Government Program

Home_Maker · 05-20-2009, 03:31 AM

Here in Australia the government has offered a good incentive program. We went for it last year and are very happy with it. They come to your house and change all your light globes to the energy saving ones for free. The only catch is they take all your old globes, which is no big deal I don't need them anymore. They said the new globes last up to 15 times longer than the old bulb globes!

justontime · 05-20-2009, 10:19 AM

I wouldn't like that, my home is my business, I don't want the government sending people around to change my light bulbs! My power company sent me some new bulbs but there is no way I would allow them to troop around my house changing bulbs.

Just_Jessie · 05-30-2009, 03:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Home_Maker

Here in Australia the government has offered a good incentive program. We went for it last year and are very happy with it. They come to your house and change all your light globes to the energy saving ones for free. The only catch is they take all your old globes, which is no big deal I don't need them anymore. They said the new globes last up to 15 times longer than the old bulb globes!

I wouldn't have an issue with that, I have a lot of rooms, and I went with the energy saving ones too- but it was pretty costly. I wouldn't have minded having it done for free even if it meant having a technician come and change the bulbs for me... hehe. I figure, if I let people in to install satellite TV, or run cabling, or do maintenance checks on my water heater and appliances, I can let someone in to change my bulbs.

But I can understand not wanting to give any government officials the ok to just come in. I think I would be happier if they had a private sector contractor do it, rather than sending in government employees.

Fleur · 06-04-2009, 06:12 AM

Honestly, I'm afraid of those new bulbs. Have you read the caution label on them? They contain mercury and if you happen to have one break, you're supposed to clear the house of people and pets, don't use a vacuum to clean it up, it has to be disposed of as hazardous material, etc, etc. It really made me think about getting them. I have one and I don't know if I'll be getting another.

Taggart · 06-13-2009, 09:34 AM

The program sounds alright to me, but I wasn't aware of how potentially dangerous the new bulbs are. I'd want to know exactly what to do if one breaks before starting to use them.

We still have a lot of the old ones.

Fleur · 06-14-2009, 12:59 PM

Taggert, after reading the precautions I was very concerned. We have cut down on the amount of electricity that we use by leaving the window open and using ceiling fans, etc. But these new light globes, I'm not so sure.

stav · 06-14-2009, 07:16 PM

really people... stop panicing...

Yes they contain miniscule amounts of mercury.. so do thermometers... If you break one, they suggest picking up the bits with a thick damp cloth so the mercury is not spread about rather than using a vacuum and leaving the residue inside your machine, and then leaving the window open for a while in the room where it broke...

I changed my whole house over to this type of bulb 3 years ago (got them all free from my power company too) I've not had to replace one yet.

Emmalou · 06-23-2009, 09:15 AM

I used coupons to get all of my bulbs. Some I paid pocket change and some I got for free. I even have a couple extra under my sink, but so far so good. I have not had to change any of them.

I was not aware of the mercury inside of them either. Doesn't the florescent bulbs--(you know, the long round ones) have mercury in them as well?