Flourescent bulb question..

mahanpots · Post by **mahanpots** » Sun Jan 20, 2008 12:04 pm

I heard they were making incandescent bulbs illegal in Ireland.

susnfx · Post by **susnfx** » Sun Jan 20, 2008 12:09 pm

Thanks for the heads up about Wal-Mart, Jerry. I never shop at Wal-Mart but made the trip just to check out the lights. I got a 4-pack for $6.88. I have a lamp in my living room with two lights on it. I put the 2700k (warm) bulb in the lower light and turned them both on. They were identical--the warm fluorescent had exactly the same golden glow as the regular bulb in the top light. I'm pleased--with the lights and the cost.

Susan

emmline · Post by **emmline** » Sun Jan 20, 2008 12:44 pm

Well, in that case...I just checked my bulbs. They actually say soft white, not warm.
Maybe I'd better try one that specifically says warm before I render final judgment.

chas · Post by **chas** » Sun Jan 20, 2008 12:50 pm

At one point we had warm CFLs along with incandescents in our kitchen, and the difference was quite subtle. I much prefer a mixture of warm and cool, but I've been overruled by the wife.

susnfx · Post by **susnfx** » Sun Jan 20, 2008 1:24 pm

emmline wrote:Well, in that case...I just checked my bulbs. They actually say soft white, not warm.
Maybe I'd better try one that specifically says warm before I render final judgment.

Actually this package doesn't say warm--I just went for the lower kelvin number which means warmer.

Susan

BigDavy · Post by **BigDavy** » Sun Jan 20, 2008 2:41 pm

Looks like it it not just Ireland banning incandesants it is being implemented EU wide.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/earth/main.j ... ght127.xml

David

peeplj · Post by **peeplj** » Sun Jan 20, 2008 4:26 pm

I think encouraging the use of the more environment-friendly and energy-efficient solution is a good thing.

I am not sure, however, that banning incandescent bulbs really makes much sense.

It seems to me that people are very quick to want to ban things, and that usually they aren't thinking much farther than the next election when they do it.

What about medical applications? Professional photographers? Not to mention amateur photographers? Artists?

Banning seems a bit drastic, and maybe short-sighted as well.

Just my $.02.

--James

Lambchop · Post by **Lambchop** » Sun Jan 20, 2008 6:23 pm

I tried them! They gave me migraines.

mutepointe · Post by **mutepointe** » Sun Jan 20, 2008 6:24 pm

I would like to see more talk about the obscene use of energy. Driving an SUV to the Wal-Mart to pick up some flourescent lightbulbs to put in the countless light fixtures that are always left on in the McMansion isn't exactly my idea of being green.

susnfx · Post by **susnfx** » Sun Jan 20, 2008 7:13 pm

mutepointe wrote:I would like to see more talk about the obscene use of energy. Driving an SUV to the Wal-Mart to pick up some flourescent lightbulbs to put in the countless light fixtures that are always left on in the McMansion isn't exactly my idea of being green.

Was that for me? It must be, since I'm the only one talking about going to Wal-Mart today to pick up light bulbs. I don't drive an SUV--in fact, I wouldn't. I drive a compact car. McMansion? I live in an 865 sq. ft. mobile home. Countless light fixtures? I bought a 4-pack of lights and had trouble deciding where to put the 4th one because I only have three lights in my home that I generally use.

Susan

mutepointe · Post by **mutepointe** » Sun Jan 20, 2008 7:27 pm

Oh Susan, that was not meant for you at all. Just a general comment about folks who act like they're green and they're not.

Charlene · Post by **Charlene** » Mon Jan 21, 2008 5:28 pm

We have the CFLs in the bathroom, and since my husband read that they last longer if you don't shut them off and turn them back on a lot, once someone uses the bathroom he wants us to leave the lights on in there until we go to bed. So I don't think we are actually saving any energy over only turning the regular light on when we need it. I also don't like the color, although I haven't really paid any attention to if it said warm or cool on the package. At least the CFLs don't flicker the way the long tubes do after they get old.

I thought I read someplace that California is going to ban the old bulbs.

fyffer · Post by **fyffer** » Tue Jan 22, 2008 7:56 am

We tried the fluorescents in a fixture over the sink in the kitchen -- a super cheapo Home Depot job -- which blew out incandescents in record time for some unknown reason. A couple of months ago, we replaced them with these other bulbs, and I agree that the light quality sucks. It makes everything look yellow and jaundiced. But -- they haven't blown out, and I'm getting used to the quality of the light. Still don't like it though.

susnfx · Post by **susnfx** » Tue Jan 22, 2008 8:49 am

Well, after a couple of days with them in four fixtures, I've come to the conclusion that they're a mystery. The one in the lamp in the living room still looks just like the regular one--warm and just right. The one in the bedroom wall sconce starts out extremely dim but brightens up to a cooler light--more like you think of a fluorescent. The one in the lamp just below it stays a nice warm golden color. Go figure.

For the help with energy savings, I can certainly live with them.

Susan

I.D.10-t · Post by **I.D.10-t** » Tue Jan 22, 2008 9:29 am

I have been using the things for quite a while now. I have to replace bulbs less often and, in the summer the apartment stays much cooler. The quality of light has changed a lot over the years, And we were able to find a display of lights in Home depot a couple years back that had several lit up so that you could compare the lights.

As mentioned the bulbs will burn out quickly if turned on and off frequently. Motion sensor lights are very problematic, and I am not sure if any of the CFLs can be used on a dimmer yet. Hopefully when the LEDs like this finally make it into market, a lot of these problems will be solved. The 1 watt mag lite upgrades are very nice examples of replacement LEDs that put out ~50 lumen instead of the 15 that the old bulb did.

The incandescent ban seems poorly conceived, and I hope that it changed so that if there are restrictions, that it is with efficiency restrictions, not centered around the type of light bulb.