3 quid for a regular light bulb ???

k2150

I went looking for a regular bayonet ceiling lightbulb, I wanted something cheap and cheerful about 80 watts and I didn't want to pay the £3:50p asking price that most supermarkets charge for energy saving bulbs. I was shocked to see Tesco's charging £3.00 for a regular (non energy saving lightbulb) not only that but was told that old style 80 watt & 100 watt lightbulbs are now illegal. What a rip-off!

southcoastrgi

11w compaired to 60w plus a far longer life, cost of electric plus having to replace it more often, it doesn't take long to work out the money savings, so maybe not quite the rip off you think it is

cattie

It can still be possible to buy non energy savings light bulbs, but you need to look for bulbs that are termed "Rough Service". These are basically supplied for commercial rather than residential use & available from places such as ebay or Amazon if you can't find any elsewhere.

I bought a stock of the Rough Service candle bulbs for my chandeliers as I just couldn't see myself paying out in the region of £150 for energy bulbs for them!

[Deleted User]

I've had 11w energy saver bulbs in all my lights for 7 years now and have never needed to replace any yet. I would never go back to old style 60w leccy guzzlers.

Mr_Ted

:)I agree with the benefits of energy saving lamps(bulbs grow in garden by the way), how ever there are times when a brighter stronger lamp than an energy saver IS required for specific purposes as no matter what energy savings may be made, the lumen output is not as great;)

The cost of energy saving lamps now is grown out of all proportions in comparison to when they 1st appeared, and someone is certainly making the most of the benefits in our usual "RIP OF BRITAIN" society:mad:

The cheapest lamps I have found, of all types, stock levels dependent, is from InExcess, if you have a branch local;)

Jonesya

Mr_Ted wrote: »

The cost of energy saving lamps now is grown out of all proportions in comparison to when they 1st appeared, and someone is certainly making the most of the benefits in our usual "RIP OF BRITAIN" society:mad:

They were being subsidised, the ultra low prices of recent years were because the government required the energy companies to subsidise energy saving products and energy saving light bulbs were one of the products, that's why they were so cheap.

The government has changed the scheme and energy saving bulbs are no longer subsidised so now you're paying the normal retail price.

They're still only a few pounds each so still one of the best cash saving investments you can make.

Myser

The normal lamp/bulb that you saw for around £3.00 is probably a halogen type. It looks like the standard bulb shape however, inside will be another halogen lamp.

You can buy these online cheaper.

martinthebandit

Deleted_User wrote: »

I've had 11w energy saver bulbs in all my lights for 7 years now and have never needed to replace any yet. I would never go back to old style 60w leccy guzzlers.

Yep, it was a definate money saving win when I replaced the 7 bulbs in the kitchen with led ones, all 7 now use half the electricity of just one of the old ones.

They have been in for two years plus and none have gone kaput yet.

AndyPK

Led ones are good though.
Not the silly cfl ones which start off dim.

k2150

I'm not talking about the benefits of energy saving bulbs, I was more concerned with where I could buy a regular light bulb for about a quid, I was skint and needed a light bulb fast, Tesco's had a few 40 watt bulbs but were charging £3.00 quid a piece and they were definitely not energy savers, they had the old style wired filament. In my foolishness I had not realized that incandescent light bulbs over a certain wattage had been outlawed by the EEC, hence the high price.

I won't get caught out again and ordered these ... http://amzn.to/183roUH


.

Myser

k2150 wrote: »

...Tesco's had a few 40 watt bulbs but were charging £3.00 quid a piece ...

As mentioned above, these would have been a halogen lamp inside a standard bulb looking shape.

You cannot buy the old incandescent filament bulbs from most retailers anymore as it has been banned in the EU.

The closest you'll get as mentioned by cattie above are rough service bulbs which are available from electrical wholesalers.

Your best option would be to buy the 40W/60W equivalent halogen type bulbs in bulk online as they are much cheaper.

Maplin are a little cheaper than Tesco:

http://www.maplin.co.uk/energy-saving-halogen-gls-bulbs-261528

Note that the 42W halogen lamps are equivalent to the old 60W ones.