Not so much heating related, but....

Al Corelli

I bought the dimmable ones for here. They are the only ones that work with the home automation system.
Got them online. They have a tenth of a second startup time, and get whiter after about 10 seconds. We're used to it.
Noticeable savings.

J.C.A._3

Has anyone,

Replaced their incandesant lights with the "long life, low energy use" flouresent bulbs ?

I did just this last weekend, and I must say...I love the light but ain't so happy about the time it takes for them to "warm-up". Any opinions?

I was happy to be able to get rid of the reading glasses in my kitchen because the light is much more natural but they sure seem to take a long time to get there. Chris

leo g_13

Chris,

as bubls burn out we have been changing them out for the 'candy bulbs. I find that I now don't really notice the warm up time. I guess like everything else, you just get used to it.

Leo G

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michael_15

Ballast quality

actually matters. If you get the good ones, which unfortunately cost quite a bit more (so as to make it a questionable move to save money but still meaningful if you want to feel good about conserving), the ballasts are better and some of them are good enough such that they're instant-on. Others take a while.

Cheaper ones are somewhat temperature sensitive and work more poorly in the wintertime. This I know from experience (as in, buying cheap lights), followed by doing quite a bit of research into flourescent lighting to see what was going on. Also, if you live in an old house with poor voltage regulation, that might affect weaker ballasts. For example, in my home, the voltage for a standard 120V outlet (which should be around 114-116V, I believe, though it was a long time ago when I checked this) varies by probably 5%, which, well, isn't very good.

-Michael


-Michael

Ted_9

lights

I replaced all of my lights , .89 cents each from the electrical supply(sale price). For some reason, we used to burn bulbs all of the time. Now, we havent burned one yet. And it lights up quickly, no wait here.

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J.C.A._3

Thanks.

I appreciate the comments so far. I'm loving the light, but having to get used to the warmup time has become a trying situation. (I don't mind it,but my girlfriend is finding it a bit difficult) Keep the comments coming,. I can still prove myself right in time! Chris

michael_15

Cheap at Costco, BTW

If any of you have memberships at Costco (or know somebody who does), they're currently on sale for $0.50 each if you buy them in sets of 8 (60-watt replacements). You can also get some 100-watt replacements for a little more, but under $1.

-Michael

RoosterBoy

i put all my lights over to this also. and found at first it take a sec for it to turn on but now it's been 6 months and i don't even notice it anymore

thanks

Ted_9

Watt

Btw, I bought ones with lower wattages than I would usually use and we havent noticed a differance.

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Guy_6

lights

I seem to notice that the light is...different, but like the rest, I am getting used to it. I like them outdoors, where a) Changing bulbs can be difficult- fluorescents live forever. and b) I don't mind leaving them on all night, as they use nothing for power.

GW

hr

It took me two tries

to get the right ones. I'm very happy with this brand, more light than the previous 100 w incandesent. I also date them to keep track of the actual lifespan.

hot rod

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Uni R

Disco

Try them on an sensor switch. They strobe quite nicely. ;-)

Some hate the delay, but I think of it as an enhanced feature when going from dark to light and not wanting to be shocked in the process.

Matt Clina

I did the same

I replaced almost every bulb in my house with very cheap ($0.50) 13W compact flourescents last March. I had been tracking my electric bill very closely, and noticed a $30 per month savings after replacing them.

In this time, I have had two of the bulbs "burn out", out of about 20 that I installed. This is a much better failure rate than I have had with incandescent bulbs.

The warm up time really doesn't bother me. Like someone else said, it gives my eyes a chance to adjust to the light.

If you are still using standard incandescent bulbs, I highly recommend that you replace them. At least replace the ones that are always left on.

Christian Egli_2

Ha, hot rod, I'm not alone, I see the light

My friends and family giggle when I write on most things we buy.

It's genetic, you know. I've been told my grandfather did exactly the same thing. Apparently in his home there were lots of notes in many invisible places like behind a new appliance or a picture hanging on the wall recording for posterity the day, the weather, the price or whatever else.

On my light bulbs I write the price, the store, and the date installed. When they burn out, I write that date too. I have lots of cadavers, some day I'll prove myself a point.

The best brand has been Osram, Sylvania, GE, about in that order. Moslty made in Hungary, which seems to be a good identifyer. Many are made in China now. ON during the whole day every day for more than 6 years, way more in some cases.

A brand called Lights of America, also appearing under other names has had no lasting life, 1 - 2 years. These seemed to be made in Taiwan initially and China. With these I have seen huge differences in color from warm yellow to bluish with nothing said on the package. Some had very slow warm up (I remeber a brand with a Qu... something). Also, the bad ones have not been the cheapeset either, you can't tell everything by price.

I keep tracking LED light bulbs, they're still very expensive, I'm waiting for other suckers to buy them so the price drops... These bulbs promise even more efficiency and eternal life.

I've noticed also that incandescent bulbs on touch-me lights and on motion detectors never burn out. The 300W bulb on my night stand has been in since September 1988, it's turned on every night and it just keeps going.

Let me write down

October 24, 2005, 43F, rained all day

See you later

Patchogue Phil_28

300 Watt?

The 300W bulb on my night stand has been in since September 1988, it's turned on every night and it just keeps going.

300 Watts? You trying to get a tan in bed? LOL !

Christian Egli_2

Slight retraction

I was exagerating the size of my thing, it's 250W, not 300W. Three way you know, the last 50 was included I should not have added it. Checked it out last night.

Of course, we do read in bed, that's why I need the power. I see you're impressed.

Thanks for calling my bluff.

Unknown

Did it about a month ago

in a 2nd floor room that is blazing hot all year round . The 4 recessed cans had 100 watt french fry warmers . I took them out and put the flourescent bulbs in . They do take a few seconds to brighten up , and you have to get used to the different color of light . But , way cooler running than the other bulbs .

Constantin

Try this site...

.... 1000 Bulbs has a pretty comprehensive selection of compact flourescents to choose from. What I like about them is that they publish the technical data specs for all their lights so that you can see just how many lumens each light is supposed to produce for a given wattage.

Allegedly, the pricier bulbs are instant-on. I have some cheaper bulbs back from several years ago and have simply gotten used to the slow startup time. When they burn out, I'll replace them with better bulbs. I have yet to use 1000 bulbs, but I seem to recall other energy-councious wallies recommending the site.