[Cialug] OT: cheap CFL bulbs

[Nathan C. Smith]

To elaborate on David's further elaborations...
I've cut wattage with many of my CFLs - generally from a 60 watt incandescent to the equivalent of a 40 watt fluorescent (13 or 14 watts actual).  Particularly with the globes in the bathrooms and the overhead enclosed lights.  I'm probably using the bright fluorescents and not the "warm" ones.

The light we use a lot at night is the one over the sink which was a flood and like 90 watts.  We replaced that with LED (7 watts) and it looks cool now too (IMHO).

-Nate

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From: cialug-bounces at cialug.org [mailto:cialug-bounces at cialug.org] On Behalf Of David Bierce
Sent: Thursday, June 03, 2010 11:21 AM
To: Central Iowa Linux Users Group
Subject: Re: [Cialug] OT: cheap CFL bulbs

To elaborate on a few of the comment a little further, based on my experience.

If there is too much light for you, half the number of of active bulbs.  It might look ugly, but it work.  Globe/specialty bulbs are usually expensive anyway compared to normal bulbs.  I haven't seen the Globe type in anything other than LED at the local stores.  It'd go LED, or keep the incandescence for the bathroom.  Usually the color of CFL lights combined with the "it takes forever to warm up" makes wifes angry for bathroom usage.

Also, Do not put CFL in an enclosed light fixture, it cuts their life half as the heat eventually breaks the ballast, resulting in a dead bulb.  This isn't universally true, but if it is a long running bulb like in a kitchen or office space, the heat builds up and has no where to go.



On Jun 3, 2010, at 10:46 AM, Matt Breitbach wrote:

Well, some people aren't going to like this, but I say stick with standard incandescents.  I use CFL's all over in my house, and after 4 years, I'm happy to say that I've only had about 5 bulbs fail.  With that being said, it's always a nightmare to get rid of them after they do.  So much so that I still have 5 bulbs sitting in a box waiting for disposal since they contain hazardous materials.  I'm wondering how good all of this low power usage is if the bulbs themselves can't go into a proper landfill.  I also wonder how many people do just throw them in the trash without even thinking and are polluting our landfills with mercury.
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From: cialug-bounces at cialug.org<mailto:cialug-bounces at cialug.org> [mailto:cialug-bounces at cialug.org] On Behalf Of Matthew Nuzum
Sent: Thursday, June 03, 2010 10:37 AM
To: Central Iowa Linux Users Group
Subject: [Cialug] OT: cheap CFL bulbs
Hello, I just moved and my new house uses an astonishing number of light bulbs. For example, the master bath has a vanity with 15 40w bulbs. When you turn it on you get a sun tan. (I hope they're 40's - they're the fancy kind and there's no imprint indicating their wattage)

The problem is that a lot of the light bulbs are the round globe kind (not the normal bulb shape, but the spherical shape). I have 24 of these and Home Depot wants $12 for 2.

I also have lots of the smaller base bulbs. Some of these are the candle flame shaped bulbs, others are just smaller bulb shaped bulbs. I have 13 of the bulb shaped ones and 8 of the flame shaped ones.

I found normal bulbed shape CFLs at Sam's club for about $1 per bulb. (GE) That, imho, is an awesome price. Home Depot also has contractor packs of the common CFL spiral shaped bulbs for only slightly more per bulb. I can't find a deal on any of the other bulbs though.

Any suggestions? My goal is to avoid the up-front cost of replacing all these bulbs.

--
Matthew Nuzum
newz2000 on freenode, skype, linkedin, identi.ca<http://identi.ca/> and twitter

"Do not seek to follow in the footsteps of the wise. Seek what they sought." –Matsuo Bashō
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