How many watts do ceiling fan lights use?

[JEDI]

i bought 14w CFL lightbulbs ($1 each) and have been replacing all the 60w lights in my house.

but my ceiling fan lights do not have any markings, so i dont know how many watts it is.

What is the typical wtatage of ceiling fan lights?
(my ceiling fan is a cheap model bought at Walmart.)

edit:
Ceiling fan has 3 lights

 

[Adul]

hard to say. how many lights? if 4 lights chances are it could be 25 watts each.

 

[Drako]

The ceiling fan I have uses a 3 way bulb: 50-100-150

 

[lxskllr]

Originally posted by: Adul
hard to say. how many lights? if 4 lights chances are it could be 25 watts each.

They can be any wattage, but that's what I aim for. If you use relatively high wattage lights, it can look like a car dealership in your living room :^D

25W is a good target, but I would personally try to go lower. I don't care for bright lights.

 

[0roo0roo]

does it matter? the sockets should just have a max wattage rating. just match brightness

 

[BabaBooey]

about tree-fitty

 

[mugs]

Usually 40w or 60w. You'll want to get ceiling fan CFLs to avoid premature death (of the bulbs, not yourself).

 

[JEDI]

Originally posted by: Adul
hard to say. how many lights? if 4 lights chances are it could be 25 watts each.

3 lights

 

[So]

0W when off.

 

[Jeff7]

If I had to guess, 40W.

The other option:
This and this.

 

[hanoverphist]

i have ones that max out at 40W
i put 25W in the living room, 40W in the kids rooms, since its only 1 bulb and they have no other main light source. the one in living room is a 4-light fixture

 

[PlasmaBomb]

Originally posted by: mugs
Usually 40w or 60w. You'll want to get ceiling fan CFLs to avoid premature death (of the bulbs, not yourself).

Vibration?

 

[nakedfrog]

Originally posted by: JEDI

Originally posted by: Adul
hard to say. how many lights? if 4 lights chances are it could be 25 watts each.

3 lights

There are FOUR lights!

 

[jupiter57]

I'm finding that a lot of bulbs nowadays have the wattage/ voltage stamped on the metal base in tiny letters.
Get a magnifying glass and see if yours are stamped there as well.

 

[SonnyDaze]

Originally posted by: 0roo0roo
does it matter? the sockets should just have a max wattage rating. just match brightness

This right here is the winnar.

Originally posted by: PlasmaBomb

Originally posted by: mugs
Usually 40w or 60w. You'll want to get ceiling fan CFLs to avoid premature death (of the bulbs, not yourself).

Vibration?

Yuppers. I have this issue with bulbs for the garage door opener. Regular bulbs die from the vibration.

 

[DrPizza]

Originally posted by: 0roo0roo
does it matter? the sockets should just have a max wattage rating. just match brightness

This. And, the maximum wattage doesn't mean the equivalent brightness. i.e. if the maximum wattage is 60W, that doesn't mean you can only use a 14W CFL (with equivalent brightness to a 60W). You could use a 200W CFL (if there is such a thing & if you wanted it that bright.)


Hey, does anyone know if they make CFL's with the narrower base (not a regular light bulb socket size?) It's a major PITA to change the bulbs on one of my ceiling fans - I didn't notice the other sized bulbs when I purchased it - I only noticed "Wow, I like it, it's a $160 ceiling fan clearanced for $25." I can see why it was clearanced - looks beautiful, runs great, but it almost takes 2 people on step ladders to change a bulb.

 

[NoCreativity]

Originally posted by: DrPizza

Originally posted by: 0roo0roo
does it matter? the sockets should just have a max wattage rating. just match brightness

This. And, the maximum wattage doesn't mean the equivalent brightness. i.e. if the maximum wattage is 60W, that doesn't mean you can only use a 14W CFL (with equivalent brightness to a 60W). You could use a 200W CFL (if there is such a thing & if you wanted it that bright.)


Hey, does anyone know if they make CFL's with the narrower base (not a regular light bulb socket size?) It's a major PITA to change the bulbs on one of my ceiling fans - I didn't notice the other sized bulbs when I purchased it - I only noticed "Wow, I like it, it's a $160 ceiling fan clearanced for $25." I can see why it was clearanced - looks beautiful, runs great, but it almost takes 2 people on step ladders to change a bulb.

Like this?

 

[Paperdoc]

Often (especially since you say yours was a cheap one) they are only 25W. The limit usually is imposed by the design of the lamp base and its wiring, and thus by their ability to stand up to trapped heat. Cheaper insulation -> faster breakdown at higher temperatures -> lower lamp wattage allowed. Maybe check also inside the lamp fixture - most had (may have fallen out) a sticker showing the design limit lamp wattage of the fixture.

Now, CFL lamps are much more efficient, meaning that they convert more of their input energy into light, and less into heat. So hypothetically a fixture designed to stand up to the heat produced by a 25W regular bulb should easily stand up to the heat produced by a CFL operating at 14W. But I have never found an expert's confirmation on that. If I'm right, this is a way to increase the light output from a fixture designed for small incandescent bulbs.

Originally posted by: mugs
You'll want to get ceiling fan CFLs to avoid premature death (of the bulbs, not yourself).

Good point. I've seen these ceiling fan CFL's. They are designed to operate with the screw base UP and in a tightly enclosed socket, whereas regular CFL's are for the base DOWN in open sockets. The difference is in how much heat is trapped in the area of the lamp base where all the supporting electronics are.

DrPizza asked, "Hey, does anyone know if they make CFL's with the narrower base (not a regular light bulb socket size?)" The "regular" lamp base is called a "medium base", and the most common smaller size is a "candelabra base". I once saw CFL's made for this application. Is was a multi-lamp package. Inside were CFL's with candelabra bases, plus adapters. Each adapter screwed into the medium base socket to produce a candelabra base socket for the lamps. That way you could buy one package of these and have spare bulbs for two different types of fixtures in your home.

 

[DrawninwarD]

Originally posted by: nakedfrog

Originally posted by: JEDI

Originally posted by: Adul
hard to say. how many lights? if 4 lights chances are it could be 25 watts each.

3 lights

There are FOUR lights!

You beat me to it! ;_;

 

[oknow010]

There are FOUR lights!

https://youtu.be/o_eSwq1ewsU?t=3m14s

 

[dave_the_nerd]

My ceiling fan came with a pair of 60w incandescent. I have a pair of 13w LEDs (dimmable) to replace them with but am too lazy to bring the ladder upstairs.

 

[sdifox]

Holy necro

 

[Red Squirrel]

Were they incandescents? Just measure ohms. At least I think that should work... never actually tried it. I know the temperature of the fillament will affect resistance so it won't be dead on but should get you in the ball park.

 

[sdifox]

Were they incandescents? Just measure ohms. At least I think that should work... never actually tried it. I know the temperature of the fillament will affect resistance so it won't be dead on but should get you in the ball park.

Op April 2009...

 

[zinfamous]

https://youtu.be/o_eSwq1ewsU?t=3m14s

you created an account....for this?