Energy Saving Light Bulbs. Am I Missing Something?

tr3mor

jonnyw wrote:

Ive spent the last month or so changing all ours to low energy - a total of 92 bulbs!

92 bulbs?! :eek:

rbrian

...waiting until the stock of old bulbs which I found in a cupboard in my new house have burnt out, and then buying energy saving ones (at this rate not for about 10 years), or buying new bulbs now and chucking the old ones?

Effectively free bulbs for ages, but more expensive to run, or expensive bulbs, cheaper to run? How does the environmental impact of extra electricity generation compare to the impact of manufacturing new bulbs?

tomstickland

Ive spent the last month or so changing all ours to low energy - a total of 92 bulbs!

Do you live in a 30 bedroom mansion? Or do you have a grid of lightbulbs on each ceiling and rows and rows of candle bulbs on each wall, and a glass floor with underfloor lighting, plus a set of permanent wall and roof illuminations then?

I recently bought a load of 11W (60W equivalent) Phillips bulbs and I've found them OK. I think I'd buy the next power rating up if I did it again. They seem to take 30s or so to warm up.

urbanfrit

I've been using energy savers for years and one thing I have found is that although they last ages they get dimmer as they get older.
Put a new bulb of the same wattage in place of a 5 year old one and it looks like a searchlight in comparison.

I like the spirals and especially like the big Philips globe type that look good without a lampshade.

ikr2

I bought 3 "massive" philips 60W bulbs about 10 years ago. The last one is still going and they all lasted a min of 8 years. I use them in a fairly tall floor lamp with a generous lampshade.

Newer ones are much quicker to light up. Best use 15W (75 W equivalents) with no "softening" shell over the top. But do use behind a generous-size light-coloured lampshade. This helps to mask any "unhealthy" glow.

20W (100W equivalents) or more are needed under darker shades.

The type of light that bulbs put out varies too. You can buy
- normal
- "warm"
- Daylight

I've got energy savers everywhere except the kitchen and the bathroom

We are looking to replace our halogen GU10 "rose" light fittings in the kitchen. Any ideas for avoiding these in favour of something more energy efficient?

tubster

>>>>>Effectively free bulbs for ages, but more expensive to run, or expensive bulbs, cheaper to run?

This really depends on the light fitting you use it for. If it is a light that you leave on for hours and hours you could save alot, one in a rarely used cupboard will save you almost nothing. If you pay, say 14p a unit of electricity it will cost you 14p to leave a 100W lightbulb on for 10 hours. I have some lights that get left on for about 10 hours a day in the winter... so 100 days of that will cost £1.40, over £3 for the year. An energy saving lightbulb at 20w would cost me 60p for the year, a £2.40 saving; if I can get a bulb for that I save its cost every year after the first year. Say a cupboard or toilet bulb gets 1 hour a week, that is 50 hours a year (5 units) which is 70p; a 20w would save me a bit over 50p a year; it takes 5 years to save the cost of the lightbulb; not so tempting for low use.

ManAtHome

The Phillips ones in Netto are pretty good, and less than 50p each.

All of these give a slightly greenish light - normal tungsten bulbs are reddish (warmer, more "romantic" etc...). If you have a digital camera, try taking photos on the "daylight" white-balance setting near tungsten and low-wattage lamps - you'll be surprised just how much your eyes compensate for colour differences.

All low-wattage lamps get dimmer over time - over the years, I've worked out the recycling from 100s (18w) to 60s (11w) then 40s (9w) - they normally drop a level after around 18 months.

jayarr_2

I have been wondering does anyone have a cheap(er) option for an adaptor to change screw in bulbs to normal push-ins..seen them in one of those weird catalogues you get in the sunday mags but they were in a set-£22 for several (not sure how many)

thanks in advance

tobykim

The best round ones were phillips, they take a few seconds to warm up and run orange for this time but after they have warmed up they are fine, also these are the same size as ordinary round bulbs so fit better in enclosed fittings

I've just bought one of these for the bathroom as my daughter leaves the light on all the time, however I have noticed that it says on the box "Not to be used in enclosed fittings" does this apply to all energy saving bulbs ?