A 20-watt CFL gives as much light as a 75-watt conventional bulb, and lasts 13 times longer, according to the Rocky Mountain Institute, a nonprofit group studying energy issues.
Thirteen times longer, my ass. As far as I can tell, this is out and out horse hockey. They cost 4 or 5 times as much, but when I tried them, I noticed no appreciable difference in bulb life.
And those CFLs don't work worth a damn in my Easy-Bake Oven.
When light bulbs are outlawed, only outlaws will have light bulbs.
Crazy for the blue white and red
Crazy for the blue white and red
And yellow fringe
Crazy for the blue white red and yellow
Good for them! California isn't *all* whackos and pot-heads.
anniemcu
--- "You are what you do, not what you claim to believe." -Gene A. Statler
--- "Olé to you, none-the-less!" - Elizabeth Gilbert
--- http://www.sassafrassgrove.com
I won eight compact fluorescents in a contest sponsored by my electric utility in 1990; the last of those burned out last year, 15 years after I started using it, and all the others lasted at least 10 years. They don't work on dimmer switches and even three-way switches can be a problem, and they don't make sense in rarely used situations such as lighting your clothes closet. But otherwise I'm a big fan. CFLs generally pay for themselves in a few years, and the light they put off is warmer than conventional fluorescents.
[Edited twice because I made a typo and then when I corrected the typo I accidentally deleted the whole message!]
Last edited by bradhurley on Wed Jan 31, 2007 11:20 am, edited 2 times in total.
Tell us something.: This is the first sentence. This is the second of the recommended sentences intended to thwart spam its. This is a third, bonus sentence!
I agree with Brad. I started using them in just a few spots a year ago and they're still going strong. I get 100 watts worth of light but only use 30 or so. After we replace all our 3 way lamps we'll use them there too.
I'm not sure about "warmer". In fact I find them bluer, or "truer" to natural light, as opposed to the yellowish overcast of incandescents. After 6 months of use, the ompact flourescents are definitely taking longer to attain peak brightness. And these wattage conversions aren't worth much, in my experience. From what I have seen you will need something that is 30-40% the wattage of the previous incandescent bulb to achieve the same levels of brightness.
djm
I'd rather be atop the foothills than beneath them.
A 20-watt CFL gives as much light as a 75-watt conventional bulb, and lasts 13 times longer, according to the Rocky Mountain Institute, a nonprofit group studying energy issues.
Thirteen times longer, my ass. As far as I can tell, this is out and out horse hockey. They cost 4 or 5 times as much, but when I tried them, I noticed no appreciable difference in bulb life..
I won eight compact fluorescents in 1990 in a contest sponsored by my local electric utility. The last of those burned out last year, 15 years after I started using it, and the others all lasted at least 10 years before they gave up the ghost.
They can be damaged if you put them on a dimmer switch (some CFLs work with dimmers but you have to search for them), and even three-way switches may be a problem (I have two CFLs that started blinking periodically after I put them in a lamp with a three-way switch), and they don't make sense in rarely used situations such as lighting your close closet. But otherwise I'm a big fan. CFLs generally pay for themselves in a few years, and the light they put off is warmer than conventional fluorescents.
Nope -- not on a dimmer and not in a 3-way. These were in ceiling lights and bathroom fixtures. Most of these were two-bulb fixtures, so I think the next time I replace bulbs, I'll put one of each in and see how much difference there really is. Right now, I can offer nothing in the way of proof other than "Christ, that damn bulb is burned out again."
Now, what about the Easy-Bake Oven? I am tired of drinking my cake.
Crazy for the blue white and red
Crazy for the blue white and red
And yellow fringe
Crazy for the blue white red and yellow
gonzo914 wrote:
Nope -- not on a dimmer and not in a 3-way. These were in ceiling lights and bathroom fixtures.
Probably you just got yourself some cheapo compact fluorescents that weren't made well. I'm leery of the ones you see in drugstores and supermarkets that sell for like $3 apiece. I paid $10 or $12 each for the ones I bought five or six years ago and they last forever, no flicker, etc., although they do all take time to attain their maximum brightness, especially if it's cold.
gonzo914 wrote:
Nope -- not on a dimmer and not in a 3-way. These were in ceiling lights and bathroom fixtures.
Probably you just got yourself some cheapo compact fluorescents that weren't made well. I'm leery of the ones you see in drugstores and supermarkets that sell for like $3 apiece. I paid $10 or $12 each for the ones I bought five or six years ago and they last forever, no flicker, etc., although they do all take time to attain their maximum brightness, especially if it's cold.
These were GE, and as I recall they were about 10 bucks for a 2-pack. There was a cheaper store brand that I avoided. Any suggestions as to a brand would be welcome, as I really would like to not have to climb my ass up a chair every few months. However, if a decent CFL can only be had by ordering through a specialty shop, I'm probably not even going to try. If I can't get them at the store along with the bread and smoked oysters and Uncle Sam's cereal, I ain't gonna bother.
Crazy for the blue white and red
Crazy for the blue white and red
And yellow fringe
Crazy for the blue white red and yellow
Tell us something.: I've picked up the tinwhistle again after several years, and have recently purchased a Chieftain v5 from Kerry Whistles that I cannot wait to get (why can't we beam stuff yet, come on Captain Kirk, get me my Low D!)
A friend of mine was having similar failures with his CFLs; he consulted an electrician and it turned out something was wrong with the way his system was grounded or some such.
Electrician fix problem, CFLs love him long-time.
I'm not an electrician so I havn't the foggiest idea why better grounding fixed his problem; all my CFLs that are currently in use in our house I've had for almost four years, and all but the newer ones purchased to fill in extra sockets that the transition from apartment to house brings have been imported from apartment to apartment, then to our house.
“First lesson: money is not wealth; Second lesson: experiences are more valuable than possessions; Third lesson: by the time you arrive at your goal it’s never what you imagined it would be so learn to enjoy the process” - unknown
We run the light on our front porch all night every night and in the winter when it is dark when we leave and dark when we get home it runs 24x7. We used to have to replace a regular bulb about every 3 weeks out there. I have had the same CFL out there now for over 7 months and it is still going strong. I do notice when it is cold out (less than freezing) that it is pretty dim for about 30 seconds but brightens up quite nicely then.
I have replaced the halogenia bulbs in the torchier in our living room with CFLs with good results as well, but they are a bit dim when starting up also. And they are a little stark. Next time I'll try to find the warmer colored bulbs.
There's and old Irish saying that says pretty much anything you want it to.
I'd love to find a similar source here in Canada. Our kitchen light gets a lot of use and it's on a dimmer switch; I'd love to use a CFL there instead of the incandescent we have now.
Incandesants can last quite a long while as well - given the right circumstances. Dimmer switches are wonderful things. You can in some cases double or triple the life of a standard bulb just by dimming it slightly. You also save on energy costs as well of course as the effective wattage of the bulb will have decreased. How much you will benefit will vary as much as as results seem to with these newer compacts. It's all about useage and absolute light needed for a given application. I'm waiting for them to make these things into mini-Christmas light sizes next!
