Energy Saving Light Bulbs

shrek101

I have same problem been using energy saving lights bulbs for over 10 years. However over recent years I bene using spotlight r50 and also halogen spot lights. They sure are bright/hot but hey take 50 watts each and I use 3 of them.

Ripperoo

They sure are bright/hot but hey take 50 watts each and I use 3 of them.

Yeah! I know what you mean.

I have four multi-bulb light fittings which require a total of 11 x R50 "spots" and 3 x SES candle bulbs.

The rest in the house are ES bulbs, but I'd like to replace the R50 bulbs with ES to (but keep the light fittings).

I'm getting the feeling that these "replacement" bulbs don't exist!

I was actually going through about 30 or so of these spot bulbs a year until recently.

That was until I read an article about bad electrical connections causing bulbs to blow. I checked the electrical connections at the ceiling and sure enough some of the screws were a bit loose. Tightened them up and they've been OK since. Touch wood!!!!

MarkyMarkD

BLT Direct have a huge range of bulbs, including what you are looking for. If you are buying a few at a time, the postage charge of £2.50 under £35 (free over £35) won't be prohibitive.

http://www.bltdirect.co.uk/cat190_1.htm is the specific link for R50 energy saving bulbs.

Hope that helps!

Ripperoo

BLT Direct have a huge range of bulbs, including what you are looking for.

Hey, thanks for that MMD!

I just assumed you couldn't get direct replacemet R50s as I've never seen them anywhere before.

Like you say, they do have a huge range too!

A bit more expensive than I was hoping at £8 a bulb tho!

It'll cost around £100 to fit all my light fittings with bulbs at that rate.

Which would take quite a while to recoup with the savings on electric I'd imagine.

Thanks anyway! Very handy site.

John_M_Business

There are a lot of good online stores, and in these you can get really good bulk deals (for say 6 or more).

I used ebulbshop for my bulbs, and they were far cheaper than Dyas, Homebase or B & Q.

Search for light bulbs on Google and take a look at the ads, there are quite a few players in the marketplace.

wallet_2

wickes do a price match less 20% with wikinsons.
i just got 20watt(100w) energy saver bulbs effectively for £1.40 !!

beware wickes try to say must be IDENTICAL object but policy at back of catalogue in front of shop state EQUIVALENT .

you need to be firm and they dont like it but hey who cares if a fat cat gets its nose rubbed in it.

you need to buy one from wilko cos wickes like to have it in front of em. but you can always return that one later.
ps can only knowingly do it once with each product ,so get your fill of bulbs then pay then walk back in later for your refund!

MarkyMarkD

Hey, thanks for that MMD!

I just assumed you couldn't get direct replacemet R50s as I've never seen them anywhere before.

Like you say, they do have a huge range too!

A bit more expensive than I was hoping at £8 a bulb tho!

It'll cost around £100 to fit all my light fittings with bulbs at that rate.

Which would take quite a while to recoup with the savings on electric I'd imagine.

Thanks anyway!  Very handy site.

7W bulbs instead of 40W bulbs will save you 33W ... which is 1 unit every 30 hours... and one unit costs around 6p.  So, over the life of a regular bulb (1,000 hours) you would save 33 units or around £2.

Given that ES bulbs last around 8,000 hours, total electricity savings are around £16.  Bulb replacement costs are about the same as they cost about 8 times as much.

But you'll get a difference of £7 in price back over around 3,500 hours in electricity savings - probably a few years depending how often you use these lights.  And then keep on saving for the remaining 4,500 hours.

ES bulbs are a long term investment, but one which is worth making if you have the spare money - better value than putting the same money into a savings account.  :)

Edit: I've just ordered some tiny compact fluorescents at £3.50 each - in their "summer specials" section :S - 10 @ £3.50 = free delivery It's a shame my wife just bought 8 nasty normal 40W bulbs but that's life!

alanobrien

I bought two 11w bulbs from bandQ in Slough this week for 3.99 . They were B and Q branded. I used one outside and have been astonished at how much light the thing puts out.

shrek101

I got a 3xr50 watt spot light and every 2 weeks ro so the same bulb goes. My misses thinks it me that wired up wrong yet the other two bulbs dont blow often. I suppose its a faulty cable/connection within the housing some where.

wallet_2

i heard once that those screw in spots can blow if you dont have a very good contact.suggest check the wires, connections and shiny contacts(hopefully) to that individual spot and ensure screwed well in for good contact.

if that fails maybe replace the socket it screws into.

it may be these bulbs are pushed to their limit and slight invisible arcing can cause premature death