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> There's overwhelming evidence I mean, this has been going on for at least 97 years if you include light bulbs: “The cartel lowered operational costs and wor
by TedDoesntTalk 4y ago
> There's overwhelming evidence
I mean, this has been going on for at least 97 years if you include light bulbs:
“The cartel lowered operational costs and worked to standardize the life expectancy of light bulbs at 1,000 hours (down from 2,500 hours), and raised prices without fear of competition, in what has been described as a "classic example of planned obsolescence". The cartel tested their bulbs and fined manufacturers for bulbs that lasted more than 1,000 hours.”
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phoebus_cartel https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phoebus_cartel
- coryrc 4y agoIt literally saved customers money to buy the bulbs with lower lifetime because they are so much more efficient. Shortly before incandescents were phased out, I saw markings on packaging like "this bulb uses $10.81 in electricity over its lifetime" on a 40 cent bulb. They could have standardized on a power efficiency metric, but there's an intrinsic inverse relationship of efficiency versus lifetime for tungsten filaments. Back in the day companies did not try to eat every tiny bit of consumer surplus, so this cartel was a win-win situation.
- goodpoint 4y agoThe cartel was never meant to benefit customers and that's why it was kept secret. Historical evidence is pretty clear on this.
- userbinator 4y agoNow that we have LEDs, which were marketed to last "forever" when they were introduced, but clearly don't; and running LEDs at lower specific power actually helps efficiency, but they don't. Phoebus being about efficiency was merely a coincidence.
- flir 4y agoDubai Lamps might interest you. Video here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=klaJqofCsu4 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=klaJqofCsu4
- bradknowles 4y agoYeah, you really need some good doobies, man! ;)
- goodpoint 4y agoAt least this time the cartel is not completely secret.
- userbinator 4y agoDiscussion here: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=27093793 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=27093793
- oblio 4y agoLEDs have an average life of about 10 years from what I've seen. Yes, their efficiency decreases, but I'm not sure that's such a big thing. And at this point who really needs "forever"? We're getting to a point where the average person will at most change their lighbulbs 2-3 times in a home (I doubt the vast majority of the population lives in the same place for more than 20-30 years). Actually: > Report Highlights. The average length of homeownership is 16 years, with lower-earning and less educated householders more likely to remain in their homes longer. https://ipropertymanagement.com/research/average-length-of-homeownership https://ipropertymanagement.com/research/average-length-of-h... So maybe 1 lightbulb set change per home...
- thfuran 4y ago>And at this point who really needs "forever"? We're getting to a point where the average person will at most change their lighbulbs 2-3 times in a home Why does that seem fundamentally more reasonable to you then each occupant replacing the walls just once?
- oblio 4y agoBecause replacing light bulbs is cheap and easy and could also tie in to fashion. Replacing walls is super complicated and messy and uncomfortable.
- lordgrenville 4y agoI seem to remember that this story is a distortion? Don't recall the details, but that Wikipedia article does say the British government looked into it and concluded there wasn't evidence that the ceiling wasn't justified in technical grounds.