Lightbulbs

A while ago I tried comparing the low usage light bulbs to the standard silvania light bulbs. Are you supposed to compare tha amount of hours a lightbulb that costs 5-10 dollars lasts to a pack of light bulbs that cost less than 2-3 or are you supposed to compare one long lasting light bulb to one silvania light bulb?

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No man (or woman) will make a great leader who wants to do it all himself/herself, or to get all the credit for doing it. -Andrew Carnegie

Well, a standard light bulb wastes like 90 percent of its energy to heat.
The other is like 26 percent ? not to sure of that number, it may be less.
And the life of the bulb is much longer. And for 60 watts of the standard light bulb, you only need 40 with the other, less energy.

So the money differance i think isnt an issue. They have come down lots over the past 2 years.
A 4 pack of 40 watt energy savers were $ 10.99 and on the packedging the life of the bulb is 7 years Shocked

That in its self saves you money from all the cheapy $ 2.00 ones that burn out in a year or so.

Its a better way to go in every way IMO. Cool

Ive changed all my standard bulbs to the Energy savers.

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A Knifeless Man is a Lifeless Man
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Carry Less by Knowing More
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There's one problem. You cant buy the miniature lightbulbs with the big base on them in flourescent. That's what my room light runs on, and I have to have an incandecent because the globe fits on only with them. Confused

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Ya thats the main problem with CFL bulbs.

CFL (Compact Floresent Lamps) bulks are causing companies to change their designes of their light fixtures in order to fit the new bulbs. There are usually problems with fans and exterior lights because the base is too big.

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"There dosen't look like there's much shelter over in those mountains, but that's the only choice I got right now, this is gonna be a long week" - Les Stroud Arctic

I installed a ceiling fan in my bedroom last year, and the " CFL " bulbs fit Smile

There is a small desk lamp that i still use these small 4 watt in. But its hardly used.

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A Knifeless Man is a Lifeless Man
Canadian To The Core
Carry Less by Knowing More
Knowledge Weighs Nothing

Are the CFL the ones that if they break can lead to a mercury contamination around the area they broke, or am I thinking of a different light bulb?

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No man (or woman) will make a great leader who wants to do it all himself/herself, or to get all the credit for doing it. -Andrew Carnegie

Also when a CFL burns out, does it burn out like a standard light bulb. A bright flash and that's it.

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No man (or woman) will make a great leader who wants to do it all himself/herself, or to get all the credit for doing it. -Andrew Carnegie

Yes, florescent bulbs have mercury...it's only a drop, so it's not too much to worry about...just be careful.

No, they don't burn out like an incandescent. Florescent bulbs have no filament to break....that's why they last longer. When it "burns out", that just means air has gotten into the bulb.....poof!!...no more light.(the same thing can happen to incandescents, too....air in the bulb will blow the filament)

Does that answer your questions, Dutchman? Smile

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Iron sharpeneth iron; so a man sharpeneth the countenance of his friend. - Prov. 27:17

Because of the mercury, dead CFL bulbs should be taken to a recycling depot instead being of put in the garbage. Home Depot accepts CFL bulbs for recycling.

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thankyou for your replies. Our state is going to increase our electricity costs so I am hoping to find a way to offset that increase, so I was curious if it was worth the cost.

Drummer Dave, could you give us some idea of how much money you spent on the new light bulbs and how much money you have saved on average on your electricity bill after you changed your bulbs.

If a CFL lightbulb does break how do you clean up the mercury?

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No man (or woman) will make a great leader who wants to do it all himself/herself, or to get all the credit for doing it. -Andrew Carnegie

the cfl bulbs have a small ballast inside of them, just like big flourecent light light fixtures, problem is.. the ballasts blow on them, just like the big flourecent light fixtures... when the incandecent bulbs get banned here, I'll start buying them in the US, hopefully they wont ban them there...
I have a friend who gets headaches from the vibrating/pulsating light that the cfl puts out, drives him crazy

Dutchman wrote:

thankyou for your replies. Our state is going to increase our electricity costs so I am hoping to find a way to offset that increase, so I was curious if it was worth the cost.

Drummer Dave, could you give us some idea of how much money you spent on the new light bulbs and how much money you have saved on average on your electricity bill after you changed your bulbs.

If a CFL lightbulb does break how do you clean up the mercury?

> Well, ive never broken one, lol. And if i did, well of course i would clean it up in the proper way, and dispose of it properly. I have spent over the last year in replacing the bulbs, approx... $ 37.00 thats with 3 spares. Have not figured out the savings yet, but i know its cheaper that regular bulbs. Cool

I will fine tune that answer with the numbers a.s.a.p

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A Knifeless Man is a Lifeless Man
Canadian To The Core
Carry Less by Knowing More
Knowledge Weighs Nothing

Last edited by Drummer Dave on Mon Jun 30, 2008 8:27 pm; edited 1 time in total

I don't know why anyone hasn't put LED's in the home yet. Confused

I mean they have 3 watt bulbs and beyond now, and they'll light up your whole room with a nice white light. Just think 3 watts, not 30.

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	Mystik Spiral wrote:
	I don't know why anyone hasn't put LED's in the home yet. I mean they have 3 watt bulbs and beyond now, and they'll light up your whole room with a nice white light. Just think 3 watts, not 30.

Will they fit in a standard light fixture?
How much are they?
Where can they be purchased?
How long do they last?

Thanks Drummer Dave for the answers.

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No man (or woman) will make a great leader who wants to do it all himself/herself, or to get all the credit for doing it. -Andrew Carnegie

Dutchman wrote:

	Mystik Spiral wrote:
	I don't know why anyone hasn't put LED's in the home yet. I mean they have 3 watt bulbs and beyond now, and they'll light up your whole room with a nice white light. Just think 3 watts, not 30.

Will they fit in a standard light fixture?
How much are they?
Where can they be purchased?
How long do they last?

Thanks Drummer Dave for the answers.

The only one i've seen was on mythbusters and it had about 100 of the small ones in them. What I was saying is that nobody took the initiative to make them yet. Where's the inventing spirit here? They'd last thousands of hours , because that's how long they last. Price would probably be expensive at first, but they'd be the last bulbs you'd buy. How would they fit, well they're so tiny that you'd only need about an inch sticking out from the socket. Well I guess I dreamed of having LED lightbulbs for the home when I was a kid probably 7 years ago. That's when they started catching on big, now progress had greatly increased yet no lightbulbs. Confused

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Mystik Spiral wrote:

Dutchman wrote:

	Mystik Spiral wrote:
	I don't know why anyone hasn't put LED's in the home yet. I mean they have 3 watt bulbs and beyond now, and they'll light up your whole room with a nice white light. Just think 3 watts, not 30.

Will they fit in a standard light fixture?
How much are they?
Where can they be purchased?
How long do they last?

Thanks Drummer Dave for the answers.

The only one i've seen was on mythbusters and it had about 100 of the small ones in them. What I was saying is that nobody took the initiative to make them yet. Where's the inventing spirit here? They'd last thousands of hours , because that's how long they last. Price would probably be expensive at first, but they'd be the last bulbs you'd buy. How would they fit, well they're so tiny that you'd only need about an inch sticking out from the socket. Well I guess I dreamed of having LED lightbulbs for the home when I was a kid probably 7 years ago. That's when they started catching on big, now progress had greatly increased yet no lightbulbs. Confused

My bad, I thought they were a product already and that you were mentioning them.

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No man (or woman) will make a great leader who wants to do it all himself/herself, or to get all the credit for doing it. -Andrew Carnegie

	Dutchman wrote:
	If a CFL lightbulb does break how do you clean up the mercury?

>Kitty litter< Cool

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Iron sharpeneth iron; so a man sharpeneth the countenance of his friend. - Prov. 27:17

Here is 1 link to household led lights
http://www.ledlight.com/LZHousehold.aspx

Light Emitting Diode ligts do not have mercury in them or a ballast. They are made from Silicon, (sand). They do not have an element to burn out and last indefinatly depending on use.
They emit very little heat, if you break one it is no big deal and they are made to fit any standard fitting including automobile lights, house lights and industrial.

LED lights are far more efficent than florecent, do not cause sizures like florecent lights can in some people, provide more full spectrum lights so do not cause migranes like florecents.

If you do break a compact floresent, according to the EPA, the proceedure for cleaning one up is to first evacuate all people from the house, especially pregnant females.

Open all windows.

Put on a dust mask. Use disposable gloves to pick up large pieces.

Use duct tape to collect small pieces and any dust.

Vacum area completely and deeply.

Seal vacum bag with duct tape.

Put vacum bag into trash bag and seal with tape.

Put that bag into another trash bag and seal with tape.

Yes they are really healthy.

Like many of the new "green" contraptions, they produce far more harmful effects than what they were intended to replace. Yes the amount of mercury is small in each bulb, but according to the EPA any amount can cause serious long term effects.

Have a nice day. Smile

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All gave some, Some gave all.

Great link. Cool

I think all of those had many low power LED's instead of one or two bright high power ones. Confused

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You are correct. LED lights are very low power.
The standard light uses 32 LEDs, 1.5 watt, yet produces the light of a standard 40 watt bulb, 120 lumins.

The fact they use several small LEDs is not important as the power usage is really small in comparison to the light produced, and they won't poison you or your family if you break one.

You do not have to dispose of them in a Haz-mat container, as they are made from Silicon they are not hazerdous or poisonous. No special requirements.

Plus the life span is around 50,000 hours of use.

LED lights are also constructed with a globe for house lights so the light is comparable to normal incandesant lights.

The site I gave is just one of several it took me about a minute to find with a ASK search.

LED lights are out there, avaliable, price is comparable to compact floresent, I think the reason more people don't know about them is that algore the lesser doesn't own stock in them. Very Happy

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All gave some, Some gave all.