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Lightbulbs

897 Views 28 Replies 19 Participants Last post by  GoddessKristie
I have noticed in several post how people are posting about lightbulbs (just mentioning them in their budget, etc.) If you have not yet heard about Compact Flourescent Bulbs, I'll tell you a little about them. First of all they do cost more that a regular lightbulb, but they use less energy and last much longer. For example, a bulb that uses 10 watts of electricity will put off as much light as a 40 watt bulb which is 520 lumens (whatever lumens are???). This GE package I am copying some of this info from says the bulb will last appx. 5 years or 8000 hours. This bulb is approved with the Energy Star. On the package it says over the life of the bulb it will save $24 in energy costs and that it lasts 8 times longer than a regular 40 watt bulb. I can't remember how much I paid for these bulbs because I bought a lot at once. At Meyer's they had this deal that for each bulb you bought, you got $2 worth of free gasoline. So, I stocked up and as each of my regular bulbs burns out, I am replacing it with one of these compact flouescent bulbs. But normally, I think one bulb is $6-8. So when you consider that you save $24 minus the difference in price between a regular bulb and a compact flourescent bulb, you are still saving about $20 in energy costs per bulb. I hope that if you have not already switched to this type of bulb that you will consider replacing burned out bulbs with these as it will save you money and use less energy. Also, it reduces waste because you are not changing bulbs as much. The plastic package that my bulbs came in is recycleable. And, as with any flourescent bulbs, there are special ways you are supposed to dispose of them because I think they contain mercury. Since none of mine have burned out yet, I havn't checked into disposal yet, but there is a 1-800 # on the package that tells you a good way to dispose of them.
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Yup, we have not used an incandescent bulb in 5 years, aside from those that we can't get CF for (nightlights, some outdoor lights)
We're currently making the switch. But My husband doesn't think we can put the flourescents in our closed lighting fixtures.

True or false? Do I need to buy the flourescents that look like incandescents for our covered lights?
I'm slowly switching over as I find CFL that have a light I like.
Quote:

Originally Posted by chellemarie View Post
We're currently making the switch. But My husband doesn't think we can put the flourescents in our closed lighting fixtures.

True or false? Do I need to buy the flourescents that look like incandescents for our covered lights?
can you use this type of bulb in a globe or something not open say like a ceiling fan fixture or something open like a lampshade? I have 2 compact flourescent bug light (yellow) lightbulbs outdoors; one by the front door and one by the garage door that work no problem (even when we forget and leave them on overnight). Also we have one in my daughter's ceiling fana nd the globe is closed.
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I understand that these new bulbs contain mercury and that there is presently no proper disposal for them in place (not that there is ever a proper disposal for mercury). Anyone know more about this?
Quote:

Originally Posted by chellemarie View Post
We're currently making the switch. But My husband doesn't think we can put the flourescents in our closed lighting fixtures.

True or false? Do I need to buy the flourescents that look like incandescents for our covered lights?
I'm not quite sure what you mean by that. We use the energy save bulbs that look curly in our closed flush mount fixtures with no problem. Closed fixtures need bulbs below a specific wattage (I think 40W is the most common) because of the heat put off by the bulb. The energy save bulbs are a much lower wattage though and they put of very little heat so there shouldn't be a problem.
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Quote:

Originally Posted by chellemarie View Post
We're currently making the switch. But My husband doesn't think we can put the flourescents in our closed lighting fixtures.

True or false? Do I need to buy the flourescents that look like incandescents for our covered lights?
I've seen that too, but I do it anyway without problems.

Quote:

Originally Posted by sanguine_speed View Post
I understand that these new bulbs contain mercury and that there is presently no proper disposal for them in place (not that there is ever a proper disposal for mercury). Anyone know more about this?
My town has a program for disposal. I don't know what they do with it, so I can't speak to that, but I know that they will take them and do whatever is supposed to be done for you.
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I've read that CFL can't be used with fixtures on a dimmer switch. Of course, I dislike dimmer switches (they always whine to my ears), so I'm tempted to un-install the one we have.

For our bedroom, I have the CFL which look like little tiny incandescents--it's really just a cover over the tub, I think. Anyhow, the light is softer and warmer, perhaps because of a filter. I really prefer those in the bedroom.

For our office/future kid's room, we have CFL full spectrum plant bulbs in the fan/light fixture. The light is certainly harsher for me, but it seems to help my husband stay ahead of seasonal mood issues.

Other lights are all slowly being switched over. I had a huge backlog of 60w bulbs, so I needed to use 'em up. The next bulbs which go out will get CFL, unless it's a bulb on the living room dimmer light.

Does anyone know if a fixture with multiple sockets can have a mix of CFL and incandescent bulbs? If so, I'll go ahead pop a CFL into the bathroom fixture, which has 1/3 bulbs burnt out.
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Yeah, you can't use a CFL with a dimmer, or a 3way light. Switches are easy to replace though if you want to get rid of your dimmer.

I've never heard anything that said you couldn't use a CFL with an incandescent. I don't see why not.
Quote:

Originally Posted by jocelyndale View Post
Does anyone know if a fixture with multiple sockets can have a mix of CFL and incandescent bulbs? If so, I'll go ahead pop a CFL into the bathroom fixture, which has 1/3 bulbs burnt out.
We're in the process of "switching over". We have fixtures that are "mixed". Our dining room light w/6 spots is about halfnhalf. Nothin' has blown yet!
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Here is a website about disposal www.lamprecycle.org and the phone # is 1-800-435-4448 I just got this off a GE compact flourescent bulb package.
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Originally Posted by AuntLavender View Post
can you use this type of bulb in a globe or something not open say like a ceiling fan fixture or something open like a lampshade? I have 2 compact flourescent bug light (yellow) lightbulbs outdoors; one by the front door and one by the garage door that work no problem (even when we forget and leave them on overnight). Also we have one in my daughter's ceiling fana nd the globe is closed.
There are specific bulbs for recessed and closed fixtures. All the CF bulbs at our grocery store list in small print under wanrings that they aren't to be used in recessed and closed fixtures because of the heat build-up within the fixture. For closed fixture CF bulbs we had to go to the harware store.

That said, we're having a hard time switching over. We're having the wires in our house checked (as we did when we bought - no problems then), and maybe we just got a bad batch, but they're blowing out quickly on us ( a week or two after installed), they flicker....and we have no problems with regular bulbs. And regular bulbs last pretty long in the house - we moved in four years ago and just had to change the reg bulb in our main staircase.

We want to keep the CF bulbs, but they're not making it easy
.
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Quote:

Originally Posted by reducereuserecycle View Post
Here is a website about disposal www.lamprecycle.org and the phone # is 1-800-435-4448 I just got this off a GE compact flourescent bulb package.
Hmmmm, your link didn't work. Mind you, I am in Canada, and I am probably not going to ship my lightbulbs to the US for disposal.
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We have a mixture in our bathroom fixtures. One regular ball bulb to the three fluorescent... otherwise they flicker and do that awful thing they do. The fridge, and the dimmer are the only other places we have the regular light bulbs.
we've haven't any problems with the bulbs in closed fixtures, but they're only in the hallways so not constant use. I did find some couldn't always fit in my lamps, but now I know what to look for (short curly not long and straight)

Ours have lasted almost 2 yrs and still going strong. We're in an apartment and I took out all the original bulbs (many are the triangle shape) and replaced them with similar CF ones so I can replace the original ones when we move.
We are in the process of switching over. We bought a 4-pack that was on sale for $4.97 at Home Depot. I might go back to see if they have any more..
I found out first hand about the dimmer switch.. it was making this weird buzzing sound. I think we'll have to keep regular light bulbs there.
I was also wondering about the mercury content.. DH noticed that on the package. I think I remember seeing something at the utility place about where to dispose of them, so I'll have to check into that. They also sell them there for $2 each.
I noticed today that they had bug lights and dimmable bulbs, not to mention that they are beginning to make decorator bulbs. But at $5 or $6 a bulb, I'll look at twirly ones at 6 for $10. I also found recessed flood lights so I have almost everything changed over. The ones that I bought did not say that you couldn't use them in overhead/CF lamps.
You can actually get them really cheap if you look around. Also check with your electric company, sometime they offer discounts.
My mom bought some of those decorative ones at Lowes and she had 3 of them burn out in less than a month. she retunred them to Lowe's. we think they have not quite perfected the decorative ones. I wish I knew the brand so I could pass it along to you all. I'll try to find out cause that was a hassle for her.
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