light bulbs and energy use

[darkoshi]

I thought I had switched out most light bulbs in my house to LED bulbs by now.
But I just counted them and was surprised by how many CFLs I still have.
I wonder if I should replace them with LED bulbs even though they're still working fine?

And I wonder if I do replace them, should I take the CFLs to a recycling drop-off, or ask if anyone around here wants them? Doing the latter might just shift the higher energy consumption from me to someone else. Or are there people still using incandescents who might appreciate "upgrading" to CFLs for free?

I may even still have a few incandescents in use myself, in 2 ceiling light fixtures where the glass shade covers the bulbs, so one can't easily tell. Too much of a bother to check, and they are in the hallway and washer-dryer nook where I don't usually leave the lights on for a long time anyway. But I really ought to get out the step-stool and check them sometime.

Comments

[frith]

I think that it would be wasteful to swap out the CFL's before they burn out. I think we don't properly appreciate the environmental cost of mining the terbium (a rare earth metal), of the mercury and manufacture of all the components that go into a compact fluorescent bulb (idem, a LED "bulb"), and the trouble in properly recycling these complex lights. It all screams green washing and consumer facilitation, much like how the proliferation of the triangular symbols on plastics helped the plastic industry convince us that it's OK to wrap _everything_ in plastic. Now light pollution is the worst it has ever been and it's only getting worse.

[darkoshi]

At this rate it may take another 5 to 10 years for these CFLs to burn out. It's hard to tell though. Sometimes several burn out not far apart in time, and other times like now I don't even remember when the last one stopped working.

Yesterday I read an old article that suggested replacing all incandescents right away, continuing to use up old CFLs until 2020, then switching over completely to LEDs.

Anyway, I've at least put non-incandescents in those 2 ceiling fixtures now.