CFL bulbs

[forgop]

Does anyone really find them to save money like they claim? They never last as long as they claim and their price is much higher. I'm replacing can lights more than once a year it seems and the spiral bulbs aren't any better.

 

[GodFearinGunTotin]

Lighting is such a small part of our electric bill, we don't mess with them anymore.

 

[HavokCycle]

ive gone-all CFL for more than two years now. initially i had a few go bad within a couple months but i don't think i've changed one in more than a year.

 

[hooky]

I'm sure it makes a difference, but nothing really noticeable.

 

[DoggyDaddy]

I've had them for going on 4 (maybe 5) years now, and have yet to have to change one.

 

[forgop]

I've had them for going on 4 (maybe 5) years now, and have yet to have to change one.

What brand are you using?

 

[DoggyDaddy]

What brand are you using?

Oh man, I really don't remember... Sylvania maybe? Possibly Philips? They may not even be a brand name. Just looked at the one in my lamp here by my computer and don't see any name... It does say Made in China though.

 

[9mmfan]

I've had one in my outside light fixture for the past 2 years. I'm not sure what brand.
I can remember having to change this fixture when ever the temperature was the lowest or the snow storm was the worst. Never failed.

 

[GunSlinger]

OP, if you're replacing can lights where the base is in the up position then that could be your longevity problem. CFL's can have shortened lives if they are in a base up can light. Heat in the ballast will cause ballast failure prematurely. Look for CFL's made specifically for base up/can light installation.

 

[bluewraith]

I remember buying a CFL once for a lamp in the living room. I think that was 5 or 6 years ago? It's still working...

 

[jkaetz]

I've used them in various fixtures throughout the house and some have indeed been going for 7 years now. I've had to replace one here and there, but not often. Some have the base down and the "bulb" up but most are the other way around and two are can lights. I believe the ones that I did replace were due to on/off cycles. I can't say what the originals were, but I've been replacing the remaining bulbs with GE CFLs as they burn out. Can't really speak to cost savings but like most people I have other things that use far more electricity than the lights. Even retiring my 500 watt halogen lamps didn't have a noticeable impact on my electric bill.

 

[perry]

What do you do with the ones that go out? I know you aren't supposed to throw them away, so I haven't, but I'd like to get rid of the 5 or 6 I have.

 

[bobbittle]

What do you do with the ones that go out? I know you aren't supposed to throw them away, so I haven't, but I'd like to get rid of the 5 or 6 I have.

I believe you can drop them off at Lowes.

I throw mine away.

 

[K_W]

Incandecents are the majority of our lighting, I have a few hazmat bulbs... I mean CFL's left that my mother in law installed back when my wife bought the house, we are slowly transitioning to LED lighting for fixtures that are on the most like the living room, porch, and outside garage light. I still can't find a non incandescent good enough for pole light duty. That is a 100w equiv. Halogen and so are the motion lights.

 

[churchmouse]

We use them throughout the house but have seen no reduction in energy bill.

 

[Degtyaryov]

I love them. They really do use less electricity, I like the kind of light they give off, and they last forever. It's really a no-brainer IMO, just flat out superior technology. Also, Energize Indiana will give you a bunch for free if you call them.

 

[Mad Macs]

Check out Cree led lights at Home Depot I can't stand cfl bulbs.

 

[CountryBoy19]

In the summer it isn't just the added electricity consumed by the light, but its the added electricity to cool your house as well if you have AC running. Realistically, for say a 100W lightbulb you're actually consuming roughly 160 or more watts of energy 100 for the lighting and another 60 or so (just a rough guess) to pump that heat outside your house. Switch to a 100 W equivalent LED that burns 11 watts and you are now consuming about 17 watts of energy, a 90%, 143 watt savings. Multiply that by 10 lights (low number for the average household) at 8 hrs/day on-time and you have 11kW-hrs of juice saved per day. At my rates that's almost $1.50/day. Of course the real savings swing the other way in winter when the wasted energy in the form of heat from lighting contributes to heating your house and slightly decreases your heating bill (moot point for me because I heat with wood).

Real-world example from my house using the lights that are most commonly on. 3 can lights and 3 fixtures over the island in the kitchen normally on from the time I get home to the time I go to bed due to location and how much I'm in the kitchen. 3*75 watts for the can-lights and 3*60 watts for the fixtures 6 hrs operation/day. The LED's I have in the can-lights are uni-directional 65 watt eq. 650 lumens that draw 9 watts. The bulbs in the fixtures are omni-directional 850 lumen 60 watt eq that draw 13 watts. I suspect the discrepancy in lumen vs watt equivalency is the omni vs uni-directional which is why I mentioned it. So in the summer I have a total of 405 watts for 6 hrs plus an additional 6 of the latter omni-directional bulbs that probably see 2 hrs of light per day so that is 360 * 2. For a total watt draw of 405*6 + 360*2 = 3150 watts / day when AC is not running and 5040 watts when AC is running (1.6 factor for the energy consumed pumping that heat out of the house). Lets say my AC runs about 120 days/year. My annual draw using incan. lights would be 1376.5 kW-hrs consumed. at my costs that would be about $140 per year.

Replace those lights with the above mentioned LED lights (total capital cost of about $100 using a combination of in-store sales + coupons & rebates) and my annual consumption drops to 552 watts/day, or 145.8 kW-hr/yr; approximately $15 at my electricity expense. So a $100 investment in LED lights gets me approximately $125 annual electricity savings plus light bulbs that carry a warranty (most LED's carry a factory warranty). For example, the bulbs I have in my can-lights carry a 15 year factory warranty and the omni-directional ones carry a 5 year warranty. If they last that long they will be more than paid for...

Even if you don't use coupon, rebates, & sales to save money as I did on the expense, you will still have them paid off in 2-3 years if you use your lights a lot...

 

[hoosierdoc]

Write the date on the bulb when it goes in. Someone suggested that here and it's a good way to track

 

[forgop]

Write the date on the bulb when it goes in. Someone suggested that here and it's a good way to track

Why in th hell wasn't I smart enough to think of that. Reminds me of my grandma dating all of her boxed/canned goods (despite the expiration date being put on the box)