Energy Saving Light Bulbs

tessa777

I bought energy saving bulbs a few years ago when they were relatively new. They gave a cold dreary light which made me feel ill. I haven't bought any since but would like to save energy. Can anyone tell me what the quality of the light is now? No-one seems to mention it. Thanks

needaspirin

The ones I buy now from Home Bargains for about 59p give out WARM-WHITE light. Always look at the packaging to see the type of light that bulbs project.

italiastar

builderbob wrote:

I was buying these by the case from Netto and then selling them on ebay and doubling my money. The 18w cost 47p and the 11w cost 49p, and I was slling them for a £1 each plus delivery!
The exact same Philips Genie bulb in argos is/was £3.99.

What is it they say about a fool and his money!!!

That's just what we need - greedy people like you trying to make a quick buck - I hope you got loads of Diana concert tickets too !

Don't forget to tell the taxman of you quick profits :rotfl:

satrianez

tessa777 wrote:

I bought energy saving bulbs a few years ago when they were relatively new. They gave a cold dreary light which made me feel ill. I haven't bought any since but would like to save energy. Can anyone tell me what the quality of the light is now? No-one seems to mention it. Thanks

I know what you mean Tessa777.
The ones I got from Poundland were casting a very pale light... not nice.
And obviously, no indication on the Poundland packaging.

More on that here:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Compact_fluorescent_lamp#Colors

So dear money savers... let us know the type of colour you get from the bargains you've found in various places.

Cheers.

BexTech

keith234 wrote:

pound shops such as 'poundland' and 'poundworld' often sell energy saving bulbs for £1 and sometimes these bulbs are even cheaper in places such as 'home and bargains' (99p)

Yes, Poundland have been selling them for a couple of years.

Jamsyke

tessa777 wrote:

I bought energy saving bulbs a few years ago when they were relatively new. They gave a cold dreary light which made me feel ill. I haven't bought any since but would like to save energy. Can anyone tell me what the quality of the light is now? No-one seems to mention it. Thanks

The manufacturers assume people want a 'warm' effect in their home, this has always been the standard colour. They are available with a cool effect but not as common. Which is better or worse is down to opinion. The cool colour is closer to daylight and is standard in offices and working environments.

warm white = 827 = 2700k
cool white = 840 = 4000k

look out for those numbers on the box

Jamsyke

mellis4148 wrote:

Just be aware that energy savings are non-existant when used in a thermostatically controlled environment as the reduction in erergy used by the bulbs will be offset by increasing the energy used by the heating system.

Sorry but this is not true. The amount of heat produced by lightbulbs is negligible unless they are 6 inches from your face. The thermostat wouldn't even notice the reduction. Heat rises so any small amount of heat produced by ceiling lights will stay up at the ceiling.

Jamsyke

I work for a lighting wholesaler and I purchased a batch of these Philips Genie bulbs for 0.81+vat. That was nearly a year ago so I'm surprised there are still some out there at these prices.

I always assumed that somewhere along the chain someone hadn't paid a penny for them as this is not the 'true cost' of these bulbs. A similar thing happened a couple of years ago when a truckload of Osram bulbs went 'missing', they eventually reached the market at confusingly cheap prices.

I could be wrong but I'd put money on the fact that nobody paid Philips directly for them, unless they were purchased and then donated. Therefore if they weren't stolen.... I know there have been schemes where low energy bulbs were given free of charge by councils or energy companies to old people. It only takes an enterprising individual....

I'm only talking about the Philips bulbs, I know there is cheap rubbish at similar prices sold by Ikea etc., these aren't worth touching.

EnergyGuru_2

needaspirin wrote:

I bought some from Poundland. After many hours of use one of them went off with a bang that put out my lights and melted the plastic. I sent the following message to Poundland via their website on 31st october and again on 8th December. I included my address, email etc.

To date I have been ignored

Dear Sir or Madam,

I would like to draw your attention to a potential danger from your energysave lightbulbs.

One of the Poundland energy saver lightbulbs that I installed recently went off with a loud bang and a flash that took out all the other lights in my house. When I examined it I found that it had partially melted and sooty deposits were around the tubes.

This worried me as I leave a light on when out and at night while sleeping and think this could have caused a fire. I wonder if there is a common fault with Poundland 2U 7W 6400k bulbs?

After re-setting the safety circuit breaker in the fusebox (thank God I had those installed) all lights operated correctly including the socket that had held the offending bulb.

I welcome your response,

My guess is that there is a lot of product on the market that does not comply with EU directives, indeed none compliance with the RoHS and other CE directives is a criminal offence, the vendor being liable.
Over the last twenty years I have utilised a variety of lamps with the emphasis on energy efficiency when possible.
Today we have a market full of shoddy incandescent filament light bulbs AND shoddy so called energy efficient lamps.
Without having a vested interest I would recommend these guys:

http://www.megamanuk.com

Find any form factor there/links to distributors. They specify 15000 hours usage with, as I can witness, better colour temperature than the equivalent filament bulb.

Regards

EnergyGuru MIET

Look at theiet.org for ideas

BTW if you buy the right product you can save £££s, however sadly there is a need to identify good from bad product.

IMV mains powered filament light bulbs should be banned from sale. If the government is serious about energy waste while insisting that they do not wish to use tax as a stick then that kind of product regulation must occur. Automobile lamps using high efficiency LEDS must go in a similar direction also. Street lighting could become intelligent power wise. Traffic signalling, intelligently turn on and off.

hethmar

I bought some 60 watt bulbs at Waitrose about a month ago - they were 99p and I have one in my all night outside porch light, one in the back door light and one in the office which stays on all night - they seem fine.