It was time to relamp my basement rooms because I felt that the level of the lighting seemed too yellow. I decided that some of the older florescent bulbs had worn out and needed to be replaced. As my eyes appreciate brighter light these days, I bought “daylight” bulbs to brighten the spaces; especially the darker corners. When I took the cover off the ceiling light in the furthest back and darkest room, I was surprised to see it contained an incandescent bulb. The bulb had survived the several purges in which I replaced my old incandescent bulbs with new energy saving fluorescents. But here was one that had not only escaped the successive replacements; it looked like it had been in the fixture since the house was built in the early 1980’s.
I’m not saying this bulb was a “long-lasting” bulb. This bulb had likely been in place for a measly 30-some years – mostly in an “off” position. This is nothing when compared to the famous Livermore light in Livermore, California which has been burning nearly continuously since it was installed in Fire Station #6 in 1901 (117 years !!). Now, that’s a reason to visit California!
But this is the last of my incandescent bulbs. It shows its age. There are carbon deposits inside the bulb and the screw base is brass. It has been a long time since I have seen any bulbs like this one. This type of bulb has gone the way of the dinosaur. They burned bright, and they burned hot. When I was young I lost a favorite plastic toy. It was small; small enough to fit down the chimney of a desk lamp and sit on top of the bulb. I was looking around the house for my toy when my mother asked if I knew what was creating a smell of roasting plastic. It turned out to be the lost toy, now an expired blob of plastic on top of the now ruined light bulb. Thankfully there was no fire.
It was the waste heat of the old incandescents that led to their demise. So much of the energy they consumed just generated heat when the light was on. They were not nearly as efficient as today’s newer bulb technologies. The incandescents were replaced by fluorescents and then by LED (light-emitting diode) bulbs whose energy consumption is much less and whose life is much longer. A 60-watt incandescent bulb may last 1,000 hours, but a fluorescent bulb (a Compact Fluorescent Light (CFL)) of comparable light generation may last 10,000 hours. A comparable LED light can last up to 25,000 hours. The comparable function of the different bulbs is the lumens of light that they provide. A Department of Energy site, from which the numbers given above are taken, defines a lumen as the measure of light produced by a light bulb. To get the same 800 lumens produced by the old 60-watt (60w) incandescent bulb we could use a CFL that consumes only 15 watts of electricity or use a 12 watt LED bulb. The energy savings are significant, and the lighting is just as good. But the initial cost of the CFL or the LED bulb is higher than the old incandescent bulbs. However, the cost savings can be more than $3.50 per year, PER LIGHT BULB. If your house has 30 light bulbs that’s a nice annual savings of $105.00 dollars. And better yet, the energy company does not have to generate all that energy you and all your neighbors used in the past. This not only saves energy resources like coal or natural gas, but it also results in less pollution. These are all good things.
But this is my last incandescent bulb. It’s like the dinosaur in more than one way. Its time has passed, but I remember it fondly. I remember the search for my plastic toy. I remember trying to stare at the glowing wire filament inside the naked bulb hanging on the side porch. I remember helping my grandfather change the bulbs around the house and him telling me of gaslights and coal oil lamps.
And now all my light bulbs are changed to the new technologies. Some are CFL; some are LED, depending on the size and use. And I fully intend to make that trip to Livermore, California. Hopefully I will be able to stare up at the bright and hot filament of the Livermore Centennial Light.
More informatization on the Livermore light can be found in the Guinness Book of World Records, http://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/ .
More information on lighting and energy savings can be found at, https://www.energy.gov/energysaver/save-electricity-and-fuel/lighting-choices-save-you-money/how-energy-efficient-light