We use CFL's. Because they generate much less heat than regular bulbs it also helps with cooling costs.
Home lighting: Incandescent, CCFL, LED, Halogen?
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JHZR2
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Originally Posted By: Hokiefyd
Originally Posted By: Rhymingmechanic
Can anybody suggest a CFL that won't burn out and do a caustic smoke show in a bathroom or an enclosed fixture? That happened to me 3 times in a year with 2 different brands, so I have gone back to incandescents in everything but table lamps.
I have gone back to incandescents as well. I have had two CFLs burn out (literally); one that started smoking in the lamp it was installed in, and one where the ballast got so hot it melted the fixture socket and melted the plastic around the ballast. I've also had many CFLs that were DOA, so I've quit using them. I'd enjoy the cost and temperature savings, but it's not worth ruining a fixture (or burning the house down).
We've seen the yellowing quite a bit, but never any smoke. Are these new or old bulbs? Know the brand?
Our most. Ommonly used light, that actually has the most hours has bulbs from 2006 in it... Of course they will probably burn out tomorrow now that I praised them...
Originally Posted By: Rhymingmechanic
Can anybody suggest a CFL that won't burn out and do a caustic smoke show in a bathroom or an enclosed fixture? That happened to me 3 times in a year with 2 different brands, so I have gone back to incandescents in everything but table lamps.
I have gone back to incandescents as well. I have had two CFLs burn out (literally); one that started smoking in the lamp it was installed in, and one where the ballast got so hot it melted the fixture socket and melted the plastic around the ballast. I've also had many CFLs that were DOA, so I've quit using them. I'd enjoy the cost and temperature savings, but it's not worth ruining a fixture (or burning the house down).
We've seen the yellowing quite a bit, but never any smoke. Are these new or old bulbs? Know the brand?
Our most. Ommonly used light, that actually has the most hours has bulbs from 2006 in it... Of course they will probably burn out tomorrow now that I praised them...
Usually I use CFL for the ones that I keep on for at least 10 mins at a time, the ones that get switched on and off a lot I use Incandescent.
JHZR2
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Originally Posted By: PandaBear
Usually I use CFL for the ones that I keep on for at least 10 mins at a time, the ones that get switched on and off a lot I use Incandescent.
But now that incandescents are illegal or phased out or whatever, the non cfl drop ins are actually halogen, and it's as important or moreso for them to be on for a long period of time to allow the vaporization/condensation cycle to work properly.
Why are you saying 10 minutes? My CFLs come to full bright in 10s or less, and I've not seen a correlation in terms of switching use and life. Our failures seem to be very random, some actually have been the most seldomly used ones!
Usually I use CFL for the ones that I keep on for at least 10 mins at a time, the ones that get switched on and off a lot I use Incandescent.
But now that incandescents are illegal or phased out or whatever, the non cfl drop ins are actually halogen, and it's as important or moreso for them to be on for a long period of time to allow the vaporization/condensation cycle to work properly.
Why are you saying 10 minutes? My CFLs come to full bright in 10s or less, and I've not seen a correlation in terms of switching use and life. Our failures seem to be very random, some actually have been the most seldomly used ones!
Originally Posted By: JHZR2
We've seen the yellowing quite a bit, but never any smoke. Are these new or old bulbs? Know the brand?
The ones that have burned up are GE bulbs. I just bought a pack of three Sylvanias for the small bathroom, because it does heat up quick in there with three incandescent bulbs. One of the three was DOA. Nice. I need to call Sylvania on that one, see if they'll send me a replacement.
I'm looking forward to LED. I never did like the CFL concept with the mini ballast in it. I've ran a ton of them due to getting them free from various promotions, and must say that I'm glad I haven't paid for many of these. But the LEDs appear to be the real deal. My parents have converted their motorcoach to all LED, and they've worked great so far. Biggest problem with them so far is color matching. Apparently, it's pretty easy to get non-matched LEDs that look funny when there are a number of them close together.
We've seen the yellowing quite a bit, but never any smoke. Are these new or old bulbs? Know the brand?
The ones that have burned up are GE bulbs. I just bought a pack of three Sylvanias for the small bathroom, because it does heat up quick in there with three incandescent bulbs. One of the three was DOA. Nice. I need to call Sylvania on that one, see if they'll send me a replacement.
I'm looking forward to LED. I never did like the CFL concept with the mini ballast in it. I've ran a ton of them due to getting them free from various promotions, and must say that I'm glad I haven't paid for many of these. But the LEDs appear to be the real deal. My parents have converted their motorcoach to all LED, and they've worked great so far. Biggest problem with them so far is color matching. Apparently, it's pretty easy to get non-matched LEDs that look funny when there are a number of them close together.
JHZR2
Staff member
Interesting, I think we have had the best luck with GE and sylvania, maybe some feit as well.
I wish I could find some good LEDs that can actually put out he equivalent of a 100w incandescent in the same footprint. Most on the market either are set up as floods, or are a funky design with poor throw of light and weak performance.
I wish I could find some good LEDs that can actually put out he equivalent of a 100w incandescent in the same footprint. Most on the market either are set up as floods, or are a funky design with poor throw of light and weak performance.
I use the instant on, 23W Sylvania 2700K (warm white) bulbs throughout my house. They don't make the rated lifespan, but they far outlast GE 100W incan's. I change about 1 a month, but I have a lot of them. By the way, the 2700K bulbs exactly match the GE 100W bulbs in color and brightness.
I purchased a less expensive "FEIT" LED floodlight at Costco. It's not as bright as the 23W CFL's in the high hats. So, I'm not going to purchase any more of them. Unless they start selling a brighter variant. Nor does the LED match the color of the others. It's a good bit more "white", at 3000K color temperature.
I purchased a less expensive "FEIT" LED floodlight at Costco. It's not as bright as the 23W CFL's in the high hats. So, I'm not going to purchase any more of them. Unless they start selling a brighter variant. Nor does the LED match the color of the others. It's a good bit more "white", at 3000K color temperature.
Originally Posted By: JHZR2
We've seen the yellowing quite a bit, but never any smoke. Are these new or old bulbs? Know the brand?
Two of the flamers were Feit 18W, probably bought around 2007. Both were in enclosed ceiling fixtures, one in the bathroom and one in the kitchen.
The other was a Sylvania 13W, maybe from 2008. It was in an open fixture above the bathroom mirror. All three failed in 2010, but had been in those locations for a year or less.
I have had a couple Sylvania 23W just quit working in table lamps, and a 13W that started flickering so I got rid of it before it could burn up.
It's one thing to say a bulb replaces incandescents. It's something altogether different when the finest of fine print says its life will be reduced when used in many situations where incandescents work fine.
I wonder if the electronics in LED replacements are any more robust than CFLs. The LEDs seem to have elaborate heat sinks, so I wonder if that means they won't last in enclosed locations either.
We've seen the yellowing quite a bit, but never any smoke. Are these new or old bulbs? Know the brand?
Two of the flamers were Feit 18W, probably bought around 2007. Both were in enclosed ceiling fixtures, one in the bathroom and one in the kitchen.
The other was a Sylvania 13W, maybe from 2008. It was in an open fixture above the bathroom mirror. All three failed in 2010, but had been in those locations for a year or less.
I have had a couple Sylvania 23W just quit working in table lamps, and a 13W that started flickering so I got rid of it before it could burn up.
It's one thing to say a bulb replaces incandescents. It's something altogether different when the finest of fine print says its life will be reduced when used in many situations where incandescents work fine.
I wonder if the electronics in LED replacements are any more robust than CFLs. The LEDs seem to have elaborate heat sinks, so I wonder if that means they won't last in enclosed locations either.
I stock up on CFL any time I see them priced under a dollar. Lately it seems to be difficult to find them at that price point any more. Unfortunately, their life is limited. Some of them die in a day while others will last a year or two.
I have very few incandescent in the house any more. The LED bulbs seems to be stupidly expensive and I have not taken the plunge yet.
I have very few incandescent in the house any more. The LED bulbs seems to be stupidly expensive and I have not taken the plunge yet.
Originally Posted By: Vikas
I stock up on CFL any time I see them priced under a dollar. Lately it seems to be difficult to find them at that price point any more. Unfortunately, their life is limited. Some of them die in a day while others will last a year or two.
I have very few incandescent in the house any more. The LED bulbs seems to be stupidly expensive and I have not taken the plunge yet.
+1
I stock up on CFL any time I see them priced under a dollar. Lately it seems to be difficult to find them at that price point any more. Unfortunately, their life is limited. Some of them die in a day while others will last a year or two.
I have very few incandescent in the house any more. The LED bulbs seems to be stupidly expensive and I have not taken the plunge yet.
+1
We have replaced some incandescent bulbs with CFLs and we like them.
I am planning to get LED light for all reading lamps and such. (for the bedroom, etc)
The Ottlite from Lowe's we got for the work desk (where we have our laptops or read a book sometimes) is great.($46 and it puts out a good amount of white light, andwe don't use the 5 incandescent bulb chandelier thing at all anymore...)
I am planning to get LED light for all reading lamps and such. (for the bedroom, etc)
The Ottlite from Lowe's we got for the work desk (where we have our laptops or read a book sometimes) is great.($46 and it puts out a good amount of white light, andwe don't use the 5 incandescent bulb chandelier thing at all anymore...)
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Originally Posted By: JHZR2
But now that incandescents are illegal or phased out or whatever, the non cfl drop ins are actually halogen, and it's as important or moreso for them to be on for a long period of time to allow the vaporization/condensation cycle to work properly.
Why are you saying 10 minutes? My CFLs come to full bright in 10s or less, and I've not seen a correlation in terms of switching use and life. Our failures seem to be very random, some actually have been the most seldomly used ones!
I think you can still buy appliance bulb and use it as regular incandescent. The point is they are good for certain places like bathroom and I'd not use it enough to save on energy, but I'd not want to wait 5 sec before I can pee in the middle of the night for 30 seconds.
Personally I found that if I turn on a light, it is either less than 2 minutes or more than 2 hours. 10 mins arbitrary but works for me, and YMMV.
But now that incandescents are illegal or phased out or whatever, the non cfl drop ins are actually halogen, and it's as important or moreso for them to be on for a long period of time to allow the vaporization/condensation cycle to work properly.
Why are you saying 10 minutes? My CFLs come to full bright in 10s or less, and I've not seen a correlation in terms of switching use and life. Our failures seem to be very random, some actually have been the most seldomly used ones!
I think you can still buy appliance bulb and use it as regular incandescent. The point is they are good for certain places like bathroom and I'd not use it enough to save on energy, but I'd not want to wait 5 sec before I can pee in the middle of the night for 30 seconds.
Personally I found that if I turn on a light, it is either less than 2 minutes or more than 2 hours. 10 mins arbitrary but works for me, and YMMV.
The only incandescents that now I have are in the garage and bathroom, inside ceiling fans (for some crazy reason, at least one bulb has to incandescent otherwise the light fixture behaves very funny) and inside refrigerator. Every other light is CFL. I definitely cut down on the electric bill when I made the switch many years ago.
Essentially, any fixture which can physically house the CFL, gets one. I would like find cheaper source for high wattage CFL so that I can replace the ones in garage. The CFL 28Watt real are not bright enough.
Essentially, any fixture which can physically house the CFL, gets one. I would like find cheaper source for high wattage CFL so that I can replace the ones in garage. The CFL 28Watt real are not bright enough.
I was looking at the LEDs, but they are just too expensive for what they are. For the amount of light that I use, I'm going to have these CFLs for quite a while before they will pay for themselves.
When I moved into the apartment, ALL of the bulbs (Except for those in the bathroom) were replaced with 15w CFLs. I didn't get to see a reduction in the power bill because they were put in before the incandescent were used.
The bathroom has incandescent for a few reasons. First is, I still don't trust ballasts and I don't want moisture getting into them. For some reason, I think that the cheap electronics will not do well with the moisture in a bathroom. Second, the bathroom light is rarely on for more than 5 minutes and it sees more on/off than any other light.
When I moved into the apartment, ALL of the bulbs (Except for those in the bathroom) were replaced with 15w CFLs. I didn't get to see a reduction in the power bill because they were put in before the incandescent were used.
The bathroom has incandescent for a few reasons. First is, I still don't trust ballasts and I don't want moisture getting into them. For some reason, I think that the cheap electronics will not do well with the moisture in a bathroom. Second, the bathroom light is rarely on for more than 5 minutes and it sees more on/off than any other light.
I have an interesting mix at our house. Incandescent bulbs in the stairwells, garage, porch lights, and seldom used closets. Most lamps and ceiling fixtures have CFL's, the exceptions being anything on a dimmer switch.
I have CFL's in the bathroom, but two of them have died in the last year...one of them went up in smoke. Plenty of T12 4' bulbs in the basement.
Mercury Vapor lights still serve me well for security purposes. I have one high pressure sodium light in the shop but I hate the orange light.
I have CFL's in the bathroom, but two of them have died in the last year...one of them went up in smoke. Plenty of T12 4' bulbs in the basement.
Mercury Vapor lights still serve me well for security purposes. I have one high pressure sodium light in the shop but I hate the orange light.
Originally Posted By: Rhymingmechanic
Two of the flamers were Feit 18W, probably bought around 2007. Both were in enclosed ceiling fixtures, one in the bathroom and one in the kitchen.
Most of the standard CFL's I've seen and owned over the years say specifically on the packaging or bulb to not use in enclosed fixtures. I assume because of overheating and failure like you saw.
I've had good luck with Satco "60 watt replacements" and I've gotten all mine on sale for under $1 per lamp. I've had better luck with them than GE or other name brands. My house is full of them. I've probably got a good 40+ of them in service. Lots of twin tube shop light fixtures between the basement and garage, some circline 30 watt screw-in fluorescents, even an old, used 70 watt HPS American Electric streetlamp in the garage for times when I need good lighting in there for working on cars, etc.
I remember when CFL's were like $20/ea when they first came out in the late 1980's. I'm still waiting for LEDs to come way down in price.
Joel
Two of the flamers were Feit 18W, probably bought around 2007. Both were in enclosed ceiling fixtures, one in the bathroom and one in the kitchen.
Most of the standard CFL's I've seen and owned over the years say specifically on the packaging or bulb to not use in enclosed fixtures. I assume because of overheating and failure like you saw.
I've had good luck with Satco "60 watt replacements" and I've gotten all mine on sale for under $1 per lamp. I've had better luck with them than GE or other name brands. My house is full of them. I've probably got a good 40+ of them in service. Lots of twin tube shop light fixtures between the basement and garage, some circline 30 watt screw-in fluorescents, even an old, used 70 watt HPS American Electric streetlamp in the garage for times when I need good lighting in there for working on cars, etc.
I remember when CFL's were like $20/ea when they first came out in the late 1980's. I'm still waiting for LEDs to come way down in price.
Joel
I run a mix of cold cathode tubes and LEDs everywhere but the bathroom and kitchen. I am a decent DIYer, so I did the LEDs myself using strips of varying lengths and 12" CCs. A pair of CCs w/ inverter is about $5 and strips of LEDs are almost as cheap.
Monthly electric bill runs me less than $17 in the summer and a bit less during the winter.
Monthly electric bill runs me less than $17 in the summer and a bit less during the winter.
Originally Posted By: Rhymingmechanic
Originally Posted By: JHZR2
We've seen the yellowing quite a bit, but never any smoke. Are these new or old bulbs? Know the brand?
Two of the flamers were Feit 18W, probably bought around 2007. Both were in enclosed ceiling fixtures, one in the bathroom and one in the kitchen.
Auuugh! Do not do this! Do not put a CFL in an enclosed fixture!
Originally Posted By: JHZR2
We've seen the yellowing quite a bit, but never any smoke. Are these new or old bulbs? Know the brand?
Two of the flamers were Feit 18W, probably bought around 2007. Both were in enclosed ceiling fixtures, one in the bathroom and one in the kitchen.
Auuugh! Do not do this! Do not put a CFL in an enclosed fixture!
Originally Posted By: Vikas
The only incandescents that now I have are in the garage and bathroom, inside ceiling fans (for some crazy reason, at least one bulb has to incandescent otherwise the light fixture behaves very funny) and inside refrigerator. Every other light is CFL. I definitely cut down on the electric bill when I made the switch many years ago.
Essentially, any fixture which can physically house the CFL, gets one. I would like find cheaper source for high wattage CFL so that I can replace the ones in garage. The CFL 28Watt real are not bright enough.
I have seen 32W (150W replacements) at Wal-Mart and various supermarkets.
The only incandescents that now I have are in the garage and bathroom, inside ceiling fans (for some crazy reason, at least one bulb has to incandescent otherwise the light fixture behaves very funny) and inside refrigerator. Every other light is CFL. I definitely cut down on the electric bill when I made the switch many years ago.
Essentially, any fixture which can physically house the CFL, gets one. I would like find cheaper source for high wattage CFL so that I can replace the ones in garage. The CFL 28Watt real are not bright enough.
I have seen 32W (150W replacements) at Wal-Mart and various supermarkets.
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