Fluorescent lighting

[Dieselnut59]

Fluorescent lighting is the way to go!

With all the choices, there is NO reason anyone should still have an incandescent light bulb in their house. It should remain a "choice", not a government requirement, but it is a WISE choice. I have been using fluorescent lighting for many years. I have installed PLENTY of it, including retrofit jobs. The great benifits of it are the choices of colors of light output. You can get a fluorescent lamp in color "temperatures" (color) from 27K to 65K commonly, with extremes available at either end. A 27K is the color of a typical incandescent lamp. 65K is closest to natural sunlight (my favorite).

Modern electronic fluorescent lights are "instant on", have better color rendering than the previous designs and are tremendously energy efficient.

Compact fluorescent lamps (the little spiral critters) fit just about anywhere an old incandescent will and use about a quarter of the power, while lasting around 10 times longer, plus give off very little heat. The beauty of them is you can put a 23 watt one in a fixture marked "Max 60 watt lamp". The 23 watt compact fluorescent gives the light output of a 100 watt incandescent. A 13 watt compact fluorescent equals a 60 watt incandescent.

The only downside to fluorescent lighting is initial cost, but it quickly pays off in energy savings.

 

[PPettit]

I went thru and replaced most of the lights in my house several years ago with CF's. The claim that they last 7 years is just not true! Some of the very expensive ones- Panasonic comes to mind- will last that long and have instant on. If you run down to home depot and buy the contractor pack of Sylvania's you will be very disappointed. They take forever to come up to full output and they burn out in less time than a quality incandescent.

Any location where the light is turned on only for a few minutes is better served by an incandescent.

When I switched every light in my house to CF's it made no noticable difference in my electric bill.

 

[DavidC]

The CFL lamps also have mercury in the powder. If you break one you will inhale such powder. The environmentalists should have a field day with these in local land fills. The government banned lead from fuel for health reasons but I guess it is ok to have the mercury.



Dave

 

[Dieselnut59]

Cheap ones at the discount stores are NOT the way to go. I get mine from an electrical supply house (Englewood Electric Supply Co. ) and they are commercial quality. Some have been running for several years. These are Philips brand. They come on instantly (after a brief initial run-in on the first start up) and are brighter than "advertised", as a 13 watt CF is actually brighter than a 60 watt incandescent. The "instant on" type can be used where frequent on and off is a factor. I have them in a customer's office bathroom, where the light is turned on only long enough to take care of business, then turned off, only to be turned on by the next in line. These have been in use approximately four years now.

If you use quality lamps, you will cut your power used for lighting by 3/4. Remember, lighting is only a small portion of your power bill. Air conditioning is the biggest cost in most houses. Fluorescent lighting helps with that also, as less heat is given off.

Another power saving idea, as far as central air conditioning is to make sure ALL vents are fully open and the air filter is always clean. Interior walls are seldom insulated so shutting off vents in unused rooms is not economical. Central air units like to flow. a dirty air filter or restricted air output from closed vents hurts the system's efficiency.

Close blinds and curtains on windows where sun shines directly in your house.

Something people seldom think about is their water heater. On a gas unit, sediment can build up in the bottom of the tank, ruining its efficiency. Drain the sediment periodically to prevent build up and improve efficiency.

 

[JFought]

CFL!! Mercury!!! The sky is falling!!!!

um I mean warmming... . right Mr. Gore?...



Global Warming is BS!!!!! The average global temp went down one degree in 07. So I guess this year we can burn every darn thing in sight to prevent Global COOLING!!!!!!!!!!





(sorry i can take anymore of this crap!)



needed to vent. .



I will not buy CFL's and I am not an enviromentlist.

 

[DWeiler]

I run the fluorescent light in my garage,plus i still have 4 150 watt incandescent ones i use for more brightness when need,i gradually changing over cause the feds have regulated it be done within the next few years up here. I"m sure the technology has improved since i installed my fluorescent ones 12+ years ago in the garage,but the only downer is that they don't like the cold weather. If i don't heat the garage and it hits -30C/-40C in the winter,they are not nearly as bright,thats why i have the others as a bit of back-up.

 

[E7mack96]

I have been on the CFL bandwagon since the first ones came out. I still have several of the first ones and they are working fine. I also have at least one per pack, bought from sams club, that doesn't last 1 day. So frustrating



I did notice an average of $40 per month savings by switching all lighting to cfl. , no bull. (I have kids that will not turn off a light to save their life).

.



AS a side note, I just moved to Gainesville, into an apt, and the apt has all incandecent lighting. I immediately could feel the heat coming from all those lights being on. I proceeded to switch every one to CFL. Now the AC doesn't have to work as hard.

 

[HPetrat]

Depending where you live!



If you are in a warm area and need A/C then fluorescent may be better due to the cost reduction on the A/C bill.



However, if you are in a cooler climate, as good many are, incandescent is the better and cheaper bulb.

Every fluorescent you install means the furnace (gas/oil) or electric heaters will need to compensate for the heat-loss that the incandescent gave off.

Factor in the cost of producing fluorescents and the breakage hazards (gases,powders & mercury etc... ) the incandescent bulbs are a much cheaper and enviromental friendly choice.



After reading a survey of a two identical homes in the same region (within 1 mile of each other & same exposures) over 6 winter months comparing entire energy consumption costs.



Just my views,



HP

 

[E7mack96]

In all honesty, I cannot wait for the LED technology to mature and then CFLs will be abandoned. LED technology is the MOST efficient form of lighting to date. Packaging is so much smaller, meaning better designs and more applications.



White LEDs are just coming into thier own in the trucking industry as a light source in van trailers and reefers.



E7

 

[Dieselnut59]

In all honesty, I cannot wait for the LED technology to mature and then CFLs will be abandoned. LED technology is the MOST efficient form of lighting to date. Packaging is so much smaller, meaning better designs and more applications.



White LEDs are just coming into thier own in the trucking industry as a light source in van trailers and reefers.



E7

Yessir! Those are awesome! I have all LED's on both of my flatbeds and all of our company work trucks, as well as all three of my trailers and in my MagLight flashlights. They are awesome, yet also don't always hold up to their advertised life.

 

[steved]

I replaced a lot of bulbs with CFL, but there are some limitations. My parents also changed to CFL. I've seen around a $30/month decrease (we run lights) and my parents have seen around $40/month decrease in electric use.



They don't like starting in the cold... so if you are in a cold snap (in winter), plan on just leaving them on all the time. I have a couple that are never turned off, they've been running straight for 6+ months, and two are in "enclosed" fixtures which is supposed to be a no-no.



They also aren't designed for appliances... stoves, dryers, etc. .



LED technology needs to be significantly improved prior to it replacing CFL... they are not as radiant, which makes lighting a lot harder using LEDs.

 

[Dieselnut59]

I replaced a lot of bulbs with CFL, but there are some limitations. My parents also changed to CFL. I've seen around a $30/month decrease (we run lights) and my parents have seen around $40/month decrease in electric use.



They don't like starting in the cold... so if you are in a cold snap (in winter), plan on just leaving them on all the time. I have a couple that are never turned off, they've been running straight for 6+ months, and two are in "enclosed" fixtures which is supposed to be a no-no.



They also aren't designed for appliances... stoves, dryers, etc. .



LED technology needs to be significantly improved prior to it replacing CFL... they are not as radiant, which makes lighting a lot harder using LEDs.

I even have CFL's in both of my refrigerators (2 bulbs in each) and they come on well in there. Have been in there for at least four years. Advantage is great in a refrig because of very little heat given off.

I have a 20 watt circle fluorescent that stays on 24/7 and lasts 3-4 years.

I did a T-8 retrofit/conversion job around four years ago for the local convenience store. He has not replaced a bulb since (8 foot "slimline" type) and some of his lights are on 24/7. Some linear fluorescents are good to -20F starting temperature. I prefer linear fluorescents and the "first generation" of compact fluorescents over the current CFL rage, but the simplicity of the CFLs is hard to beat.

 

[dpuckett]

WE stayed with my father and his wife (#3, I think), and they had CFLs in the basement where we stayed. The light hurt my eyes- it was blue tinted, and seemed to pulse or something. I put in an incandescent (which really ticked her off), only to have it replaced with a CFL that day. We moved out a month later, so it wasnt an issue.



I have mixed feelings on CFLs- energy savings are a big lure, but I also dont like the reported hazards (incandescents are KNOWN to be safe), and I dont care for the light colors, just aint used to it, I guess. Here in the mediocre midwest (ok S. E. MO), we dont have much quality anything- Lowe's and WalMart are about it for lights.

 

[Allnew2Me]

You may be interested in watching this, although I don't think it is really as bad as this guys seems to believe.



YouTube - IMPORTANT INFORMATION ABOUT ENERGY SAVER LIGHT BULBS!

 

[B.G. Smith]

YouTube - IMPORTANT INFORMATION ABOUT ENERGY SAVER LIGHT BULBS! bg

 

[Skydiver]

The first CFL I touched about 12 years back, broke.

I use them almost every where. I want to replace the quartz floods around my house with CFL floods. I did install a CFL flood in the socket over the kitchen sink and I like it better.

The 13 watt unit I placed over our Volunteer Fire Dept entry door, has 3 years on it and has decreased our responce time be 10 seconds. I can now see my keys at night. lol

 

[JesseJ]

I think CFL's are a good idea, but should remain a choice. I keep hearing them say "IF every house in the US replaced just one light with one of these, it would be the equivelant of taking 80 million cars off the road every year. " But then I read an article in the local paper that last year they sold almost 400 million of these CFL bulbs. That has to be more than one per household doesn't it?

I echo everyone elses statements about buying the cheap ones, they won't last as long as advertised. You have to spend some money to get the good ones. I replaced all my lights with them to save money, too bad it wasn't really visible on the electric bill. I know they work, but I don't see it.

 

[steved]

I'm happy with my CFLs currently... they are working fine.



I bought both cheap ones (Lowe's) and expensive ones (Syvania's), I have yet to lose one. And some (at least 5) are on 24/7 because it is easier that way, three outside lights (in enclosed fixtures) and two lights in a china cabinet.



The cheap ones are "instant on", while the syvania are delayed turn on... that's got to be the biggest change for us, waiting for the lights to pop on after turning the switch on...

 

[Cattletrkr]

I have one that is used as a nightlight so it's on all night every night. The other is in the basement.

I won't buy anymore until the incandescants are off the market. CFL's suck. Lousy light, 15 minute startup, and if I have to buy the more expensive ones to get away from the first two problems, kiss the $$ savings goodbye.

If they work for you great. They don't work for me.

 

[steved]

The new instant-on's don't have any waiting... they didn't cost anymore than the originals.

I've seen a solid $20/month, and probably closer to $30, decrease in our electric bill (we run the lights a lot)... I feel they pay for themselves quite quickly...