undefined | Better HN

0 pointsPaulDavisThe1st3y ago0 comments

> I actually am opposed to bans on traditional incandescent bulbs

AFAIK, there are no simple bans on them [ EDIT: in the USA ]. What exists are energy performance standards, which these bulbs do not meet. If you want, you can say that this is nit-picking, and that of course that's a ban.

But when we have energy performance standards for, say, cars, nobody says it is a ban on cars, just a effective end to the production of inefficient ones.

0 comments

ghayes3y ago

But if we said cars need to achieve over 1000mpg, then it would be effectively a ban on ICE, right?

PaulDavisThe1stOP3y ago

In practice yes. However, someone might also just say "No more ICE" and that is semantically different. Sure, in the real world, no practical difference.

Spivak3y ago

Where the standards are set isn’t arbitrary.

If LEDs were exactly as efficient as incandescent bulbs there wouldn’t be a law that bans all lightbulbs. Also there’s no way a law would pass that sets the efficiency standard of incandescent bulbs because the law would do nothing.

It’s a ban on incandescent bulbs with the thinnest veneer of generalization.

teawrecks3y ago

The thing is, a simple carbon tax is already designed to handle both of these cases. Burning coal/gas would have a cost proportional to the long term effects it has, and at the end of the day customers just see a price of electricity. If someone wants to pay 10x more for energy to power their lightbulbs, let them. As long as the energy they buy is sustainably sourced, who gives a shit how they use it?

salawat3y ago

...Some people like me do call those bans.

nerdponx3y ago

What happened to CFL bulbs? I was very happy with mine, but they have rapidly disappeared from shelves.

tgsovlerkhgsel3y ago

They contain mercury - that alone makes them a terrible idea. I suspect they are also less efficient and more expensive to make than LED bulbs, while also having a shorter lifespan and various other drawbacks like not liking quick cycling, not being instant-on, etc.

ignite3y ago

Can't buy incandescents in California anymore. Try on Amazon, it won't sell to you.

j / k navigate · click thread line to collapse