Who here uses CFL light bulbs?

[CorCentral]

I use GE Reveal Light Bulbs with a dimmer and I have'nt replaced a bulb in 5+ years. If you notch the brightness of a normal bulb down just slightly with a dimmer, you will see the life expectancy of the bulb rise dramatically.

For those of you that are clueless and don't know what a dimmer switch is?
Cheapy install reference and a couple pics

 

[Kanalua]

All the light bulbs in my house are CFL bulbs. Home Depot had a sale (6x 60 watt equivilent CFL for $9.99). I bought enough to use in every socket in the house. bought a 4x pack of 100 watt equivilents too, and use those in the 100 watt sockets.

Haven't got the first bill yet, hope the investment pays off soon.

 

[Kaervak]

I've switched over most of the lights in my parents house with CFL mainly because my mom likes to leave lights on in rooms when no one is in them. I haven't seen her electricty bills so I can't comment on any energy savings, but instead of the kitchen pulling 180 watts, it's pulling 42 watts. Add in a couple other rooms and I'm sure there's a savings, just might not be all that much.

 

[sdifox]

I make sure I compensate for the CFL electric saving by leaving my machine on (BT on throtled cable is hell) all the time.

 

[0roo0roo]

Originally posted by: CorCentral
I use GE Reveal Light Bulbs with a dimmer and I have'nt replaced a bulb in 5+ years. If you notch the brightness of a normal bulb down just slightly with a dimmer, you will see the life expectancy of the bulb rise dramatically.

For those of you that are clueless and don't know what a dimmer switch is?
Cheapy install reference and a couple pics

meh, no point installing those though, you basically lock yourself out from being able to use normal cfl bulbs since they are incompatible with dimmers. i only use ge reveal in the bathroom. everywhere else is cfl, no need to waste power.

 

[DrPizza]

Yes, I use them. Bought one batch of them when they were on sale for $1 each (Valu Home Center) - I think that only 1 out of 10 of those is still working. Crappy quality apparently.

But, now that we have them, I notice things at night like the garage lights being left on and I just shrug my shoulders, mutter something about the kids leaving them on all the time, and just go to bed. I don't lose sleep worrying about the extra cost of having those lights on overnight.

 

[thomsbrain]

we use them in all our major light fixtures, lamps, and outdoor lights.

i'd say they reduce our bill by at least a few bucks a month. on a 4-bulb "60-watt" fixture, you're saving a whopping 172 watts! i prefer the whiter light and the reduced heat, too.