all in the name of bloody global warming....

[londonthai]

they come in many different shades of yellow and white, so you are more likely to find something you like. In some eu countries they are subsidied and can cost very little, some energy companies are sending them free to customers. Hazard with them is only, when many of them brake in a room, for example box full of them falls from the shelf in the shop and brakes - but it doesn't happen often. Whether you use them or not it's your personal choice.

[doggie888888]

I think they are bloody awful things.

The light is terrible, they aren't instant, they cost a lot to buy, they look horrible, they use far more energy to produce than incandescant bulbs, they contain toxic mercury (yes h90, I know it's not much, but when you multiply it by millions, then you start to talk hazardous), and worst of all, they are being foisted on us here in EU by the powers-that-be all in the name of bloody global warming....

Here's an update because I too hated the fluoro light. But nowadays, it comes in compact bulbs and even some look like normal incandescent bulbs. There is no more more delay or flickering when you switch them on and best of all it comes in Warm White which gives out a light more like incandescent, not the awful white I used to associate with fluoros.

[Gary A]

Suit yourselves, but I have replaced every incandescent bulb in the house. That was five years ago and not one fluorescent light has yet failed. There were a number of 100 watt bulbs and all the bulbs were replaced with mostly 14 watt fluorescent. The light suits me just fine.

[sceadugenga]

I use them through out the house. Last about 3-4 years, not sure about energy efficiency though.

If I could get the women folk to turn off the dang rice cooker and water jug occasionally it would be a better move in that direction.