Customers Turn Out 
for Torchiere Trade-In

Chris Calwell is head of Ecos Consulting and lives in Durango, Colorado. He has been working on the halogen torchiere issue since 1994, and devotes much of his time to the development of an online information resource and catalog for Energy Star torchieres at www.lightsite.net.

Figure 1. This graph shows the power consumption of 813 torchieres, of which 569 were in working condition. The 500-plus torchieres that had 300W lamps actually used anywhere from 265 to 335 watts.

Figure 2. The majority of respondents use their torchieres in the living room.

The participation of the local fire department was critical to the success of the Milwaukee event. Here, a firefighter demonstrates how rapidly a halogen torchiere can cause a towel to burst into flames.

More than 813 halogen torchieres were recycled at the event.

Fire hazard was a big reason that consumers traded in their halogen torchieres for CFL ones. The author examines a halogen torchiere that was returned. Note the charring from a fire.

Successful Repeat in Sacramento Ecos Consulting conducted another turn-in event in Sacramento, California, on November 14, 1998. The media response was again very strong, but the weather was far less cooperative. Nevertheless, customers arrived more than two hours early for the event; at its peak, the line of people and cars was more than two hours long. Energy Star torchieres were available for $15 to people who turned in halogen torchieres and for $20 to those who did not. About 3,000 people showed up for the event. They purchased 1,500 Energy Star torchieres in four hours, and recycled approximately 2,500 halogen torchieres.  The message from this event was clear: Customers are willing to pay as much or more for Energy Star units than they paid for halogens. Energy Star can sell, not just on price, but on value--with greater safety, larger energy savings, and longer bulb life all contributing to that message.

The customers who purchased them recycled approximately 225 halogen torchieres, which means that most customers purchased more fixtures than they returned. In total (including those returned by customers who didn't buy replacements), approximately 813 halogen torchieres were measured and recycled, filling a large industrial dumpster to the brim. Each torchiere included about 15 to 20 pounds of recyclable steel. About 1,100 potential customers had to leave without a new torchiere after all the stock was sold out. Halogen torchieres typically sell for $12 to $20. Our Energy Star units sold for $10; they would normally sell for $30.

Portland Energy Conservation Incorporated, Pacific Rim Resources, and my company, Ecos Consulting, put on this event as part of our third-party Energy Star Light Fixture program on behalf of Wisconsin Electric Power Company. Our goal was to promote the new CFL torchieres and remind consumers of the safety problems associated with halogen torchieres. To demonstrate these problems, firefighters at the event placed a cotton towel over the top of an older model that had no safety cage or thermal cutoff switch. The towel began smoking after 5 seconds and burst into flames after 75 seconds. The operating temperature of the halogen fixtures was measured at 700°F-800°F, while that of the Energy Star alternatives was only 100°F-200°F.

Our promotion of the event proved wildly successful (see Turning on the Media Switch). Kickoff time was 9 am, but the line of people waiting to trade in their old torchieres began forming at 7:30 AM. That line grew steadily longer throughout the morning, with as many as 40 to 50 people waiting at any one time.

More than 500 of the torchieres were nominally 300 watts, but with actual power use randomly distributed between 265 and 335 watts. This wattage distribution is probably due to wide tolerances in the bulbs and the circuits that power them. Given that torchiere-style halogen bulbs are commercially available at power ratings of 100, 150, 200, 225, 300, 350, 500, and 600 watts, it is not surprising that a wide range of power consumption levels was observed.

We also took note of the labeling on the fixtures regarding maximum allowable wattage of bulbs. About 10% of the fixtures were originally shipped with 500W bulbs and were labeled for use with a bulb of no more than that wattage. Another 88% of the fixtures were rated for use with a bulb of no more than 300 watts. The remaining 2% of fixtures no longer contained any visible label. Eleven of the fixtures labeled for a maximum of 300 watts contained bulbs that used at least 400 watts; actual figures ranged from 407 to 537 watts. All of these fixtures appeared to violate UL safety guidelines, which only certify halogen torchiere fixtures of 300 watts or less.

Conversely, 24 of the fixtures labeled for a maximum of 500 watts were using bulbs with a nominal wattage of 300. This indicates that a large number of people replaced their original 500W bulbs upon burnout with lower-wattage alternatives.

The people who filled out the survey cards reported using their torchieres an average of 3.9 hours per day. Seventy-four percent of respondents used their torchieres in the living room; 44% used them in bedrooms; 25% used them in offices; and 8% used them in the dining room (multiple answers were allowed). These results are shown in Figure 2.

What motivated the respondents to recycle their old halogen torchieres and purchase new Energy Star units? Many indicated that more than one factor
was responsible.

Some other customers noted that the bases of the Energy Star units were substantially lighter than those of the halogens. They thought this might make the Energy Star lights less stable on carpeted or uneven surfaces. In fact, four or five customers insisted on removing the original bases from their halogen torchieres before recycling the fixtures for the express purpose of threading the heavier bases onto their Energy Star fixtures. In addition, a few of the customers were disappointed that their only color choices were white and black, but they were encouraged to see samples of other models and styles from an array of manufacturers that would reach retailers in 1999.

Many customers said that they had already decided to unplug their torchieres; they were delighted to have a chance to recycle something they viewed as waste. A satisfying number expressed dissatisfaction with the bulb life and general product quality of their halogen torchieres, and were encouraged to hear that the Energy Star units would operate far longer between bulb changes.

Many customers appeared confused about the distinction between Energy Star fixtures and replacement compact fluorescent bulbs. They were hoping that a compact fluorescent could simply be retrofitted into their existing halogen torchiere, and were thus mildly disappointed when they learned that they needed to recycle the entire fixture and start over.

Customers also expressed some confusion about the price of the units offered at the event, as compared to the usual retail price. Discussions with customers revealed that it would be clearer in future events to offer the best possible price to those who had recycled one or more halogens first. At our subsequent event (see Successful Repeat in Sacramento), we sold the Energy Star torchieres for $15 to those who recycled a halogen, and $20 to those who didn't.

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