Fluorescent light bulbs as replacement for standard bulbs...

[nippyjun]

I was in IKEA today and they had tons of fluorescent bulbs that can screw into a standard light socket. They claim that they use only 25% of a regular incandescent bulb. I was going to get one to try out but the lines were too long to check out and I didn't want to wait. Do any of you guys use these bulbs? Do they throw off enough light? Is the light comfortable?

 

[Lord Evermore]

They do throw off enough light, they're specifically made to replace incandescent bulbs for those applications where you'd be wanting all the light you can get. Flourescents do use a lot less power than incandescent, but they're more expensive. However you'd replace an incandescent many many times over the life of a flourescent, so it evens out plus you're using less energy. They also don't get quite as hot (though the ones made for a socket apparently do get somewhat warm compared to an overhead tubular flourescent, possibly because they have to have the equivalent of the ballast built in).

 

[nippyjun]

Where's a good place to easily get them. I don't want to go back to IKEA.

 

[Lord Evermore]

Most hardware stores or places like Wal*Mart should have them. They're not something special like a black light or anything.

 

[fishy101]

we just recently bought several fluorescent light bulbs at our house, and they have been good so far. We bought the 11 watt ones, and they seem brighter than the normal 60 watt light bulbs. I haven't seen the difference in the electricity bills yet, but if you are in california, it's probably a worthwhile investment to switch over to fluorscent light bulbs because electricity rates will definitely go up in the near future.

 

[element]

I use those bulbs and they are very good. Just don't try to use them in a light dimmer application.

 

[Aquaman]

I've been using the IKEA fluorescent bulbs for a while with great results 😀 They cost more but most fluorescent bulbs are supposed to last around 10000 hours of use.

Cheers,
Aquaman