"Long Life Energy Saving" Lightbulbs

SleeplessinScandinavia

When the so-called 'long life bulbs' were being eased in, EU estimates were that there would be an EU-wide reduction in energy use of around 33%.

I reckon this figure was an overestimate and sidesteps the problem of legislators being unable to tackle the big issues of energy use effectively - so they went for the soft target of a high profile domestic use of energy.

Consumers were told that 'long life bulbs' had so many wonderful benefits - but if that was really the case, then they should have been placed on sale alongside the traditional bulbs so that consumers had a proper choice

deedee71

Ignoring the spam above...

I have about 30 free energy lightbulbs but they are all the screw in type. Unfortunately all my 3 and 5 bulb fittings are the push in ones!

I changed one set of 3 in September and have just had to replace them again at a cost of £13 for 4 bulbs.

I've decided this year I'm going to bite the bullet and change the fittings to the screw in type as in the long run it will be more economical.

SpammyTheSpammer

Spam light?

Dave_C_2

I had to replace some of my energy saving bulbs after many years. The snag is that all of my spares are of a similar age and type (freebies from the energy companies)
It's very noticable that these old but unused bulbs take an age to get to full light, where similar ones that have been in use are very quick to start.

Dave.

SpammyTheSpammer

OK - I looked it up:-

Normal incandescent bulbs use electricity to heat a tungsten filament until it glows white hot, producing a lot of waste heat. Energy-efficient bulbs, also called compact fluorescent lamps or CFLs, work by electrifying a gas to produce ultraviolet radiation, which is then converted into visible light by the bulb's coating (see References 1). According to Energy Star, CFLs use 75 percent less electricity, produce 75 percent less heat, last 10 times as long and can save around $40 in energy costs compared to conventional bulbs over their lifetime blah blah until this:-


Step 4: Keep fluorescent lights on for at least 15 minutes. If you're going to leave the room for less than 15 minutes, don't turn the light off. It takes a few minutes for a CFL to warm up. Turning the light on and off too often reduces efficiency and shortens the lifespan of the bulb. If you leave a room for more than 15 minutes, turn the lights off to save energy

(from this page:- http://greenliving.nationalgeographic.com/use-energyefficient-light-bulbs-2566.html)

So I suspect that STEP 4 is the reason why my bulbs do not last long. I have an eco-warrior in the house (my youngest daughter) who delights in turning off any lights that she finds on. This infuriates me as, after I return to a room with a mug of coffee/schooner of sherry, find that I have to turn them on again, then sit in twilight for that 15 minutes until the CFL deign to issue sufficient light again for me to see my feet.

Perhaps if I put a padlock on the lightswitch?

yangptangkipperbang

SpammyTheSpammer wrote: »

[*]They take ages to warm up and cast a true light

Modern ones reach full brilliance almost instantly. If you want true daylight lamps you can get them - at a price, not many want them.

SpammyTheSpammer wrote: »

[*]These bulbs do not seem to be "long life",

Like anything in life, you get what you pay for. I changed one last week - in its eighth year.

SpammyTheSpammer wrote: »

[*]I have noticed no noticable reduction in my Electric usage

That's your fault, not the lamp. They DO use around 80% less power than incandescent lamps - fact !

SpammyTheSpammer wrote: »

[*]and why the heck are they so expensive?
[/LIST]

Because they are much more complex. A 747 costs more than a glider too.

muckybutt

If only folk would buy decent lamps - osram - philips. I have all low energy in my house using the named makes, been here for 8 years now and still not replaced any of them except for changing some of the GU10 cfl's to GU10 LED.

Value says it all to me really....if it says value it aint gonna last long, pay peanuts......get peanuts, its exactly them same in the shops I maintain. If the wholesaler gives their own brand I might get 6 months out of a lamp, if I get a named brand then hardly have any to change...might get the odd on blow thats it.

daveyjp

We have bought low energy bulbs for about 20 years and have suffered one failure which at that point was about 18 years old. All have been purchased from Ikea.

seven-day-weekend

We too have had longlife bulbs for years and the only reason we have changed them is to change to the new 'instant' ones and a couple of daylight ones (we kept the old ones, which hadn't blown, as spares)

The oldest one we must have had twenty years, we have never had to change one just because it has blown.

Bought most of them from IKEA and the daylight ones from e-bay.

KxMx

muckybutt wrote: »

If only folk would buy decent lamps - osram - philips. I have all low energy in my house using the named makes, been here for 8 years now and still not replaced any of them except for changing some of the GU10 cfl's to GU10 LED.

Value says it all to me really....if it says value it aint gonna last long, pay peanuts......get peanuts, its exactly them same in the shops I maintain. If the wholesaler gives their own brand I might get 6 months out of a lamp, if I get a named brand then hardly have any to change...might get the odd on blow thats it.

I have those brands and am replacing every 1-2 years.

As opposed to "normal" bulbs that were here when we moved in 7 years ago, still haven't needed to replace some of those!