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posted by n1 on Sunday September 28 2014, @04:12PM   Printer-friendly
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."

 
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  • (Score: 1) by Arik on Sunday September 28 2014, @07:06PM

    by Arik (4543) on Sunday September 28 2014, @07:06PM (#99299) Journal
    The CFCs last little, if any, longer than incandescents for me. I have tested a number of them, I only have one still working, the others all died within weeks. You mention burning them fewer hours per day, but I have been told that they will last longer if you simply leave them burning 24/7 - which seems a bit daft but I tried it anyhow.

    The one that I have that has survived and still works is mounted upside down and burns 24/7. I suppose I could burn all my lights 24/7 but it's still not practical for me to replace every light fixture to match that orientation.
    --
    If laughter is the best medicine, who are the best doctors?
  • (Score: 2) by sjames on Sunday September 28 2014, @09:21PM

    by sjames (2882) on Sunday September 28 2014, @09:21PM (#99354) Journal

    This seems to be the great mystery. I have CFs mounted in various orientations, indoors and out and have few failures even over the stovetop or in the bathroom. Others with seemingly less hostile setups have constant failures. I have no idea what the independent variable is there but it sure would be useful to know.

    • (Score: 1) by Arik on Sunday September 28 2014, @10:33PM

      by Arik (4543) on Sunday September 28 2014, @10:33PM (#99372) Journal
      It's a mystery to me too, as I hear all these wonderful things about the gizmos and would love to have them if they performed as advertised. I found, for me, they do not. Climate? It is wet and temperate where I am, a rough environment for a lot of things because of the moisture, but then again large stretches of the US are probably even more moist then here. Temperature? We get winters here but I didnt test in winter, the failures all occurred during temperate weather. The only variables that seem to work for me is to mount them upside down and never turn off, but you are not supposed to have to do that right? So I dont know. I just know they are a bad deal for me so far. The ones that burnt out on me initially cost enough to keep me supplied with incandescents for over a year, and even when they were working they were not as bright, so I am pretty unimpressed.
      --
      If laughter is the best medicine, who are the best doctors?
      • (Score: 2) by frojack on Monday September 29 2014, @05:20AM

        by frojack (1554) on Monday September 29 2014, @05:20AM (#99471) Journal

        Well, I have m any that have lasted several years. Longer than incandescents in the same fixtures. But I had a more than a few failures as well. Usually burned out their ballasts. The power savings over their life may not have actually paid for the bulbs. (But I didn't pay for most of them either. The regional power company gave them away, All I had to do was pay the tax. (no clue why that requirement was in place).

        I've now witched to those cheap Cree bulbs. It will probably be a few years till I know if they were worth the money. But if you shop those on sale you can be get them for half price. So far, none of those have failed.

        --
        No, you are mistaken. I've always had this sig.
    • (Score: 2) by Reziac on Monday September 29 2014, @04:22AM

      by Reziac (2489) on Monday September 29 2014, @04:22AM (#99458) Homepage

      I haven't figured it out either, but see above where I mutter about having noticed it's a per-socket thing, regardless of bulb type -- at least so it was in the last two houses I've lived in.

      --
      And there is no Alkibiades to come back and save us from ourselves.