Energy Saving Light Bulbs

EnergyGuru_2

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.

That only works if Gas/kWh = Electricity/KWh, your home is perfectly insulated and you have some sort of high efficiency air recirculation, risking human infections and diseases. I'm sure Sir Isaac Newton would have been correcting you.

EnergyGuru_2

hethmar wrote:

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.

I take it these are conventional filament light bulbs rather than "equivalent" energy saving versions. If they are any good then expect 1000 hours use, though I expect that will not to be case.
Buy the right product you could have 15 times the usage at a 6th of the running costs for approximately 10 times the initial outlay.
Given the numbers you have stated, those 99p bulbs are going to cost you about £50 per year more compared to the alternatives.

Avoriaz

I use low energy bulbs where appropriate but I still need some standard filament bulbs for lights on dimmers or décor lights requiring small bulbs. Recently I have started buying these normal filament light bulbs from Tesco for as little as 18p per bulb. They appear to give as bright a light and to last just as long as the more expensive branded bulbs.

Avoriaz

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 !

A tad unfair. He is just being enterprising and doing what all shops etc do. Buy cheaply in bulk and sell in small quantities at a profit. Presumably his customers are happy with their purchases.

EnergyGuru_2

Avoriaz wrote:

I use low energy bulbs where appropriate but I still need some standard filament bulbs for lights on dimmers or décor lights requiring small bulbs. Recently I have started buying these normal filament light bulbs from Tesco for as little as 18p per bulb. They appear to give as bright a light and to last just as long as the more expensive branded bulbs.

Dimmable non-filament lamps are available but I have no personal experience of them. My preference for a digitally dimmed environment works (control by switching off lamps until happy).

Dave1167

Wilkinsons have a promotion of General Electric low energy lights at £1. I've just bought several. They also do mini lights in various wattages and caps but these are dearer.
Dave

Paul_Varjak

I never have to buy these energy-saving bulbs - I get them for free!

Electricity companies, County Councils, Parish Councils, Voluntary Groups etc often givem them away. I have a stock of about 15 of these bulbs which should last me at least 10 years!

It has been mentioned about using these bulbs with dimmer switches - well you cannot! Most of them (certainly not any free ones I have seen) cannot be used with automatic switches either!

sue.b_2

kranti wrote:

Are there any small bayonet cap energy savings bulbs to replace candle type bulbs?

I got some very small micro spiral low energy bulbs to replace the candle type. The fitting they were to go in had only a very small hole to insert the bulb through. I had been looking for ages when I found them at https://www.ultimastore.co.uk. I think they were under two pounds each with free postage.

markyb_2

Dustsucks wrote:

Just out of interest, I ran a quick check on a variety of bulbs from the oldest of the original Phillips SL25 with the transformer in them through to the latest varieties and without exception the energy consumption remained almost exactly constant over the 15 mins. or so that I ran them. If anything, it increased very slightly but the biggest difference was the light output. The earliest bulbs had a noticeable delay before producing any light and increased slowly over the next 5 minutes or so. The newest ones are almost instant and also come to full brightness almost immediately.

The newest ones are much more efficient than the old ones, almost as good light-wise as a standard bulb and last much longer but it is worth noting that some are better than others and some are rated at 15,000 hours while others are only 5,000 hours - read the box - cheapest isn't always best!

So which ones would you recommend as coming on instantly, as that is my OH's main complaint, because the ones we have take so long to get bright.

nudey_hippy

I have stocked up with low energy bulbs from Wilkinson (Known locally as Wilko).

They predominate in the Midlands and North but you can pick up low energy bulbs of all power ratings for £1

sometimes they have buy one get one free offers and prices/offers change with the wind.

hava look

:beer: