Have you switched to Compact Fluorescent?

[Pangloss]

We didn't get much response in the LED thread, so I thought I'd just go ahead and start another one specifically for CF. I'm just curious how many other folks have made the switch.

 

I suspect I came a little late to this game -- some of our friends have had them for a while now. I bought a bushel of these things a few weeks ago and shoved them into various sockets all around the house. My main motivation was actually just because I'm so tired of changing lightbulbs!

 

As I understand it replacing one 75 watt incandescent lightbulb with a comparable compact fluorescent light saves 55 pounds of carbon per year. Wow.

[Sayonara]

About half of our bulbs are compact flourescents, although they were here when we moved in so I don't think you'd call it a "switch" as such. Most people just buy the bulbs, not a place to use them.

[Dak]

we tend to buy CF to replace our old bulbs when they blow. so, about half of our bulbs are CF.

 

It's espescially useful as we have an RCD, which knocks out the light-ring in the house whenever a lightbulb blows. which, of course, is at night when it's dark...

cue falling-down-stairs action to find the RCD and throw the light-ring back on

 

having lightbulbs that don't blow as often is really cool.

[YT2095]

we`ve been using CF for a good 5 years now with the exception of the Lab lights (Halogens).

the only real downside is that you can`t use a dimmer switch with them

[swansont]

As I understand it replacing one 75 watt incandescent lightbulb with a comparable compact fluorescent light saves 55 pounds of carbon per year. Wow.

 

That assumes the light is on a certain amount of time, of course. Lights that are rarely used, or are used often but only for short durations probably needn't be switched. In the first case, there's too little savings to justify the cost of the bulb, and in the second, CFs have a shorter life if they are cycled a lot. So, not good for motion-sensor or timers; also many are not good with dimmers.

[Klaynos]

That assumes the light is on a certain amount of time, of course. Lights that are rarely used, or are used often but only for short durations probably needn't be switched. In the first case, there's too little savings to justify the cost of the bulb, and in the second, CFs have a shorter life if they are cycled a lot. So, not good for motion-sensor or timers; also many are not good with dimmers.

 

Which is why, even though we've been using them for years some of our lights are still incandescent. But during the time we've been using them the min times the recommend, the warm up times and a couple of other things have improved quite a bit, so more of our lights have changed over... I think it's pretty much all the lights in the house other than the ones on dimmer switches because my parents don't seem to listen when we tell them that they exist designed for that.

[Sisyphus]

CFs have a shorter life if they are cycled a lot.

 

Does that mean shorter than they would otherwise, or shorter than incandescents?

 

(Yes, I've bought CFs for years, and have yet to change one).

[geoguy]

We have about half of these in the house. Just a note, though, if you live in a climate where houses are heated. The energy 'lost' in an incadescent bulb as heat energy is not lost at all. It warms up your home and thus reduces the use of other heat sources.

 

It's a positive to use these bulbs but the energy savings can be exaggerated.

[Pangloss]

I've read that as well about frequent cycling shortening CF lifespans. I think the answer to Sisyphus' question is "just shorter than they would be otherwise". I don't know if a study has been done on this, but with the rapid development of new CF bulbs it may be something that has already changed. But the main point there is that it's something you'd only notice if your cycling was VERY frequent. Something that might trigger several hundred times per day, for example.

 

Geoguy: What's more efficient at warming air, a heat exchanger or a light bulb?

[YT2095]

these are Fluorescent tubes basicly, the only dif is that they use a higher frequency to Fire them up (about 7KHz).

and yes the duty cycle of of on.off will reduce their lifespan, I have Evidence of this.

Also like a regular Fluorescent tube (strip-light) they suck up More power turning them on intialy than the use in "Cruise mode".

if a light is on off all the time use incandescent, if it`s to be left on for protracted lengths of time, Use a Fluorescent

 

despite the bad press, Incandescents DO have a place!

[swansont]

Does that mean shorter than they would otherwise, or shorter than incandescents?

 

(Yes, I've bought CFs for years, and have yet to change one).

 

The implication, from what I've read, is that it shortens the lifetime enough to not make them economically advantageous. The best cost savings is for a light that has to be on all the time. There's obviously no electricity cost savings while the light is turned off. But I don't have a link that quantifies this.

[ffsjoe]

Most of the lights in our house are cfl's with the exception of where it is too impractical. By 2009 iirc the incandescent light bulb will have been phased out in Australia. Except for things like microwave ovens, cars and so forth.

[geoguy]

I've read that as well about frequent cycling shortening CF lifespans. I think the answer to Sisyphus' question is "just shorter than they would be otherwise". I don't know if a study has been done on this, but with the rapid development of new CF bulbs it may be something that has already changed. But the main point there is that it's something you'd only notice if your cycling was VERY frequent. Something that might trigger several hundred times per day, for example.

 

Geoguy: What's more efficient at warming air, a heat exchanger or a light bulb?

 

Electric heat (via a light bulb or other source) is always the most efficient even though usually the most expensive. Do a search on energy eficiency. If one is concerned about the environment then the least polluting energy in the home is electric generated by nuclear power sations. In most jurisdictions the least expensive is natural gas.

[Bettina]

My dad and I switched all the bulbs we could to CFL's this year throwing out the old incandescents. He prefers the 3500K yellowish light while I prefer 6500K. I like pure white light instead of the yellow and it really does make me feel better. Anyway, now my dad is ticked because his X10's don't work since CFL's put too much noise on the line and is adding filters everywhere.

 

The cost savings are noticeable in our bill.

 

Bettina

[YT2095]

an interesting fact I noticed yesterday after I finished Light proofing my darkroom, is that a CFL will glow faintly for several minutes After you switch them off!

 

must be like the little Dot on a TV set when you turn those off too.

[swansont]

I think the TV dot is bleeding off charge. A CFL may be due to the decay time of the phosphor; I'm not sure what the relaxation times are for those materials.

[bascule]

The main think I've noticed about CFL is they gradually increase in brightness for a few minutes after turning them on

[Ozone]

I started replacing incandescent bulbs w/CFs on a "when-dead" basis. Now, nearly all of our lights are CF and I couldn't be happier. I don't need to change bulbs very often (which I hate because I am short and need to use a ladder) *and* my electric bill has been reduced by appx. 20%!

 

This is how they need to sell these things--forget the carbon-neutral-Al gore rhetoric, Exploit our laziness and greed!

 

Cheers,

 

O3

[DrDNA]

We have switched over most of the bulbs in our household.

But is it just us, or does the 10 yr lifetime claim on the box seem to be a stretch? Although they are lasting longer than incandescent, we seem to be getting only 1-2 yrs at most out them.

[iNow]

We have switched over most of the bulbs in our household.

But is it just us, or does the 10 yr lifetime claim on the box seem to be a stretch? Although they are lasting longer than incandescent, we seem to be getting only 1-2 yrs at most out them.

 

It helps if you shut the lights off once in a while.

 

 

My dad taught me to use these things a LONG time ago... I think it was late 80s or early 90s, and we've had them in every house or apartment of mine since.

 

 

In terms of lasting, keep an eye out for LEDs.

[Pangloss]

Oh cool. I was wondering the other day how long it's been since I installed our CFL lighting, and this thread bump answered my question nicely. Thanks YT!

 

(Not one single burnout so far!)

[Bettina]

Our utility company has raised rates twice since my last post in this topic. So, if we all use CFL's, less energy is used, less profit is made, and the rates go up?

 

Is this how it will be? Will burning one CFL cost so much we go back to candles? Will candles go up too?

 

Bee

[Mr Skeptic]

I've also been replacing several bulbs with compact fluorescents. Better efficiency and better lifetime, hard to go wrong there. I understand that there are some compact fluorescents that are compatible with dimmers, but they were very expensive last I checked.

[insane_alien]

my room is now entirely lit by LED's

 

geek heaven. and only about 10W for the entire room. battey+ solar panel covers all my lighting needs. even up here in scotland.

 

rest of the house is slowly going over to CF's