Energy Savings Alert!!!!

Jaitch

I have been slowly replacing my bulbs with the flourescent type for quite some time. They seem to live up to their claims of much, much longer life, and the energy savings can't be beat.

I figure if I put enough of 'em in my electric meter will spin backwards and Allegheny Power will be sending me a check :>)

(TIP) Put 'em in those "hard to reach" bulbs you don't want to change regularly!

As we have said many time in this forum - energy savings costs money from the get-go to do it right!

JOHN

Matt Clina

Such a Deal

Not heating related, but some of you New Englander's might appreciate this.

I was just at Walgreens in Westford, MA and they are selling 60 watt replacement, compact flourescent bulbs, that use 13 watts of power, for $0.50 each. They have a big rack full, and everyone is wondering why they are so cheap. They have a sticker on the pack that says "Price discounted courtesy of New Jersey Clean Energy".

I just replaced all of the lights that my kids never turn off. They seem just as bright as a regular bulb, they just take a couple of seconds to turn on.

Get them while they last.

eleft_4

hhmmm,

My SS check comes on the 9th, how far is Westford, MA from southern CT.

al

Weezbo

*~/:) cool say do they make them in 200 w?

PJO_6

I have...

about 20 of them throughout my house. The one in the kid's bathroom is 4 watts...replaced a 25 watt incandescant...and has been on as a nightlite for four years straight!

If you don't mind the "dim start" of some of them - they get to full strength in about 45 seconds or so - they will pay for themselves many times over...typically lasting five times longer to boot.

I actually did the math on the one mentioned earlier...saves me about $8.00 a year and costs $2.00 (4-pack was $8.00). Not a bad payback! Your savings may vary... :-)

Take Care, PJO

Steamhead

I've used fluorescent lighting for years

not just the compact ones but straight-tube and circular as well. For the latter two, one needs to get "warm" color tubes that duplicate the color of incandescent light. With these tubes the usual objection to the usual "cool" color of fluorescent light in residential settings is satisfied. The latest ones are "full-spectrum" which show colors much more accurately, but the color of the light is still "warm".

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BillW@honeywell

Amen to that...

The new ones are barely distinguishable from incandescents when they light up. I use them in my outdoor porch lights, yes, they make yellow "bug" lights, and in any fitting that stays on a lot. Well worth the extra purchase cost. In fact, your lighting load is right behind your appliances in energy consumption, usually 4 or 5 on the list. Don't forget that incandescents also produce a lot of heat, which needs to be removed by your AC system. Compact flourescents are an easy energy saver with real results.

jerry scharf_3

haven't seen 200W

I have seen 42W edison (standard screw) socket CFs. They said it was similar to a 150W incandescent.

jerry

Larry Weingarten

high wattage fluorescents

Weezbo: Have a look at this site. It's not 200 watts, but 125 watts of fluorescent is too much to keep your eyes on! http://www.autocell.net/wsn39D5.html

Yours, Larry

michael_15

Close to Boston, too

if you're looking for the same deals, Building 19 (a discount store) in Burlington has a huge bin of 60/75 watt replacements for $0.50 each.

If you're looking for bigger lights, a lot of smaller hardware stores (for homeowners) around here have discount arrangements with NSTAR or some other utility and sell halogen-sized 150/300W replacements for around $6, complete with the standing light fixture.

-Michael

Harold

Big bulbs

Check Home Depot. I don't remember the wattage but they had the largest screw-in flourescent that I have ever seen.

Matt Clina

Building #19

Plus, if you find a better deal than Building #19, you get a free bottle of champagne!!!!

I always wondered how many of those they give away - and how it tastes.

I went back to Walgreens last night and picked up another 20 bulbs, even though I have already replaced every bulb in my house. I have been giving them out to friends.

Weezbo

Larry , check out the R&D at that site...*~/:)

Now that gert Blue Sphere ...That would be cool to lash up to an OSHA approved extention cord

michael_15

if it's champagne

from Building#19, I'd pass. They have a little sign in their food section that goes something like this:

"You may have noticed that many of our food products are past the expiration date on the label. However, don't worry, the food is still safe to eat! The taste and nutritional value may have been affected, however."

On the positive note, it does have some cute cartoons on it.

-Michael

Brian (Tankless)

Over 500 x 150 W spots in one house!

Till I turned this (environmental) attorney on to compact fl's.

He almost crapped when I ran up a $300 credit card bill on flourescent bulbs alone. That is, until his electric bill dropped so much he thought there must be a mistake.

Fact: Incandescent bulbs = 10% light & 90% heat. Fl' bulbs = 85% light & 15% heat. The math is pretty simple, and he got it.

He likes a bright AND cool house. Now he has both, and the bulbs paid for themselves in about two months. You think not? The 3 story house has 24 tons of A.C. 6 x 4 ton units.
A lot of that was used just to get rid of heat from lighting.

G.E. now gas a 65/15w compact fl' flood made as if it were designed just for his house. I'll try to post a pic of it.

I don't have a single incandescent bulb in my home!

A proud tree-hugging tankless installer in Swampland (when I'm not taking care of my barges).

Happy flourescing.

Brian (Tankless)

It sure is heat-related

I have a client who has/had over 500 x 150W recessed-can floods in his 3 story 6000ft home.

He has 6 x 4ton A.C. units.

Go from 150W x 500, to 15W X 500, what do you get? I haven't done the math, but his lowered bills suggest that the bulbs paid for themselves in just over two months.

He listens a little more closely to my advice these days.

This is another bulb from G.E.

Must get back to my barges.

Tankless.

oil-2-4-6-gas

mercury--

beware read the packaging carefully these contain mercury folks--

michael_15

hazardous waste

I believe in general they're hazardous waste. You're not supposed to throw them away.

Not that they burn out very often, so you shouldn't have to worry about it anyway.

http://es.epa.gov/techinfo/facts/pro-fs2.html

-Michael

Joe_30

Sure, but how do you create a low light mood with a non dimmable light? well, that still makes them practical in some places.

Larry_10

This topic really is heating related... I like to think of incandescent bulbs as small space heaters that happen to give off some light. Even so, CF bulbs are still a big compromise when it comes to the quality of light they provide. Maybe someday LEDs will become mainstream in house lighting.

jerry scharf_3

they make dimmable cfls

I have a lighting friend who has them in his conference room. They are not cheap, and I was not impressed with the color rendition on dimming. Then again, it wasn't as bad as a standard incandescent light when dimmed. The fancy 3 color LEDs are the best with true gamut control, followed by Xenon MR16s.

Not that I'm picky about lighting...

jerry

Larry_10

Jerry -

If your picky, take a look at the SoLux bulb (www.solux.net) if you want the best CRI out there. It's a halogen MR16 but is available with a daylight color temperature and a spectral response extremely close to daylight. A local paint store has a display showing how the same colors look under florescent lighting and a SoLux light(to simulate daylight). Huge differences almost beyond belief (the technical term for this phenomena is metamerism). I'm not picky about lighting either...

LEDs do offer an interesting future - being able to dim and not change color temperature is very cool. Lumileds has some great technology, but still way too expensive for anything but specialty lighting.