Recommendations on Energy Saving light bulbs

[Bryophyte]

They will continue to allow incandescents that do not have a suitable replacement available, like heat lamps, at least until there IS a suitable replacement available. I'm surprised that this new legislation has gotten so little press so far.

 

[Mike Gayner]

Good luck with staying with incandescent bulbs, if you live in the US. Starting next year, we will no longer have 100 watt incandescent. 2013, we lose 75 watt. 2014, we lose 60 watt. Rinse and repeat. They're going away. That's probably the reason we no longer manufacture incandescent bulbs in the US. We're retooling for CFL/LED bulbs.

Glad I don't live in the US TBH.

 

[PhoKingGuy]

We switched MOST of our bulbs to CFL's 4 years ago. I'm still running some of the originals...maybe 50%.

IMO, they're all crap...built in China and never last as long as the companies claim they will.

Ironically I have some GE ones that say Made in USA that I've had in a fixture for 6 years that gets about 5-6 hours of use a day that are still kickin fine.

 

[PsiStar]

I have a few LED "bulbs" & just bought LED desk lamps. I used to have 2 halogen desk lamps. What is really convenient about those halogens is that they are touch & have 3 intensities ... but at medium much less full bright, I felt like was getting a sun tan and they raised the office temp noticibly.

The new LED desk lamps are touch with just on/off ... wtf. The light is "white" near that of sun light at high noon & not quite the equal output of the halogens at full bright. But, there is soooo much less heat. I like 'em.

 

[0roo0roo]

getting weird looking
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004IUMGV4/

 

[JimmiG]

Glad I don't live in the US TBH.

Same thing happening in Europe. Wouldn't be surprised if your government comes up with the same stupid idea. After all, they've managed to in practice ban public Internet already...

Despite manufacturer claims they DO wear out quite quickly, and begin to flicker and buzz (even expensive ones).

What's up with that? On the packaging, the manufacturer typically claims that they'll last for some crazy amount of time like 5 or 10 years. Mine only seem to last a year or so.

 

[dmcowen674]

I replaced every bulb in our house from ES to standard incandescent.

You are breaking the law and should be fined accordingly immediately.

 

[GeekDrew]

I can't help but wonder what the differences are between the CFLs that last a really long time, and those that don't. Perhaps they were mishandled during shipping? Or maybe quality control isn't as good as it should be?

I moved into this house about a year ago, and replaced all of the bulbs with GE Reveal CFLs then. I've only had one bulb fail in the last year; that one was subject to frequent power fluctuations and drastic temperature swings, so it doesn't surprise me terribly much. All of the others are still going strong. My parents, however, have a lot of power fluctuation everywhere, and they can't seem to keep CFLs working for more than 6-12 months. Incandescents probably last them a year or so.

 

[ThatsABigOne]

I'm just going to keep buying incandescent bulbs from South Carolina. Fuck these CFLs and other shit light producing devices!

Lol, you are hopeless..

For now, in the house we use incandecents (rarely need to replace) and CFLs in my room(which also have great life).

 

[Demo24]

I got a Home Depot freebie once like 5 years ago or so and it's been the best one I've had so far. I should probably try and figure out what brand/model it is. All my other ones have burnt out within a year. However this one acts the most like an incandescent, quick startup, good color temp, and has lasted a long time.

I really hate CFL's for reading lamps though, even at a more proper color temp it still doesn't quite look as nice as incandescent.

 

[Mike Gayner]

You are breaking the law and should be fined accordingly immediately.

ORLY which law am I breaking?

 

[disappoint]

Fluorescent fixtures with 2 - 28 watt 4 foot long T8 6500K bulbs. Best light I ever bought. Yes the lighting is bright white like you would find in an office, but I like it. You can see what you're doing clear as day. You can also get lower kelvin bulbs if you want a warmer light. But the electronic ballast is great in this light. The bulbs last much longer than those crappy compact fluorescents. Also don't like the circular fluorescent fixtures. They are only slightly better than the cheapo CFLs.

 

[WelshBloke]

I switched all the 120W spots in my kitchen to energy saving versions and they last a lot longer.

In fact I'd say that all the energy saving bulbs in my house do better. I'm wondering if its something to do with the power supplies in your houses if they are blowing all the time.

 

[us3rnotfound]

Fluorescent fixtures with 2 - 28 watt 4 foot long T8 6500K bulbs. Best light I ever bought. Yes the lighting is bright white like you would find in an office, but I like it. You can see what you're doing clear as day. You can also get lower kelvin bulbs if you want a warmer light. But the electronic ballast is great in this light. The bulbs last much longer than those crappy compact fluorescents. Also don't like the circular fluorescent fixtures. They are only slightly better than the cheapo CFLs.

Agreed. I replaced the old magnetic rapid start ballasts and 4-foot T12 bulbs in the laundry room with electronic instant start ballasts and T8 bulbs. They turn on instantly, at full brightness, probably about 10 times per day, and they have lasted for about 6 months so far with great success.

Now I'm not a huge subscriber to the CFL yet. I've had mixed results in terms of start-up, brightness, and color temperature, but have actually never had one go out. I bought 100W equiv for the garage, they get frequently cycled on/off, have been exposed to some rather shitty weather conditions. It's been about 3 years so far and they still work lol. They have I'd say about a 500 ms delay from switch actuation to turn-on, then an unfortunate warm up time of about 20 seconds.

The new ones I bought turn on instantly, but they suffer an even longer warm up time of about 30 seconds. In my three-way switched lamps, I still supply 3-way incandescent type A bulbs, which I am sure will go obselete; I did not find a 3-way CFL. I hear they are rare.

The residential households are small-potatoes...CFLs shouldn't really be pushed that hard to the shelves. To actually make a difference in the power grid load, in the concentration of lighting technology, large industrial plants still using the old magnetic probe-start metal halide lamp fixtures (the vast majority of them, do not kid yourself) are what's holding up the progress. In my opinion, those should be abolished.

There are companies out there that have successfully designed fixtures that FAR exceed the capabilities of old metal halide technology, both in output and energy savings. HOWEVER, due almost solely to political influences, these large warehouses are going to 6-lamp T5 Fluorescent fixtures. For example, Lowes, as I have witnessed, are appearing to adopt 6-lamp T5 fixtures. While energy savers in and of themselves, they are intrinsically flawed.

But yeah, if you're bored, go spend some cash on CFLs, you too can make a very, very small difference.

 

[IHateMyJob2004]

I replaced every bulb in our house from ES to standard incandescent. I absolutely hate ES bulbs. They put out hardly and light and take ages to warm up.

Two minutes if that?

Despite manufacturer claims they DO wear out quite quickly, and begin to flicker and buzz (even expensive ones).

About 80% in my 4 year old house are new from then and some are on 12 hours a day. usually, the bad ones die quickly or last forever. maybe 10% don't last as long as they should.

Not a single bulb of mine buzzes and I get the cheapest ones possible.

Good luck finding an identical replacement when one does die - you'll wind up with what we had - different coloured bulbs in every fitting.

Why not buy more to begin with. Even different incandescent of different make/model have that problems so where is the issue?

 

[Mike Gayner]

Why not buy more to begin with. Even different incandescent of different make/model have that problems so where is the issue?

Incandescents are 1/10 the cost of ES bulbs.

 

[edro]

I have a CFL outdoors above my garage door.
It isn't even in a fixture and it is mounted horizontally!
It has been running fine, as long as I've been here and looks like its been there for years.
I can't believe it survives in the rain...

I need to install a new fixture, but have had other priorities lately.

 

[dullard]

I'm surprised that this new legislation has gotten so little press so far.

1) It isn't new legislation. It got lots of press back when Bush signed it back in 2007.

2) It hasn't done anything yet. It'll get more press at the end of this year as they stop manufacturing some bulbs.

3) It is a very, very weak piece of legislation. The only bulbs that are banned are the least efficient incandescent bulbs that have no special purpose. Even incandescent bulbs have varying efficiencies (lumens per watt). For example a 60 W bulb may produce 500 lumens or 1000 lumens depending on the specific model. Incandescent bulbs themselves aren't banned, only the least efficient ones are banned at each wattage level. In that case, the 500 lumen bulb is banned.

4) There are so many exceptions that it is pretty much a non-issue. Incandescent bulbs can still be manufactured and sold if they are heavy duty, if they are for appliances, if they are for plants or pets, if they are for areas with vibrations, if they are at different voltages, if they are 3-way, if they are colored, if it has a reflector, if it has different shape, etc.

That said, they missed the easiest way to improve efficiency without angering so many people. What I'm talking about is ban light fixtures that don't allow high wattage bulbs. Honestly would you be angered if your light fixture allows 100 W bulbs instead of just 60 W or less? Probably not. The energy savings comes in because higher wattage bulbs are far more efficient than the same type of bulb in lower wattage. For example, a typical bathroom over-the-sink light bar has six 60 W bulbs. Total wattage is 360 W and total lumens are about 5100 (using typical lumens for 60 W incandescent bulbs). But, if you use the same light bar with three 100 W bulbs you get the same 5100 lumens (using typical lumens for 100 W incandescent bulbs) with only 300 W of power. That is a substantial savings without angering hardly anyone.

 

[Texashiker]

LED lights are the way of the future, that is the way my wife and I are going. We have not bought an incandescent bulb in 3+ years.

fluorescent bulbs contain trace amounts of mercury, so they pose a health hazard from large amounts in landfills.

From now on, when a bulb goes out, its getting replaced with LED.

 

[dullard]

fluorescent bulbs contain trace amounts of mercury, so they pose a health hazard from large amounts in landfills.

Fish often contain more mercury that CFL bulbs. Do you also go around posting that fish pose a health hazard from large amounts in landfills?

 

[OverVolt]

Fish often contain more mercury that CFL bulbs. Do you also go around posting that fish pose a health hazard from large amounts in landfills?

Where do you think the mercury came from that ended up getting concentrated in the fish? Dullard your mind is fried man

 

[amddude]

http://www.ccrane.com/lights/led-light-bulbs/geobulb/index-3.aspx

/thread

 

[Jaepheth]

most of the LED bulbs are seriously ugly

Get LED... and paint flowers on the casing?

 

[edro]

Just get the $1 CFL bulbs from any big box store.
The quality of CFLs are in too much flux right now.
Brand name is not an indicator of quality.

In 3-5 years when they break, LED replacements will be <$5 and they should last for 10+ years.

 

[Texashiker]

most of the LED bulbs are seriously ugly

Who cares what light bulbs look like? If you do not like the way bulbs "look" like, out a fixture over it.

As long as the bulb is saving me money as compared to other options, I dont care what it looks like.