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It's been almost 18 months since I first learned (and blogged) about Bisphenol-A (BPA). There has been a lot of press about this chemical recently as Canada has come close to banning the chemical from a number of products, most notably baby bottles.

Shortly thereafter a number of interesting things happened.

1) Nalgene, famous for their clear lexan polycarbonate water bottles, phased out all their polycarbonate products. Nalgene is probably responsible for exposing millions of adults to BPA due to their trendy and popular water bottles. I had half a dozen of these in 2006 (all replaced by SIGG bottles).

2) Wall-Mart announced it would pull all BPA bottles from its stores

The Today Show aired a report that basically said that all plastics with the #7 on them contained BPA. This is just wrong. #7 is a catch all for all plastics not covered by codes #1 - #6. While, BPA does generally carry the label #7, so do BPA-free alternatives made from bio-plastics like Polyamide. In fact, the #7 is so confusing that Camelback has removed it from their BPA-free products.

NPR wrote about this a few weeks ago.

"I think the writing's on the wall for this chemical," said Aaron Freeman, policy director of Toronto-based Environmental Defence Canada. "You've got major retailers with huge market clout pulling BPA products ... and you've got consumers in droves who are opting for alternatives. They're a bit late to the game, but they are responding to that consumer demand."

The key word here is "consumer demand".

Nalgene cites consumer demand as the reason for pulling PBA products.

Question: Why is Nalgene transitioning from polycarbonate to other materials?
Answer: Nalgene’s principle goal is to create reusable containers for a wide range of consumers; from hikers and outdoor enthusiasts to commuters and kids on-the-go. We are always looking for new materials and products that help us meet that goal. Our decision to phase out production of the Outdoor line of polycarbonate containers is in response to consumer demand for products that do not include Bisphenol-A (BPA).

Today I was in REI with my wife and noticed that all the Polycarbonate bottles are gone. Instead they have been replaced with Bottles from Nalgene and Camelback that proudly say "BPA Free". I purchased a Camelback Better Bottle. These bottles are made from Eastman Tritan, a copolyester. Eastman developed Tritan due to consumer demand for a BPA-free plastic and announced availability on October 2007.

“CamelBak’s success comes from delivering consumers innovative products,” explains CamelBak CEO Sally McCoy, “Eastman partnered with us to create a BPA free CamelBak®  Better Bottle using its new Tritan copolyester. This ground-breaking polymer allows us to better meet the needs of our customers by giving them a BPA free choice in re-usable bottles.”

Eastman Tritan™ copolyester is also easy to process and can be used in molds designed for polycarbonate. This feature allowed CamelBak to switch materials with minimal production changes. “Eastman Tritan™ copolyester is easy to work with. Only minor tooling and temperature adjustments were required to manufacture the CamelBak® Better Bottle with this new material, which facilitated the transition for our staff,” says Mike Crook, CamelBak’s Vice President of Operations.

“With its optimal combination of durability, clarity and BPA free construction, Eastman Tritan copolyester will enable us to accelerate the growth of our CamelBak® Better Bottle business using consumer desired innovation,” comments McCoy.

What I find amazing is that capitalism is at work and the market is responding to customer demand even if BPA has not been identified as harmful to children or adults by any government agency. Got to love it.

CamelBack proudly states on their homepage that they have an arsenal of new products that are BPA-free.

Do a search for BPA on Google and you'll see advertisements from:

• REI
• BornFree Bottles
• Nalgene
• Camelback

Amazon.com even has a BPA-free product store.

So where should you be on the lookout for BPA? Here are some obvious places and products I like.

Water Bottles

Recycle any of your clear Lexan water bottles and replace with BPA alternatives like:

• Camelback BPA-free (.75L, 1L)
• Nalgene Everyday
• SIGG bottles

Baby Bottles

• Born Free (this is what my wife and I have been using for 18 months and we could not be happier)
• Green to Grow
• All Glass Bottles
• most Glass bottles are narrow body and we preferred the wide neck or wide body, Born Free does make a Glass wide neck bottle.

Sippy Cups

• Born Free
• Avent (these truly rock and are spill proof)
• SIGG

French Press

• Glass - most French Presses these days are Polycarbonate.

Food Storage

• Bodum Yohki
• Pyrex Glass

Check out Z-Recommends for lots more product related BPA info.

This time next year I would not be surprised if BPA was a thing of the past. Unfortunately there are many places where we as consumers don't have a choice yet with respect to BPA (formula can liners, canned food liners, polystyrene coffee lids).

I wrote about this in the past, but CFL bulbs have a dark secret. It's near impossible to find a "safe" way to get rid of them.

CFLs contain a small amount of mercury, and well, there is already too much mercury in the water, hence the Tunas getting all loaded up with it.

In my area I've identified 2 places I can take my CFL bulbs for disposal.

1. IKEA
2. The local recycling center

CFLs are considered hazardous waste.

IMHO there should be curb side recycling or at least force everyone that sells CFLs to also support disposal.

But really, millions of CFL bulbs are still going to make their way to our landfills cause people are lazy or ignorant of the hazard.

The solution of course would be to have an energy efficient bulb that did not utilize mercury.

While I have lots of CFLs in my house (see my post on which ones I recommend) I also have lots of halogen and incandescent bulbs. I'm a big fan of the new Philips Halogena Energy Saver. Looks like Osram (aka Sylvania) is also getting in the game.

I expect LEDs and low energy incandescent bulbs to get better and more practical over time.

Bottom line is that CFLs have amazing energy savings benefits, but they are a major step down from incandescent and halogen bulbs. Hopefully CFLs will be a thing of the past in a few years.

A few days ago I posted about CFLs. Of course I started to get curious... I have a bunch of CFLs in our house already (bathrooms, and ceiling fixtures) but I have a lot of Floodlights (Incandescent and Halogen) throughout the house.

I wasn't pleased with the color of all the CFLs that I had and I would like a lower wattage solution for our 15 recessed cans that currently are dimmable with 65watt floodlights. I also wasn't happy with the CFLs I had in my home office, they were too yellow.

I did find a great non CFL solution that saves energy for my recessed cans, see the end of the post for that info.

Also, since CFLs have mercury, you need to take care when recycling them. I found out that you can take CFLs to IKEA for free recycling. You can also order a Recycling Kit from Sylvania for $15 which includes return shipping via FedEx.

Well, I tested the following spiral 13w (60w equivalent) CFLs for the ceiling fixtures, bathroom lights etc.

• Sylvania Soft White (sold at Lowes)
• GE General Purpose Soft White (sold at Target)
• Philips Duramax (sold at Costco)
• Commercial Electric (originally sold at Home Depot)
• n:vision Soft White (sold at Home Depot)
• n:vision Bright White (sold at Home Depot)
• n:vision Daylight (sold at Home Depot)

The bottom line is that there are a few big differences between all these brands:

• instant on (some CFLs have a second delay before they start)
• warm up time
• color temperature

Popular Mechanics does a great write up on a bunch of brands, some covered above and some not. They highly rate the n:vision soft white that I also liked.

So you know, the color temperature of a standard incandescent bulb is about 2700k. The higher the number the "cooler" the light. Most folks will be used to this color temperature which can be described as yellow. Daylight for example is around 6500k. Halogen lights are a bit cooler than incandescent. Around 3200k.

Halogen–Superior Incandescent Technology
Tungsten halogen lamps are a refinement of incandescent technology that offer up to 20 percent greater energy efficiency, longer service life and improved light quality...

Whiter, Brighter Light
Halogen lamps have higher color temperatures than standard incandescent lamps—their light output contains more blue and green. Halogen lamps therefore appear whiter and brighter. Although both types of lamp essentially have a CRI of 100, the higher color temperature of halogen lamps provides more pleasing and vibrant color rendition across a wider range of colors.

Personally I've always liked the color temperature of halogen lamps.

My Testing Results

So, here is what I think of the CFLs that I've tried.

Sylvania Soft White

• no instant on
• color temperature is about 3000k
• I found the color to be a bit industrial looking
• grade: B

GE General Purpose Soft White

• no instant on
• color temperature is about 2700k
• color was a bit yellowish but acceptable
• grade: B+

Philips Duramax

• instant on
• color temperature is about 2700k
• color was a bit yellowish but acceptable
• grade: A-

Commercial Electric

• instant on
• color temperature is about 2700k
• color too yellowish
• grade: B

n:vision Soft White

• instant on
• color temperature is a bit cooler than 2700k
• color was just right (a bit whiter than incandescent). Nice for general purpose, hallways, sconces etc.
• grade: A

n:vision Bright White

• instant on
• color temperature cooler, 3500k
• color is bright white . Nice for a bathroom or office.
• grade: A

n:vision Daylight

• instant on
• color temperature cooler, 5500k
• color is bluish white. Not sure where I'd use a light like this. Looked very weird to me. Maybe in a garage? Hanselman likes these, I have no idea why.
• grade: n/a

So I've basically settled on the n:vision soft white (for general lighting) and bright white (for bathrooms and workspaces). They are also cheap, sold in packs of 4 for $9. I like that they have instant on and the color temperature is whiter than an incandescent (more like a halogen). Unfortunately, these "green" bulbs come in that horrible plastic blister packs, which probably negates some amount of the environmental friendliness of the bulbs. WTF n:vision? Use cardboard packaging.

For a crazy amount of info on CFLs see Don Klipstein's page.

So what about all the dimmable cans that I have? Well it turns our that Philips released a new line of bulbs that are more energy efficient than a standard halogen called Halogena Energy Saver.

Philips Halogena Energy Saver

Philips managed to take a 40w bulb and get it to output the equivalent of 65w of light. They also have a 70w bulb that outputs 100w of light. These lights are carried in a variety of shapes and sizes and one of them is a BR30 for recessed cans.

Philips calls the technology used to get this increased efficiency, EcoBoost.

More light, less heat

The EcoBoost technology is based upon optimizing heat management of the integrated electronics and burner. On the burner, a special compound conducts away the heat, keeping it cooler and ensuring that more electricity is converted into light. Another resulting benefit is that the burner is less likely to break, which lengthens the lifespan.

These lamps are currently sold at Home Depot and cost about $9 for a single BR30 or $9 for two standard bulbs. You can also find them at Amazon.

I replaced 5 can lights with these and can't be happier. They are not CFLs but they will get me a 39% improvement in power usage vs a CFLs 79%. If I replace all my recessed cans then:

This seems like a great way to:

• Save $7 a month
• Maintain Dimmers
• Continue to have Instant On

If I moved to CFLs I'd see savings of another $7 a month but have to sacrifice lighting features.

Oh, and the Energy Saver Halogena bulbs have NO MERCURY.

Hope this is useful to some one... of course some of this is obviously subjective.

There is no doubt about it, Compact Fluorescent Bulbs (CFLs) are waay cheaper to run than Incandescent bulbs. With Electricity for me averaging close to 20 cents a kilowatt hour (welcome to California), this can mean a lot of dough ($8.64 to run 60w for a month).

However, CFLs just Suck. Here is why:

• Warm up time is annoying.
• when you turn one on, it can take a while to get to full brightness. If you mix incandescent and cfl on the same circuit it's noticeable.
• Color is wonky
• you can find the right color bulbs, but trial and error with these bulbs is no fun (see next point)
• CFLs contain mercury.
• That sushi grade Ahi Tuna I had for lunch today? I'm sure some of the mercury in there came from some one who threw their CFL in the trash. In my county they are considered hazardous waste and I have to literally go find some recycling center somewhere to drop them off. haven't figured that out yet. Definitely an inconvenience, and the country trash company should supply curb side recycling like they do for batteries and cell phones.
• CFLs are not dimmable
• My house has lots of dimmable lights.. and I like being able to dim the light. True they make dimmable CFLs but they are hard to find and don't work very well. They don't really dim, but they have different voltages. They are like a 3 stage bulb.

CFLs have done wonders for industrial/office energy use, but right now, I only let them under my cabinets, in our garage, outdoors and in our bathrooms. I'm holding out for LED lights.

In California there is this thing called Title 24. When you remodel a kitchen or bath there are special rules about CFLs. The new law says that 50% of your kitchen wattage needs to be CFLs... good luck with that. It means if you want a single 60 watt bulb you need like 3 equivalent CFLs somewhere else in the kitchen. You can't just use under cabinet lights and get away with it any longer.

Anyway, no one does this, once folks pass inspection the CFLs are replaced with incandescent or halogen HALO's or something.

Just heard about this on the radio and I just signed up.

For $41 they will take care of getting rid of most of your junk mail (the old skool kind that shows up in your mailbox).

Lora and I must get a recycle bin full of this stuff each month. It's amazing.

We'll see how this works out, but for $41 it's worth it to me.

Oh, and Lora and I haven't received any credit card offers for at least 3 years. How did we do it? Call 1-888-5 OPT OUT and you can essentially block the companies like Equifax from selling your info to them. I asked for a permanent block.