East Germany was a Soviet socialist state before the 1990s.
Resources were extremely limited so strength and durability were emphasized in
industrial production. Their fridge could last for 24 years.
East Germans’ Light bulbs were produced in 1985. They could
be used for 24 years. You could almost use one bulb throughout your life, no
replacement was needed.
This kind of light bulbs existed 27 years ago. This may be
inconceivable to people using incandescent light bulbs or energy-saving light
bulbs.
In fact, this kind of planned obsolescence (literally “malicious consumption/waste”) consumption pattern is planned for today’s society.
The Chief Executive of Hong Kong advocated the use of
energy-saving light bulbs from 2009 to 2010, claiming that they could save up
to 70% of energy that’s needed in incandescent light bulbs.
But energy-saving light bulbs have numerous shortcomings.
They create harmful electromagnetic waves. Every 1 watt
energy-saving light bulbs produces approximately 4.67 gigahertz electromagnetic
waves.
Energy-saving light bulbs contain mercury. Low quality bulbs
may poison their users.
Energy-saving bulbs are 10 times more expensive. It’s
difficult to earn back the cost by saving electricity.
The brightness and power consumption of energy-saving light
bulbs can’t be regulated. Their lifespan is several times to dozens of times
shorter than LED light bulbs.
They can’t be recycled because of the containment of
mercury, needing to be disposed carefully.
Their low color rendering index makes them harmful to our
health and our eyes.
It’s easy for energy-saving light bulbs to trigger migraine
headaches, rashes and skin itching to weaker or sensitive people.
Another common light bulbs are quartz light bulbs. Their
disadvantages are:
that they could use up a lot of energy and their temperature
can reach 200℃ , increasing room temperature.
That they are quit bright, harming our eyes.
that they emit more harmful UV light wave than other light
bulbs.
Being under bright light or UV light for a long time could
cause diseases like skin cancer.
However, LED light bulbs are very popular these days. Their
advantages are:
1) Super energy-saving: (save 90% electricity, turn on a 3W
LED bulb for 333 hours only cost about $1.00)
2) ultra long life:
3) ultra-low temperature (their surface temperature is about
50 degrees, making indoor temperature much better in the summer)
4) no radiation, no UV light
5) do not hurt our eyes and skin
6) LED bulbs contain no mercury, need not to worry about
crushing during disposal
An energy-saving LED bulb produced by the Dutch Philips
Electronics won the 2011 US Department of Energy’s "Bright Tomorrow
Lighting Prize" on 22 Apr. last year.
This 10 W LED bulb is equivalent to a 60 W light bulb, saving
83% of energy.
It could last 27.4 years if you only use it for 3 hours a
day. It only costs US$25 (about HK$190). You can use it for 25 years through a
one-time purchase.
In fact, many countries, corporations, shops and trade
unions are using LED bulbs instead of energy-saving bulbs recently.
