Wednesday 30 September 2009

False marketing at Home Depot

No biggie but I just have to comment on this! When searching for those non-existing halogen energy savers at Home Depot, I instead found the most ignorantly written lamp description I've ever seen, for a CFL reflector lamp:

Feit Electric 23 Watt Clear Halogen Shaped Par38 CFL Reflector, 12 Pack

Well, first of all, there is no such thing as a "halogen shape". Halogen is of course a type of lighting technology, not a type of bulb. PAR38 is the bulb type. If there is a CFL stuck in the bulb, then it should say "CFL", not "Halogen" in the description.

But it gets worse:
"Color Temperature : 2700 °F"
Had to LOL when I read that. Colour temperature is measured in Kelvin.
"Save energy and the environment with this 12 pack of 23 Watt Par38 CFL bulbs. These compact fluorescent reflectors are the shape of halogen reflectors and have the same look as a floodlight but have the CFL energy saving feature! Compact fluorescent light bulbs (CFLs) are very energy efficient. CFLs use 75% less energy and last up to 13 times longer than standard incandescent bulbs."
Average rated life hours for Feit PAR38 CFLs according to their website is 8000h.
"These bulbs contain less hazardous materials than standard bulbs. The reduced levels of harmful materials in these bulbs means less hazardous waste and fewer toxins leak into the soil and poison the environment when disposed of in landfills."
This is a direct lie. All CFLs contain mercury and other harmful materials, whereas standard bulbs do not (not even lead solder after 2006). CFLs should all be returned to the store to be recycled, funny that the person who wrote this seems unaware that Home Depot is one of the few chains that accepts burned-out CFLs for recycling.

(Tried to mail this information to Home Depot but do not feel like providing all my personal details just to help them out and don't live in the U.S. so how can I choose a state.)

4 comments:

  1. I'll choose your 'state' = bemused ;-)

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  2. ah, see I am logged in on another google a/c here, ok..

    just saw your apt comment on EU climate change light bulb blog
    http://forums.ec.europa.eu/debateeurope/viewtopic.php?p=190341#190341

    Posted a biggie regarding coming energy efficiency regulations
    http://forums.ec.europa.eu/debateeurope/viewtopic.php?t=14417

    ReplyDelete
  3. Read it last night and wanted to comment but I've got sinusitis again so head not working well enough at the moment. :-(

    Just got my new LEDs today. I'll write about those when head clears.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Sinusitis :-(
    Hope you keep your head (and your spirits) high lying down!

    ReplyDelete