I'm beginning to hate low energy light bulbs!

Volcano

Primrose wrote: »

Does anybody know whether the Bio bulbs which have been mentioned will be suitable for reading lampshades? Most of the ones we have, including those near armchairs close to where we sit and read warn that 100 watts is the maximum light fitting which can be used. Do they come in only one wattage, or a selection of different power levels?

The 100 watt maximum only refers to the incandescents. Energy savers (that tend to only have a maximum of around 25W) will be fine.

msjj_2

I think that some folks must still be using older ones. I don't have a problem with them at all and have just put in a 20W one in my Mum's landing that is SO bright!

shaven-monkey

http://www.amazon.co.uk/EcoZone-Biobulb-100-Watt-bayonet/dp/B000F5FNXE

£12 for the 100w + postage

edinburgher

Also might be worth pointing out that energy saving bulbs should last a lot longer than traditional ones (on paper!)

So although they're a bit dearer, they'll last for any years, save money during that time and be better for the environment. That's a win, win, win in my book.

Gf and I have recently bit the bullet and swapped over in the region of a dozen bulbs to energy saving ones (although we don't mind the light quality from cheapish ones, so probably didn't have to pay as much as some of you!)

Hatster

I've had very mixed results. I spent a fortune on some 'candle-shaped' ones to go in some special light-fittings, and they are a real nuisance - they take about 5 mins to get to full brightness, which means that since they're in the hall, we leave them on permanently. In the hall, we need two candle-shaped ones to get a reasonable but not bright light. (You can open post, but I don't think I'd want to sit and read in there) The rest are the standard cheap or free ones - of which, a couple put out a very bright, white light immediately, and the rest put out a yellower glow slightly more slowly. Again, some of them aren't really good enough to light up a room that you're going to read in. On the other hand, I quite like the soft glow - the bright white ones are rather unnervingly bright in my opinion! There's certainly no problem with seeing the colour of food in our dining room.

Hammock99

Interestingly, no one has mentioned the health aspects of these bulbs. How many of us just chuck them in the bin!

http://www.biggreenswitch.co.uk/forum/talkingpoints/156/Low-energy-bulb-disposal-warning

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/7172662.stm

stevehead

Yeah the quality of the light coming from these energy saving bulbs can be pretty drab and like another poster pointed out makes georgous food look insipid.
I saw Nigel Havers once say that he insists on all the energy savers being removed from hotel room he uses 'cos the light's so horrible.
Well I binned all mine this year, and filled the house with LED's. They cost lots, and I made some mistakes buying crappy Ebay LED bulbs. But they use very little energy, and you can have your cake and eat it with good light quality too.

eg

Living Room:
1500 Warm White LED's in three 5 meter strips. Coving dropped, LED's installed behind coving. Dimmable. 7w - 55w
Centre Rose replaced with 4 X 3w Warm White Cree Xlamp Spots
Excellent ajustable ambient lighting, with v bright central area if required.

Bathroom
5 X Embedded 3 Watt Cree LED (gotta be Cree) Ceiling Spots, 6 X Embedded 1.8 Watt colour scrolling LED's.
Very bright, and good ambiance.

And they don't fade up slowly, or make food look sick.

pinkcandyflossprincess

i stopped using the cheap and free ones they keep posting me as it was on the news that they may cause cancer yet the shops are still selling them

Ben84

Flickering, noisy ballasts, yellow light and long warm up times are not a problem with the new bulbs from good manufacturers. They come on instantly at almost full brightness, are noiseless and can be bought in a good selection of colour temperatures, some of which are much whiter than normal bulbs.

I suspect the people who are having these problems have either got older bulbs still, or they've been unlucky and have poor quality new ones.

Try one of the new bulbs from Phillips or Megaman, they are distinctly better than most the others and don't cost much more.

DemiDee

I'm all for energy saving, and money saving...but when it comes to health, surely that is more important that saving a few pounds by having longer lasting lightbulbs? These new bulbs are a disaster waiting to happen in terms of the mercury they contain and the effects they can have on the skin. See here for just a small amount of information on what will inevitably become a big problem:

http://www.lifebite.co.uk/index.php/home/detail/the_health_risks_of_eco_light_bulbs/