More complaints about energy-saving bulbs
BURNT HILLS, NEW YORK - Some U.S. energy experts say the push to lower the price of compact fluorescent light bulbs has led manufacturers to use cheap components.
"Somebody decides to save a little money somewhere and suddenly we have hundreds of thousands of (bulb) failures," said Victor Roberts, an independent expert in Burnt Hills, N.Y., who conducts failure analysis testing on light bulbs.
Compact fluorescent bulbs comprise 11 percent of the market for bulbs in the United States, but consumers increasingly complain the bulbs burn out early, The New York Times reported.
"In the pursuit of the holy grail, we stepped on the consumer," said Michael Siminovitch, an energy expert at the University of California, Davis.
Overall, the energy-saving bulbs are of good quality, but it's difficult to keep tight quality control on a cheap, mass-marketed item, many of which come from China, said Alan Feit, vice president of Feit Electric.
"While manufacturers try to inspect all incoming materials, one little mistake may cause a performance problem," Feit said.
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Around 15 per cent of Quebec's electricity comes from the Churchill Falls dam in Labrador, through a deal set to expire in 2041 that is widely seen as unfair. Quebec Premier François Legault not only wants to extend the agreement, he wants another dam on the Churchill River to help make his province what he has called a "world leader for the green economy."
But renewing that…
