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Dominion Virginia Power Files Application To Create Energy Conservation Pilots (http://www.dom.com/news/elec2007/pr0918.jsp)

http://www.cleanmpg.com/photos/data/501/CFL_Bulb.jpgwww.dom.com - Sept. 18, 2007

* 1.4 million energy-saving CFL light bulbs to be sold at discounted prices
* 4,550 residential customers to participate in various efficiency pilots
* Peak-load demand reduction pilot for large commercial, industrial customers

RICHMOND, Va. - Dominion Virginia Power, a subsidiary of Dominion (NYSE:D), asked the Virginia State Corporation Commission (SCC) Tuesday for permission to create new pilots that would test energy efficiency, conservation efforts and demand response and load curtailment initiatives.

In addition, Dominion also announced it will offer 1.4 million energy-saving compact fluorescent light bulbs (CFLs) at significantly discounted prices beginning this fall through 2009. The offer will be made in association with the home improvement retailer Home Depot through its numerous stores in Dominion’s Virginia service area ...http://www.dom.com/news/elec2007/pr0918.jsp

CFL's are good, but they're cheap enough in stores now that most people know about them, and utilities giving them away seems like a token gesture.

I want to see more substantive efforts such as tax credits for high efficiency water heaters, boilers, furnaces, windows, solar panels etc. Or incentives to renovate and make existing structures more energy efficient. The state has to do that though, not the utility.

One nice thing though is this years first Tax Holiday for energy efficent products.

No Sales Tax on "Energy Star" qualified products, up to $2500, Oct 5-8. If you need a new dishwasher, fridge, or washer, that is a good time.

Places I won't use CFLs....garage door opener & ceiling fans. The vibration often destroys them in 6-12 months. I'm hoping to buy some LED bulbs for those situations, but right now they are too expensive to buy more than 1/2 a year.

Places I won't use CFLs....garage door opener & ceiling fans. The vibration often destroys them in 6-12 months. I'm hoping to buy some LED bulbs for those situations, but right now they are too expensive to buy more than 1/2 a year.

Urk. I did not know vibration was a concern? I put one in my garage door opener about... 6mo ago. :eek:

I guess I'll find out how resilient it is, won't I. :o

I've been using these CFL for about 4 years now in about 120 different fixtures. I've have noticed that as long as the ballast portion is horizontal or at the bottom of the bulb, they last as promised. The heat generated rises and dissipates. If you mount them in a fixture such as an overhead light, where the ballast is on top of the bulb, then the heat kills the ballasts in as little as 2-4 months. I've been running them in ceiling fans for about 3 years and never had to change one out yet. If the fan is vibrating so harshly to break the ballasts you should take a few minutes to balance the blades. All you need is a few pennies and some tape.

All you need is a few pennies and some tape.

I'm not made of money like some of you:)

Most of the lights are actually mounted sideways, and because of the mounting & length of bulb, there is a fair amount of torque. I don't actually think I can ballance the fan any better than it is. Besides, 1 LCD bulb will last me & maybe the next generation a lifetime.

I probably should mention most of my experience with that was when CFL were still new & you couldn't even buy them in most retail stores.

My early experiences (10 yrs ago) were not good, but the ones available these days are much better in terms of longevity, time-to-full-brightness, and color balance. I've had best luck with GE. Avoid IKEA unless they're really cheap/on special, and then use them in a fixture you don't use often. Long delay to full brightness.

I'm not buyin' that vibration argument. It also depends on the
period of vibration. Some situations will shake an incandescent
filament just the right way and fatigue it fairly fast. Some
CFLs have their lamp tubes mounted in crappy, low-quality ways
and some do better in that area. But I see CFLs used quite
successfully in ceiling fans all the time. And I would think
garage door opener movement would be so intermittent that it
would be unlikely to kill a half-decent lamp just from that.
.
_H*

I have CFLs in my ceiling fans without issue. The guy I'm buying my house from has them installed in those ceiling fans, too, and they have been in there for quite some time. I also have them mounted horizontally in a couple of bathroom fixtures which ought to be really bad considering the addition of moisture, and those are going strong too. Unfortunately I can't remember who manufactured these.

Urk. I did not know vibration was a concern? I put one in my garage door opener about... 6mo ago. :eek:

I guess I'll find out how resilient it is, won't I. :o

I've had a CFL in my garage door opener for over 2 years now, and it's fine. I put a giant one in there cuz I wanted lot's of light.

I don't have any ceiling fans...

-Gren