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from the light-bulbs-may-die-but-dark-bulbs-are-forever dept.
Markus Krajewski reports that today, with many countries phasing out incandescent lighting in favor of more-efficient and pricier LEDs, it’s worth revisiting the history of the Phoebus cartel—not simply as a quirky anecdote from the annals of technology but as a cautionary tale about the strange and unexpected pitfalls that can arise when a new technology vanquishes an old one. Prior to the Phoebus cartel’s formation in 1924, household light bulbs typically burned for a total of 1,500 to 2,500 hours; cartel members agreed to shorten that life span to a standard 1,000 hours. Each factory regularly sent light bulb samples to the cartel’s central laboratory in Switzerland for verification. If any factory submitted bulbs lasting longer or shorter than the regulated life span for its type, the factory was obliged to pay a fine.
Though long gone, the Phoebus cartel still casts a shadow today because it reduced competition in the light bulb industry for almost twenty years, and has been accused of preventing technological advances that would have produced longer-lasting light bulbs. Will history repeat itself as the lighting industry is now going through its most tumultuous period of technological change since the invention of the incandescent bulb. "Consumers are expected to pay more money for bulbs that are up to 10 times as efficient and that are touted to last a fantastically long time—up to 50,000 hours in the case of LED lights. In normal usage, these lamps will last so long that their owners will probably sell the house they’re in before having to change the bulbs," writes Krajewski. "Whether or not these pricier bulbs will actually last that long is still an open question, and not one that the average consumer is likely to investigate." There are already reports of CFLs and LED lamps burning out long before their rated lifetimes are reached. "Such incidents may well have resulted from nothing more sinister than careless manufacturing. But there is no denying that these far more technologically sophisticated products offer tempting opportunities for the inclusion of purposefully engineered life-shortening defects."
(Score: 5, Interesting) by khallow on Sunday September 28 2014, @05:42PM
While I don't know about the rest of the developed world, the incandescent light bulb ban in the US has turned out to be quite the bonanza for light bulb manufacturers. I doubt that light bulb manufacturers have been surprised in the least by the dirtiness of US power and the resulting considerable shortening of the life span of cheap CFLs and LED lamps. Keep in mind that advertised lifespans are for ideal power sources while user testimonials of short bulb lifespans are probably for real world power supply with lots of noise and power spikes. The former was used as part of the excuse for banning incandescents. And the latter only is found out well after the fact.
So now, in the name of "conserving" electricity, which we didn't really need to conserve, we now have yet another rent seeking opportunity created by people who know how to play politics. That's not of much of a deal, if you ask me.
(Score: 3, Interesting) by VLM on Sunday September 28 2014, @06:14PM
Keep in mind that advertised lifespans are for ideal
Everything I've read is the killer is thermal.
All you need to do is mount the bulb upright in clear air in air at or below 70F. Anything else will of course void the guarantees. Of course no one sells sockets for lamps in that configuration, always insulated ceiling cans or whatever. The ones I've killed were in a open top chandelier type arrangement so even open air isn't a universal cure.
(Score: 2) by danomac on Sunday September 28 2014, @10:36PM
(Score: 2) by Reziac on Monday September 29 2014, @04:32AM
About half of my CFLs shared an enclosed ceiling fixture with an incandescent. The ceiling in that house could reach 120F in summer. How many of those bulbs failed?
NONE. Of either type. In over a decade. Some used all the time, some hardly ever.
Which ones failed? Those in the open table lamps, and more regularly, the one in an open socket on the porch (without regard to outdoor temperature).
And there is no Alkibiades to come back and save us from ourselves.