Has anyone wondered what would be the implications that the new lightbulbs would have on homebrewing?
For example, I brew in the basement and store my bottles in the basement and so, I have always been conscious of using incandescent lights to minimize skunking. What am I going to do once I cannot get such lightbulbs?
What about those who use incandescent lightbulbs as a heat source in their fermentation chamber?, etc?
How many theatre techs does it take to change a lightbulb?
It’s called a LAMP!
sorry, couildn’t help myself
I would imagine there will (are?) narrow spectrum flouresent bulbs available that do not include the UV. probably also heat lamps of some kind. think of all the poor lizards! also a heat stone (For lizards) would work as well as a bulb for temperature increases.
Tubercle is buying up a few because he keeps one burning in the well house during freezing weather to keep thing from freezing. A hundred watt puts out an amazing amount of heat in a small place.
Got a house full of those mercury tainted curly things.
They keep listing them as “Accent” but I have seen some that are regular light bulb replacing bulbs.
No Hg in them little to no heat and 100,000 hour life spans…
I tried the fluorescents outside - they have dramatically shorter lifespans when subjected to outside conditions, I don’t know if it’s the temperature swings or extremes, but it can’t be saving energy overall when the incandescent ones last longer.
Fluorescent bulbs really aren’t made for exterior use except in mild climates (no cold). LED is the way to go instead, but they don’t really have a good selection of products yet. I’m planning to put in LED for an exterior project later this year if they are available. The thought of never having to get on a ladder to change a light bulb is appealing
The other thing that kills fluorescent lights is the frequency of turning them on and off. Reportedly, if you leave them on continuously, they have long lives. But frequent on/off cycles will drastically reduce their life.
I see that there are UV filter sleeves for tube-type fluorescent bulbs. They are kind of expensive in my opinion. My brewery will be moving indoors in the next year and I know that incandesent bulbs are on their way out. Using fluorescent makes some sense since the boiling wort would be exposed only briefly and all the finished beer is kegged. But, I am open to using something like LED right over the brew pot.
Ray Daniels had a nice write up on light struck beers in a Zymurgy not too long ago. To summarize you don’t need to worry about it until after fermentation, so if you were debating which lights to use while brewing because of that, then you needn’t worry.
If it was because of the heat generated then (in my best Rosanne Rosannnadanna voice) never mind…
Skunking requires riboflavin in the beer, which comes from the fermentation as I understand it.
You can brew in direct sunlight and not have skunked beer.
Martin is correct, fluorescent bulbs are better if you plan to leave the light on for a period of time or do not need instant light. I sat through a presentation which seemed to indicated LED are not especially happy if you switch them often. This was for a commercial installation. At home we’d probably never notice the reduction in lifespan.
I was forced to buy florescent flood lights once (nothing else was available). When you needed them turned on it would take 3-4 minutes to get the full light intensity out of them. It didn’t make much sense to use them in a security situation and I have since replaced them with the old standard bulbs. Now the rabbit that freezes in place in the flower bed is clearly visible and can be dealt with.
I’m hoping LEDs come down in price quickly because I just don’t like the curly cue lights.
As for incandescent bulbs being available? Don’t count on it, the last plant that builds them here in the US is closing this year.
There are fluorescent lamps that are more of an instant on, they’re just a little pricier. The LEDs are a good source as well, and they don’t produce any UV rays, making them great for beer. Yes, they are expensive now, and the 100K hour life is a very high estimate and most likely far from true, but they do offer a significant energy savings.
I use led’s for certain applications and they work extremely well. In the street stoplights led’s fail on occasion. It may be an outdoor exposure or a switching issue, but at least if one or two led’s fail the light still works overall.
