I was visiting my grandmother’s house a couple of weeks ago and I found one of the energy-saving lamps that she bought more than 20 years ago. I remember that she went to the CFE offices —I do not remember if a program of the Trust for Electric Energy Savings (FIDE) already existed, perhaps yes, but the fact is that she came out with four energy-saving lamps.
This is saying a lot. At that time my grandmother’s house worked with eight light bulbs, better known as incandescent bulbs. Two of the lamps were formed by cylindrical tubes in the shape of a wheel joined in the center with a thread to fit into the sockets; two others were like the LED bulbs that we know today, but enormous. Two or three times the size of an incandescent bulb.
This bulb is more than 20 years old. It was one of the first from CFE’s replacement program, they charged it to the bimonthly bill for one year. It is in my Grandmother’s house and she uses it daily. pic.twitter.com/8L2VoOdng0
— Paul Alejandro (@PaulAlejandros) May 16, 2021
At the risk of being imprecise, the two circular lamps lasted a little more than five years and one of the enormous round lamps was taken by some relative and I do not know what happened, I only know that the only one of the four that survived was that one, which illuminates the equivalent of 60 Watts of an incandescent bulb.
The cost was important considering the economy of 20 years ago. She got the bulbs on credit and CFE would discount a part from her bimonthly bill for one year. Well then, my surprise is that my grandmother has that lamp, still active, in her house. What a great return on investment! My grandmother says that she did observe savings quickly and since then made the effort to switch to energy-saving lamps until not a single bulb remained.
Now, all of us have had a bulb or an energy-saving or LED lamp burn out in our homes. This is more frequent than an accident such as, let us say, breaking a bulb while playing baseball in the living room of our home. But why are incandescent lamps no longer so resistant?
This is due to planned obsolescence. One of the criticisms of the capitalist system is that, once a market is satisfied, the industry would slow down and this would cause a lower rate of growth. Capitalism requires not only one-time consumption but perpetual consumption that allows the movement of the productive machinery.
It is no surprise that the first Ford and GM automobiles were very durable and repairable; the idea was that all American families would have a car. But once the market became saturated, it was necessary to promote the idea that the car had to be replaced. The same can be said of stoves, refrigerators, televisions; sewing machines, among others. This is the idea of planned obsolescence.
Thomas Alva Edison considered the manufacture of perpetual incandescent bulbs or at least with a very long life expectancy. For example, in California is the Centennial Bulb, which is maintained by the Livermore-Pleasanton Fire Department and was originally installed in 1901.
Although the years have taken their toll and that 30-Watt bulb now only emits about 4 Watts, perhaps partly because of the glass, perhaps partly because of the filaments and perhaps partly because of the installation, the feat is so commendable that it is in the Guinness Book of World Records. And most importantly, it is not the only one; there are at least a dozen bulbs that are around 100 years old.
Perhaps, then, we could think of some future in lighting systems that are not only more efficient but also more durable; however, as long as it is important for the industry to keep the productive and consumer machinery oiled, it is likely that in my house I will never have an energy-saving lamp or an LED that lasts more than 20 years.
This article was originally published by Business Insider México.
Date: May 26, 2021
Original Link: https://businessinsider.mx/obsolescencia-programada-opinion-energia-circular-paul-alejandro-sanchez/ [offline]
Archived Link: https://web.archive.org/web/20221204121638/https://businessinsider.mx/obsolescencia-programada-opinion-energia-circular-paul-alejandro-sanchez/ [Archived]