CFL's...

I've seen display after display of CFLs side by side with incandescents and have had a mix in my house forever and I've never seen a green or purple shift. Now with the long tube office type bulbs I have seen that.

I can't think of the last time I've had to replace a CFL. My house is 5 years old and the only bulbs I've replaced have been all the incandescents over & over (but most are on fans). I've even changed the outside decorative lights for CFLs since they have now temp ones.

So IKEA has $10 LEDs? What output? All the cheap LEDs I see put out about the same light as a night light.

I'd love to change my outside flood lights with LEDs because they are 28' up and are a huge hassle to change but they are $100 a pop. That's over $1,000 plus a good chance of falling off the ladder.

When I had them put up there I was looking at coverage, not how hard they'd be to change. I have to do everything behind my head on the way shaky ladder and that scares me.

I don't recall the exact details and the info isn't online. If you have a local Ikea, go visit. They're not going to replace floodlights, but they do a good job on our outdoor door lights.

Keith Tanner wrote: I don't recall the exact details and the info isn't online. If you have a local Ikea, go visit. They're not going to replace floodlights, but they do a good job on our outdoor door lights.

Home Depot & Lowes both have units they say will replace the flood lights (@$100 a fixture w/bulbs) but they conveniently don't list light output.

m4ff3w wrote:

Kenny_McCormic wrote:

z31maniac wrote:

Kenny_McCormic wrote: that and you can't run CFL in a droplight.

Cool story. Will you go into my garage and tell the one I've been using for three years to stop working?

Just because you can, doesn't mean you should.

Why shouldn't you?

I would also like Mr. McCormic's take on this.

In reply to dculberson:

(and Ian F) That's awesome! Buy more LED's so the demand goes up and the price goes down so I can have some, too! I'd love LED's in the garage and in my office...

z31maniac wrote:

m4ff3w wrote:

Kenny_McCormic wrote:

z31maniac wrote:

Kenny_McCormic wrote: that and you can't run CFL in a droplight.

Cool story. Will you go into my garage and tell the one I've been using for three years to stop working?

Just because you can, doesn't mean you should.

Why shouldn't you?

I would also like Mr. McCormic's take on this.

Well, according to the EPA, you have to:

EPA said: Have people and pets leave the room. Air out the room for 5-10 minutes by opening a window or door to the outdoor environment. Shut off the central forced air heating/air-conditioning system, if you have one. Collect materials needed to clean up broken bulb: stiff paper or cardboard; sticky tape; damp paper towels or disposable wet wipes (for hard surfaces); and a glass jar with a metal lid or a sealable plastic bag. During Cleanup DO NOT VACUUM. Vacuuming is not recommended unless broken glass remains after all other cleanup steps have been taken. Vacuuming could spread mercury-containing powder or mercury vapor. Be thorough in collecting broken glass and visible powder. Scoop up glass fragments and powder using stiff paper or cardboard. Use sticky tape, such as duct tape, to pick up any remaining small glass fragments and powder. Place the used tape in the glass jar or plastic bag. See the detailed cleanup instructions for more information, and for differences in cleaning up hard surfaces versus carpeting or rugs. Place cleanup materials in a sealable container. After Cleanup Promptly place all bulb debris and cleanup materials, including vacuum cleaner bags, outdoors in a trash container or protected area until materials can be disposed of. Avoid leaving any bulb fragments or cleanup materials indoors. Next, check with your local government about disposal requirements in your area, because some localities require fluorescent bulbs (broken or unbroken) be taken to a local recycling center. If there is no such requirement in your area, you can dispose of the materials with your household trash. If practical, continue to air out the room where the bulb was broken and leave the heating/air conditioning system shut off for several hours.

So, yeah, there's that. That page does claim that most bulbs are pretty low-risk, but imagine a CFL hardy enough and bright enough to live in a drop light will likely be a higher-concentrated unit than that, and this EPA page gets into the more serious mercury spills.

I'd imagine that a bigger concern would be the possible reactions with other stuff that the drop light would be around, including the welding gasses, high temperatures/open flames, etc. though?

I love them.

My house is full of them, and I converted my shop from 4' fl tubes to CFL's in bright white. It was the most economical, and effective way for me to light up the shop. I have them in all my trouble lights too. No more trouble light burns on my arms!

Interesting - you prefer the CFLs to more traditional fluorescent tubes? What's the difference other than the tube shape? I've got tubes in my shop now. I'm living in a mercury time bomb

Is it a small amount of mercury? Yes. Is heavy metal exposure a cumulative risk? YES. So why mess with it? As for coal plant and such, its not my fault this country uses outdated craptastic energy technology. I would rather be part of the solution (promoting thorium) than the problem(trying to get people to change to keep a broken system limping along). If you wanna go that deep, but I dont want to ruin a perfectly good technology bashing thread with political bullE36 M3.

Also, the steel case droplights make the best hand warmers in the winter.

I suspect you are exposed to FAR MORE carcinogens when you accidentally spill used anti-freeze, oil, trans/diff fluid, use carb or brake cleaner, etc.

And being part of the solution (are you a Thorium lobbyist?), would mean trying to reduce the amount of energy you use that is produced by "craptastic energy technology."

But I can see how warning of the evil dangers of CFL's on a car forum is "doing your part."

Sheesh.

carguy123 wrote: I've seen display after display of CFLs side by side with incandescents and have had a mix in my house forever and I've never seen a green or purple shift. Now with the long tube office type bulbs I have seen that.

Well, good for you. The old Ikea one I had in the living room was nearly hot pink. We installed some freebies that were arc-ray blue, swapped them for honey yellow, finally settled on almost white that turns green without incadescent mix.

I can't think of the last time I've had to replace a CFL. My house is 5 years old and the only bulbs I've replaced have been all the incandescents over & over (but most are on fans). I've even changed the outside decorative lights for CFLs since they have now temp ones.

Well, again, good for you. Two went out in the living room last week. Kitchen has lost three I think in the past few months. Out in the shed, can't get but a few weeks. Bathroom blew two in the past year. But hey, others have been going. In fact, that hot pink Ikea CFL lasted for years.

I have CFL's in every lamp and light fixture I can find one that fits. Since one of my other hobbies is photography I know about color temps and output lumens which has helped pick the right CFL's. I won't buy a CFL if it doesn't have the color temp and lumens listed on the package.

In 3 years I have not had to replace any of them due to malfunction. The only one that are not "instant on" are the ones in one bathroom where the wife insisted on the type that have the sprial tube inside a globe. I have tried that type from several different companies but the all are slow (10 seconds) to warm up.

Lately I have been gradually replacing some of them (mostly outdoor lights) with LEDs and prefer the LEDs. Problem is that there isn't a large selection of LEDs yet.

Since replacing all of my incans with CFLs 3 years ago, I've had ONE blow. Prior to the change, I'd replace at least 2 bulbs a month. I really can't complain. I'll go LED when I can swing it.

BTW, LEDs do have a finite lifespan. They are usually rated at 50,000 or more hours, for what it's worth.

Javelin wrote:

carguy123 wrote: When you hear the difference in generator note between turning on a traditional bulb and a CFL it brings home the energy savings.

Power costs how many cents per kilowatt hour? CFL's are how many dollars more expensive per bulb than incandescents? The math will never work, trust me.

What...just...no.

Also it gets actually cold here (Kelso's average low is 34* in January? Dude I've been to the Arctic Circle, Kelso Washington is a freakin' sauna!) and I don't have a problem with the warm up on the good CFL's I've bought... standby on the name.

Osterkraut wrote:

Javelin wrote:

carguy123 wrote: When you hear the difference in generator note between turning on a traditional bulb and a CFL it brings home the energy savings.

Power costs how many cents per kilowatt hour? CFL's are how many dollars more expensive per bulb than incandescents? The math will never work, trust me.

What...just...no. Also it gets actually cold here (Kelso's average low is 34* in January? Dude I've been to the Arctic Circle, Kelso Washington is a freakin' sauna!) and I don't have a problem with the warm up on the good CFL's I've bought... standby on the name.

Wait, do you mean to say that loud proclamations and conjecture don't coincide with objective testing?

Surely you jest good sir.

I guess comparing life expectancy, electricity cost per Kw/hr, and cost per bulb is extremely difficult to discern.

we bought our first set of CFL's back in '08 or so... we kept our front porch light and the light under the kitchen stove hood on all the time... with normal bulbs they blew about every month... the CFL's lasted over a year without a change and then moved to the next apt where they lasted for another year or so... don't recall after that

some do have slow light times especialy when it gets cold, no biggie most of the year in FL (and now TX)...

as for color... you can get so many color temps it doesn't matter... just find the one you like and stick with em.

the apt we live in now has mostly weird sized bulbs so we don't have many CFL's... but when we get back into a house we'll move to the CFL as traditional bulbs burn out...

the CFL just lasts so much longer for us

chaparral wrote: In reply to Javelin: The math works out REALLY REALLY quickly. If a bulb is on 3 hours per day, that's 1000 hours per year. If it's a 60-watt incandescent, that's 60kWh/year, or $6. If it's a 15-watt fluorescent, that's 15kWh/year, or $1.50. They pay for themselves in under a year - and significantly less for high-power or heavily-used bulbs. Even a $50 LED will pay for itself well before its lifespan, especially if it's time-consuming to change the bulb.

Except when the heat is on the incandescent is 100% efficient. I've replaced about a dozen or two CFLs in the five years that they've been here. Inside or out, roughly the same failure rate as the old ones.

Keith Tanner wrote: Interesting - you prefer the CFLs to more traditional fluorescent tubes? What's the difference other than the tube shape? I've got tubes in my shop now. I'm living in a mercury time bomb

Cost. The tubes have been in the shop for some time. The ballasts are starting to go, and I've already replaced about half the tubes, with the others needing it soon. The lamp holders and boxes are $3, the 23W bright white bulbs are $3 and change. That's $50 (8 bulbs) to replace the 3, 4' fixtures, with better lighting and less wattage, 184 vs 240. Ballasts alone are $25 plus tubes.

I've been in this place for 12 years. I have a CFL spotlight outside the shop that comes on with a timer and runs all night. I'm only on my second bulb. The CFL's in my porch are the originals I installed in 2001.

tuna55 wrote: Except when the heat is on the incandescent is 100% efficient.

WHAT?!?

carguy123 wrote:

tuna55 wrote: Except when the heat is on the incandescent is 100% efficient.

WHAT?!?

It's true, but it's not a good argument in favor of traditional bulbs.

Lets add to this thread and make it semi-usefull. Lets list what we've had that worked well, and what did not.

Ikea CFL Years old, no idea if they've changed it. Very pink color. Instant on, fully bright in under a minute. No failure.

Home Depot Ecosmart Watch the colors! Daylight is arc-ray blue. Soft white is honey yellow.
Instant on, fully bright in a minute or two. Failure rate about twice as good as incadescant.

GE Colored bulbs Lifespan of less than 1 month.

It's been so long since I bought any, I don't recall the brands. But I know some of them are Ikea. Not pink, fully bright immediately. I have one Ikea bulb in my bedside table that's on the cool end of the spectrum. I'm going to have to start checking the lights around the house to see what they all are!

I think part of the problem is people buying cheap, "off-brand" bulbs. You get what you pay for. I only have the slow inductive start-up problem in my kitchen, and that's because I got cheap bulbs there. I notice no "warm-up" time on any of the bulbs elsewhere.

I see one other advantage to CFLs not listed here. If you have a fixture, say in a bathroom, that is only rated for 60 W, you can only safely put 60-W bulbs in there. However, a 100-W-equivalent CFL bulb still only consumes <30 W actually. So, I replaced all six 60-W bulbs in the Master Bathroom with 100-W-equivalent CFLs. It uses less power and puts out a TON of light, which women like when they're painting their faces. I also replaced the 60-W bulbs in the garage with the 100-W-equivalent CFLs.

dculberson wrote: Also, the amount of mercury released by discarding a CFL bulb is lower than the amount of mercury released by powering incandescent bulbs with a coal power plant over the 10,000 hour life of the CFL bulb. Coal power is the single largest source of mercury pollution in modern America, not CFL bulbs. http://www.epa.gov/hg/about.htm From the horse's mouth.

Correct. People love to leave that part out.

People also don't mind having had the ancient T12 flourescent bulbs in their garage forever that have WAY more mercury than a CFL...

the average CFL has about 4mg of mercury.
old school T12's had anywhere from 20mg to 40mg of mercury per bulb.

How many of you old timers bitched about having to recycle those? My guess is most of you just smashed 'em into the trash can, causing 5 times the "environmental hazard" most people are making scare tactics out of the CFL's.

I have 3 or 4 old school drop lights that I run 100w equilivent daylight CFLs in. I love them.