Is it me or these new light bulbs?

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Originally Posted By: mikeg5
those of you who have totally changed over to them can you tell a difference in your power bill since the change?

also which brands are the better more reliable brands?


I average between 15-20 bucks per month less...I get them from Home Depot..The box says Commerical Electric...Had only 2 go out in 5 years.
 
I haven't paid attention to KW hours used. Price is no indicator for me as our prices have fluctuated wildly over the last 3 years.
 
Here's my 36 month history. The weather seems to have a LOT more to do with usage than any bulbs, lol.

9/11/2009 2,228 KWH $177.32
8/14/2009 2,480 KWH $197.77
7/15/2009 3,232 KWH $241.90
6/12/2009 1,940 KWH $145.88
5/13/2009 1,432 KWH $111.99
4/14/2009 1,085 KWH $73.39
3/13/2009 1,127 KWH $76.15
2/12/2009 838 KWH $59.53
1/14/2009 1,233 KWH $89.67
12/11/2008 1,045 KWH $75.01
11/11/2008 1,310 KWH $99.73
10/10/2008 1,562 KWH $151.06
9/12/2008 2,504 KWH $266.24
8/12/2008 3,069 KWH $309.59
7/14/2008 2,763 KWH $239.02
6/12/2008 2,478 KWH $214.17
5/13/2008 1,503 KWH $136.16
4/14/2008 1,520 KWH $106.79
3/13/2008 1,143 KWH $76.24
2/13/2008 1,396 KWH $85.49
1/15/2008 1,677 KWH $107.04
12/12/2007 1,499 KWH $100.53
11/12/2007 1,700 KWH $119.79
10/12/2007 2,442 KWH $206.92
9/14/2007 2,997 KWH $224.33
8/16/2007 3,034 KWH $233.29
7/18/2007 2,420 KWH $189.69
6/18/2007 2,054 KWH $174.22
5/16/2007 1,388 KWH $120.41
4/17/2007 1,198 KWH $79.81
3/15/2007 914 KWH $56.68
2/14/2007 1,130 KWH $73.95
1/16/2007 1,359 KWH $84.57
12/13/2006 1,227 KWH $81.93
11/13/2006 1,228 KWH $72.09
10/13/2006 1,583 KWH $122.74
 
i know about how much a month at certain times of the year my bill will be. other than that i was just curious if they really save enough power for you to be able to see the cost difference in your power bill is all
 
They used to last before they were made in China.

I have four in my bedroom that are over five years old. The newer ones do fail more quickly. Don't expect the manufacturers to back their warranty though.

I hope LEDs come down in price in the near future.
 
Wow, pretty big spread here on that issue. The ones I've used have all came from Walmart and were GE brand. Got some sort of coupon from the local electric company and took full advantage of that. Useage wise, it's different. Ones that are turned on and off a lot quit as well as the ones that were on for 5 to 6 hours a day. I mean, you can get a pack of "regular" bulbs at wallyworld for about 1.50 for 4....while you can. I just bought some "great value" brand this past weekend and see how they hold up. I did buy some at Sam's and they were failing as well. Maybe we got "dirty" power down here?????
 
Originally Posted By: mikeg5
those of you who have totally changed over to them can you tell a difference in your power bill since the change?

also which brands are the better more reliable brands?


I have noticed that the power bill has dropped from over +$225/month to around $170/month in the summer months (this is with running the AC as if I lived in an ice house) after I switched over to CFL's. I cannot say for sure because I really haven't been tracking usage or the cost of electricity.

I run CFL's in all the recessed fixtures in the house; 13 of them in the kitchen, hallway, etc. All the table lamps have them too.

Essentially, if it uses a bulb it has a CFL. Except for the garage door opener. There's two 100 watt incandescents in there.

I haven't had any bulb failures in since I switched over a few years ago using $1.00 CFL's from Wal-Mart (I think they were 96-cents; can't recall the brand...prolly GE). I have noticed that they have gotten a bit dimmer now than when they were new.
 
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I usally buy the $2 13watt CFLs, and the 10c incandescents..

The rule of thumb I have discovered is that if you need to have the light on for 15 minutes or more at room temperature you have an effective application for CFL bulbs. If you need the light on for less than 15 minutes and below room temperature you are better off with a normal incandescents, better return on investment too.

Why?
The bulbs take a few minutes to reach full brightness and operating temperature for the ballasts to work effectively and efficiently lighting the gas in the bulb. Any less time than 15 minutes and life expectancy drops, drastically if the lit time is really short. Temperatures effect life expectance drastically as well. Below 0C and lit time of less than 5 minutes and you will be lucky to get 6 months out of it.

Thus for high cycle on/off rooms (bathroom, closet, storage room) and/or rooms that experience lower temperatures like garage and outside get normal incandescent bulbs. Conversely living room, kitchen and other rooms that have long durations of on-time CFLs really pay off.

My
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Quote:
Here's my 36 month history. The weather seems to have a LOT more to do with usage than any bulbs, lol.


You probably have central AC. That automatically accounts for 40% additional costs when in use.

In my house there is no such thing as conservation. Willful conservation that is. It has to be engineered in so that you can't waste in a relative view. It's like dealing with a population, they're not going to do the right thing as long as they figure that the magic fairy pays for it.

So, it's interruptable electric for the dryer and main AC unit ..CFL's for all the fixtures ...etc..etc. Inanimate objects don't have to change their behaviors.
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Yes, I have central a/c and a 1930's vintage bungalow with rock wool insulation and no soffit vents. I have a turbine that I've never actually seen turn. In the summer, the SW corner of the house is a good 7-8 degrees hotter than the rest of the house. I also keep a small window unit in my bedroom so that I can get the temp down to about 68 at night without freezing out my kids. You can see how drastically my costs drop in winter due to the gas-powered heat. That's even with 1-2 electric space heaters running. There's a lot I could do to engineer in some more efficiency, but I just don't envision living here more than maybe 3-5 more years.
 
You should climb up there on the roof and put some grease on that turbine. That alone will do alot. Also, installing soffit vents wouldn't cost a few dollars. Those alone might make a significant difference in your bill.
 
There's nothing to move the turbine is my point. All I have are some gable vents. Soffit vents are what I need. I actually bought some. But I have aluminum siding and I'm wondering if I should just have someone come and install new siding with the vents already cut in them...
 
Originally Posted By: mikeg5
those of you who have totally changed over to them can you tell a difference in your power bill since the change?

also which brands are the better more reliable brands?


no difference in power bill
 
Originally Posted By: BrianWC
There's nothing to move the turbine is my point. All I have are some gable vents. Soffit vents are what I need. I actually bought some. But I have aluminum siding and I'm wondering if I should just have someone come and install new siding with the vents already cut in them...


That would probably be cleaner and easier. Not cheaper though, but I still think it would pay for itself in the time frame you're working with.
 
Yeah, probably so. And I think I actually know someone who'd charge me a fair price to do it, too... And it'd save me a lot more money than silly CFLs!
 
Yes, but in the summer it doesn't help b/c it takes the a/c until about 9 PM to catch up with the thermostat, lol.
 
Actually, they make them now to where they keep track of how long it takes the system to reach a setpoint and kick on or off in advance of the programmed time based on gathered data. Since they gather data about every previous cycle and use it to determine the current cycle, they're able to change with the seasons. Mine took about a week after I got it to get to where it could hit the temp/time pretty close. Now, it's really good.

...These dern thinkin' machines.
 
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