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Cfl's?

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kyle_battle

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Compact florescent lighting in case you didnt know.
But i just got my own place and was wondering if it would be worth it. i can pick um up at wall mart for 20$ for a 12 pack and i have 17 current lights in my place and i think i can get a 10 pack for like 15$ not sure. anyways do you think it be worth it? says it will save me about 150 a year or like 12 bux a month.
 
i don't see light bulbs costing that much per month. maybe if you left them on 24/7 you would save that much
 
If you look at the packaging there is a warning about cleaning up a broken CFL. There is Mercury in those things and they are not easy to clean up.


What to Do if a Fluorescent Light Bulb Breaks

Fluorescent light bulbs contain a very small amount of mercury sealed within the glass tubing. EPA recommends the following clean-up and disposal guidelines:

Open a window and leave the room (restrict access) for at least 15 minutes.

Remove all materials you can without using a vacuum cleaner.

Wear disposable rubber gloves, if available (do not use your bare hands).

Carefully scoop up the fragments and powder with stiff paper or cardboard.

Wipe the area clean with a damp paper towel or disposable wet wipe.

Sticky tape (such as duct tape) can be used to pick up small pieces and powder.

Place all cleanup materials in a plastic bag and seal it.

If your state permits you to put used or broken fluorescent light bulbs in the garbage, seal the bulb in two plastic bags and put into the outside trash (if no other disposal or recycling options are available).


Wash your hands after disposing of the bag.


The first time you vacuum the area where the bulb was broken, remove the vacuum bag once done cleaning the area (or empty and wipe the canister) and put the bag and/or vacuum debris, as well as the cleaning materials, in two sealed plastic bags in the outdoor trash or protected outdoor location for normal disposal.
 
I used to hate the light those things gave, always seemed cold to me. And the fact that I'm extremely sensitive to any kind of flickering, has meant that I've never used them.

They're supposed to be much better these days, and have a much warmer tone, and the savings on utility is no joke.
 
anything to save on the power bill is a must to me. i only use the bathroom lite and a small reading lamp in my room at my house as far as lights go, every little bit helps imo.
 
We have over 40 light bulbs in our home, most of them are recessed lights that burn 70 watts each. Our electric bill in the winter ranges from 700-900 per month, mainly because we go over our baseline by over 2000 Kwh. I recently replaced every single bulb with CFLs and hope it drops our usage by at least 40%. I'll find out on our next electric bill if the bulbs paid for themselves.
 
thats insane.

For water, electricity, sewage, natural gas and trash pickup, my bill is around $150.
 
PG&E really rips you a new one once you go over your baseline. They charge 4 x as much per Kwh once you go over 300% of your baseline.
 
wow yeah that is pretty steep lol
but yeah idk i only run about 4-5 lights max at a time so i dont know if its cost effective.. and yes the tone is supposed to be very simuler or better than incandescent lighting with no flicker. And geeze thats pretty insane cleaning prosses lol.

but besides that its my first place and its a pretty old place so its not that effecent heating and cooling wise and i just wasn't sure if it would be worth it. I'm sure they would pay for themselves in time but what.. in like 4 months? it has its pros and cons i guess i just wanted to save me some extra green..

anyone at all live by themselves thats used these? did it make a difference?
 
flm_savage said:
thats a load of crap IMO.
Click to expand...


Tell me about it...it's absolutely criminal what they are doing to their customers who must depend on them for power.

Straight off my bill

101-130% over baseline = .13 per Kwh
130-200% over baseline = .24 per Kwh
201-300% over baseline = .35 per Kwh
Over 300% over baseline = .41 per Kwh
This month we were 1,623 Kwh over 300% of baseline. :angry:





Back to CFLs....you must not use them with a dimmer switch or else they will burn out very quickly.

After they warm up we actually got used to the tone of the new bulbs and now prefer them to incandescent.
 
It's all I use in my whole house, and even outside on the front porch, they work great last way longer and use about 75% less electricity....
 
That's all I've used for several years, except where I use a dimmer.
You can get 'soft' which is general comfortable lighting, and 'bright' which is pure white, good in work areas.
Do the math...75W equivalent is 20W. 60W bulb or 14W flourescent.
The bulbs should also last 10 times longer than incandescent. They are only warm to the touch even if they're always on. Heat is a wasted by-product of incandescent light bulbs.
 
Well looks like I'm sold
every dollar counts now days so next month I'm gonna by two 12pk 13watt cfls that way ill have 6 extra in case i bust one or i get some more lamps which I'm sure i will.. thanks for the help guys
 
there was a big push in Canada for the CFL's. I put about 45 in my home, it saves me about $180-200 per year. The name brands ie GE or Sylvania are very reliable and last alot longer then incandesants. GET THE NAME BRAND! The light itself takes some getting used to. When I first put them in I noticed a slight delay before the light came on, but I do not notice that now, either I got used to it or the delay is gone. Also it takes a min or two for the light to reach it's full brightness. I use the mini cfl's mostly. The reflector bulb for recessed lighting in my basement is VERY slow to get to full brightness and the stairway and basement rooms are quite dark for about 45 seconds. Probably not a good idea to use them in a dark staircase. One other thing to know is the bulbs work great in the warm months outside, I have 6 lights outside and use these bulbs in them, great for the summer! If it gets below freezing the lights take along time to get bright and if it is very cold they only go to about 1/2-2/3 brightness. I have had the 45 bulbs in my home for close to two years and never had to replace one yet! Sorry for the rambling.
 
sweetdiesel said:
Back to CFLs....you must not use them with a dimmer switch or else they will burn out very quickly.

After they warm up we actually got used to the tone of the new bulbs and now prefer them to incandescent.
Click to expand...

Don't they have special CFLs for dimmers?

And your recessed lights...do they make cfls look like flood lamps now?
 
vbgagnon said:
Don't they have special CFLs for dimmers?

And your recessed lights...do they make cfls look like flood lamps now?
Click to expand...

Yep, we have some in our kitchen. They are pretty dim before they warm up, but they do look like normal floodlights afterward.

In our house there has been a recent push to move to CFL's.
 
Yes they make CFL's to look like food lights, but they are dim for longer then the "pig tail" looking ones. Since the lights don't put out much heat you cold probably use the regular mini cfl's in the flood light fixture. They also have special CFL's for dimmers, but they are still fairly expensive.
 

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