Worried they'll soon be forced to buy compact fluorescent lights - CFLs - some consumers have seized on what they say is a bright idea: stockpiling old-style incandescents.

New federal rules about light bulb efficiency mean some incandescent bulbs, in their current form, probably will start going off the market in January (see box on 5H). And for some people, that means it's buy time.

"Every time I go to Home Depot and Lowe's, I'll just grab a box of incandescent bulbs and throw them in the cabinet for future use," said Alisha Tomlinson.

The east Charlotte resident cites her green credentials - she composts, recycles, keeps backyard hens - but says that despite their energy efficiency, CFLs don't work for her. Their flickering - imperceptible to the eye, but not the brain, she says - triggers her migraines.

"It seems the general public has some sense," Tomlinson said. "Let us be able to make that decision on our own."

Cary resident Robert Warner says CFLs won't work on his home's timed light-control system. And in some dimmable fixtures he has, the new bulbs are just too costly.

"I'm stockpiling the old 60-watt bulbs," said Warner, who for now has just a small stash but is planning to add to it. "I'm 70 years old - hopefully they'll last me the rest of my life."

Incandescents, little changed since the days of Edison, use about 75 percent more energy than CFLs and produce more heat. In fact, President Barak Obama visited Durham to tour a manufacturing facility of energy-efficient lights and tout job creation.

But the benefits of some energy-cutting bulbs can still be a tough sell with the public.

Marjorie Malley of Cary said CFLs strain her eyes and give her headaches. She's stashed standard light bulbs in the laundry room cupboard, the pantry, the linen closet and "the overflow is going into the attic," she said. She estimates she has somewhere between 50 and 100 extra bulbs on hand and plans to keep buying.

The new CFLs

Functionally, compact fluorescent bulbs have come a long way since their early days. Now there are lights that work with dimmer switches and three-way lamps. There are CFLs where the curly spiral - cute to some, ugly to others - is enclosed in a traditional teardrop-shape bulb. And CFLs come in warmer tones than the initial greenish glare they cast over the lighting landscape.

"I think the color has gotten much better," said Anne DeCocco, head of DeCocco Design, an interior design firm in Raleigh. To get herself used to the difference in CFL light in her home, DeCocco has mixed incandescents with CFLs.

"Some of it does feel like walking into a truck stop bathroom," she acknowledged, but "I personally don't think it is as bad as people say."

After a day with both types of light burning, she says doesn't notice a difference. DeCocco said she's encouraging clients to "embrace change."

At the Lowe's store in Charlotte's South End, assistant manager Chad Ledtje said CFL sales are strong and he's not seen anyone pushing carts laden with incandescents.

"The (CFL) technology has been improving, the actual appearance of the bulb is better. The prices are becoming friendlier, as well."

Basic CFLs range from $1.50 to $12-plus for a dimmable bulb, Ledtje said. The store also offers free CFL recycling.

Recycling is key because unlike incandescents, CFLs contain small amounts of mercury, released if the bulb breaks.

On average, a CFL has about 4 milligrams of mercury. (By comparison, older thermometers contain about 500 milligrams of mercury, according to the EPA.)

How dangerous is 4 milligrams? It's hard for a consumer to know. But the EPA's page entitled "What to Do if a Compact Fluorescent Light Bulb or Fluorescent Tube Light Bulb Breaks in Your Home" - is enough to unnerve even the dedicated.

"Have people and pets leave the room," advises an EPA tip sheet accessible from www.epa.gov/cfl. "Open a window or door to the outdoors and leave the room for five to 10 minutes."

This before you gather recommended supplies that include duct tape and paper towels, and then vacuum the pieces up and take the sealed bag to a recycling center, and keep the HVAC off in the entire house for several hours.

"Most folks," said Dave Sepe, a Charlotte resident, "will just throw them in the trash."

And that's precisely the concern that keeps Sepe from buying CFLs. "Mercury will enter our waste streams and landfills," he said. "(And) if I had little kids in my house, I would never buy these things."

For now, Sepe's keeping his eye on buy-one-get-one-free sales on incandescents, and adding them to his shelves.

"I wouldn't say we have a stockpile," he said, "but we probably have a few more than most people do."

Meanwhile, researchers are working hard on light sources that will solve the CFL-incandescent standoff.

For instance, Wake Forest University's Center for Nanotechnology and Molecular Materials has created an all-plastic moldable light source that doesn't use an incandescent's heated filament or CFL's mercury vapor.

"Everyone knows what people want - they want soft yellow color, they want bulbs that are efficient, but they like what they have," said David Carroll, the nanotechnology center's director. "There are a lot of places like ours that are working on things that are astonishingly close to the look and feel of the incandescent. Obviously everybody's trying to get there by 2014."