Energy Saving Light Bulbs

stollyman

EnergyGuru wrote:

If the government is serious about energy waste while insisting that they do not wish to use tax as a stick

I'm afraid I have never seen any indication of this government insisting that they do not wish to use taxation as a stick. Quite the opposite in fact, but never such a big stick that it has any impact other than to increase the tax take.

Maureen_Crofts

Hi Martin

Energy saving light bulbs are miniature fluorescent tubes and do NOT work with dimmer switches.

frugal_living

Thanks for this - our local Netto still has plenty left (think I'll stock up)

mayb_2

I bought some short ones to go in my table lamps - I have tried different makes but none of them will fit inside the holder - they are too short and the sides of the holder hit the bulb before they can connect to the bayonet fitting. Anyone got any ideas on that one? - I usually use candle bayonet bulbs @ 40w.

I fitted a low energy bulb in the bathroom and it takes forever to light up. I was told by a friend that the switching on of these uses a lot of energy so best not to put them where you are going to keep turning them on and off.

Mary_Hartnell

Hi Moneysavers,

As something of a "greenie" and a "tight wad", I have experimented with low energy mini florescent tube bulbs for about 10 years.

First the saving: Electricity, especially during the day time, tends to be made from coal. These big old powerstations waste half the energy before it comes out of your switch as electricity. Coal is nearly 100 percent carbon. Natural gas being burnt in your 75 percent plus efficient boiler is mainly methane.
Methane id CH4 - that is 4 hydrogen atoms to one carbon.
So you are saving energy AND global warming by turning off the electric and turning on the gas fired central heating.

Second durability: Some of the bulbs I have bought did not even last a week.
(Some were unbranded and some were Osram (sorry Osram but it is true). The little candle replacements and the ones silvered to replace 60W spot lights were particularly prone to blowing. [btw: I sent a whole batch of Osram PAR 80W tungsten bulbs back to Screwfix and asked for my money back, the blighters had the nerve to say my order was now below the "free delivery" level and deducted the delivery charge from my refund !])

Third appearance: Most light fittings have a shade; it is designed for a tungsten bulb. The only energy saving bulbs that fitted existing shades, with out screaming "look at me I'm an energy saver" were the curly wurly ones.
Brilliant I thought BUT the curly wurly ones tended to fall to pieces; yes the tube and the guts could be found dangling out of the fitting. I don't tend to see them on sale any more.

So there we have it: fit expensive Phillips, GEC or Homebase (which I think might be GEC ?) or take a chance on quality. The resulting bulb will probably send out strange messages about you to visitors.

That said: When my old mum got to the stage where climbing on a stool to change a bulb risked a visit to hospital, the longer life of the funny-looking- new-fangled bulbs was a godsend, as well as making her pension go a bit further.

Mary

PS Netto is Danish a sister company of Maersk, the well known container and ferry company. I doubt it would be selling "hookey" bulbs but it might be getting amazingly low container rates for its Far East imports ?

webwiz

Jamsyke wrote:

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.

You can't have it both ways. If the energy used is negligible it is not worth saving. A 100W bulb produces - guess what - 100W of energy, ALL in the form of heat in the end (some is in the form of light to start with but if the light cannot escape the room then it must convert to heat - energy cannot disappear). It is true that the air near the ceiling will be warmest, but this applies whether or not it is a light bulb producing the heat or the heating system so is irrelevent. The fact is one of these bulbs will not save any energy if used in a room which is heated and controlled by a thermostat, although it may save money if the heating energy costs less per watt than electricity, and will also save energy when the heating is off, so buy them by all means but don't kid yourself.

esthomizzy

Hi Everyone

Are you guys using these bulbs happy with the amount of light they give out? I remember my parents using energy saving bulbs in the past and it was barely possible to see? I tried to talk my boyfriend into trying them again recently on the basis that they'd probably improved the design with the modern ones. But he's not convinced. What can I give him to talk him into it?

Esthomizzy

Garetha

Heat

agreed - a 100 watt bulb generates 100 watts of heat
and a 10 watt bulb generates 10 watts of heat
this applies whether or not they are low energy or tungsten

So if you change your old fashioned bulbs for modern low energy you will save electricity - no question.

Light and delay

Low energy bulbs may take a few seconds to turn on and a minute of so to reach full brightness. So by the time you've got your book out in the loo it will be bright enough to sit there reading! :rolleyes:
Why not fit a 15 watt or even 20 watt low energy bulb - the difference in the electricity costs for a bathroom / toilet light will be very small - and you get the slightly brighter light when you first switch on

Avoriaz

esthomizzy wrote:

...Are you guys using these bulbs happy with the amount of light they give out? I remember my parents using energy saving bulbs in the past and it was barely possible to see? I tried to talk my boyfriend into trying them again recently on the basis that they'd probably improved the design with the modern ones. But he's not convinced. What can I give him to talk him into it?..Esthomizzy

I sometimes install the next higher output bulb. i.e. I will replace a 40 watt filament bulb with a 60 watt equivalent energy saving bulb. It negates some of the saving but ensures a good bright light where needed. The more modern designs appear to be brighter than earlier versions so maybe your boyfriend does need to re consider.

What can you give your boyfriend to encourage him? Use your imagination next time a light bulb blows.;)

alanchamp

I work for a large lighting company, so have some knowledge of such things.
There has been evidence of some companies selling these energy saving lamps at seemingly very attractive prices, only for customers to find that they are poor quality far eastern imports which suffer from a high failure rate and a lamp life far less than is expected from such items. Living at least a zillion miles from the nearest outlet of any of the retailers mentioned (down in darkest Cornwall), I cannot comment on the actual product they are offering - which may well be perfectly acceptable in quality, but it is worth bearing in mind when buying these lamps.

The company I work for does not manufacture or retail this type of lamp by the way, so this isn't a subtle way of drumming up extra business