I find it crazy that only 6 percent of households use a product that is so obviously superior to conventional lightbulbs, in both cost and efficiency - it seems like the most simple green step anyone can take.  If it requires the Wal-Mart mega-model to get the word out to everyone, then I'll slap them on the back if they reach their goal.

However you feel about the rest of Wal-Mart, I blind criticism is hopeless, and smacks of pure anti-corporate sentiment with no room for compromise, which does very little to advance the environmental movement.   Wal-Mart won't be toppled, but they can be influenced towards good causes such as this if they can be shown it will benefit their business in the end.  

To steal a line from Lovins, CFLs are not only a free lunch, they're a lunch you get paid to eat.

All that is required is for your utility to offer a PAYS(R) tariff (Pay-as-you-Save (R))--a deal where the utility advances the funds the conservation improvements in return for the customer paying off the improvements through the savings on the utility bill.

In other words, with absolutely NOTHING out of pocket, you can get your house weatherized, new Energy Star appliances, super-high efficient furnaces, high-SEER A/c, CFLs, etc.  Your consumption goes down, and you pay off the improvements out of the difference.

The utility gains reduced peak demand and reduced base load demand, which means that they aren't fighting to buy or produce peak power and they don't need to plan for as much base load.  The contract basically is an agreement to shift your house onto a special tariff that continues the repayment plan; or you can write it so that, if you move, you pay off the balance on the improvements with the proceeds from the sale (which are likely to be a lot higher if you've done all these improvements).

PAYS(R) is one of the most important ideas in America because it totally demolishes the "but I don't have the money to buy the energy-efficient products" argument.  

And if you are lucky enough to take your utility service from a municipally owned utility or a public utility district then PAYS is even easier--no state utility commission to deal with, all you have to do is get your local utility board to WAKE UP to the 21st C. and start using their offices to help their customers enjoy better comfort and services at lower costs, while reducing pollution and consumption of resources.

The 5% Project

BTW, I've had CFL's in my bathroom for years - no neck-bolt yet visible.

The true meaning of life is to plant trees, under whose shade you do not expect to sit.

Seattle's Lig...

LEDs Magazine:
http://www.icfi.com/Markets/Energy/doc_files/led-lighting...

And a laboratory demonstration test at 131 lumens/watt:
http://www.cree.com/press/press_detail.asp?i=115083495371...

Common sense is an oxymoron...

LEDs draw the same current all the time, meaning they can be turned on/off as many times as necessary to save energy.  So an infrared detector that turns them off automatically when no one is in the room would work well with LEDs.

Couple this factor with a low voltage solar powered system that runs LED lights plus a laptop with a DVD player and recharges a cell phone and you have grid free technology.  That will save a lot of energy here in the developed world.  But in the under developed world it could prevent the whole energy wasting cycle from even happening.

The problem with LEDs is that they are made with silicon, also the limiting factor in solar PV.  Investment in silicon production  is not keeping up with demand.  And the very high silicon production energy costs are pricing PV and LED at the expensive end of practicallity.

New silicon factories that run on solar and wind are needed to solve this bottleneck.

http://amazngdrx.blogharbor.com/blog

There seems to be something missing from your math equation.

No personal experience with this company, or with dimmable CFLs (I have no dimmers in my house), just the first non-advertisement link that came up for "dimmable compact fluorescent".

So I bought some of the cheap dimmable LOA cfl's. One was defective out of the plastic (which has no recycling information stamped into the plastic) The other was also a major disappointment.  It seemed like it was actually going to work but then when it heated up it got very bright to almost 80% of full brightness on the lowest dimmer switch setting.  

I am taking them back and will likely not step into another malwart green or otherwise.

Worse yet, they are still selling T12 4 foot fluorescent lamps 4100K (cool white) with a 60 CRI which the last time I checked were the same lamps banned in Germany because they have been linked to "sick building syndrome".  

But I give them credit, they are cheap. 10 for $15.00. Good for the bottom line, bad for the customers. And at the malwart price.  

Is it green or is it greenwash. It's at least a start. But we've got a long way to go.  

Buy the way, the GE commercial dimmables are much better although they cost a lot more.  

The N:Vision non-dimmable 5500K CFL's from Home Desperate are way better. In my research, HD actually has the best selection of all the big boxes I have visited.

Beware of the 2700K (yellow) lamps at Low's called Daylight Plus.  Daylight is 5550K and has blue and violet and a CRI of 100 ... They should be called Daylight minus. Note the asterik and the note on the back side that says that "Daylight" as used on the front side does not conform to the standard use of the term "Daylight".  

Note the color of the light coming in the skylights. Then compare to the color of the light from the light bulb and you'll see what I mean.  And keep in mind that the term "Full Spectrum" means just about as much as the term Natural. (Not necessarily in the same sentence.)  

And don't buy T12's anywhere at any price.  Recycle your old magnetic flickering fixtures and replace them with T8 fixtures. (or change the ballasts to electronic ones and run T8's  You will thank me in the end. You may be eligible for a rebate from your utility and you might even qualify for incentives under the Enery Policy Act of 2005.

More Light - Less Energy. Lower Lifecycle cost.  Period.  

Sunwave Spectrally Enhanced 25 Watt T8 Lamps 1-866-4Sunwave Most light - Least Energy - Win the energy reduction race and green up your bottom line.

The real problem with present industry leaders LED technology is price and the lack of energy efficient 360º lighting. The HB-LED technology by design is a 180º spot.

The first economical 360º LED light bulb technology will be in production this year, go to www.noctron.com for more information. This is the first transparent, high brightness LED. By next year, the price for the LED light bulb will be about the same as a CFL light bulb.