I bought my dad a few of the new energy saving light bulbs today. I was interested in reading up on them. http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=55213

Most people never knew that regular Flourescents have a similiar issue.

So recylce them PROPERLY whern they do burn out.

But if you use the with some care they will save a lot of energy. If nothing else in the fact that they tend to last MUCH longer than a regular incandescent bulb, therefore requiring far fewer changes.

Now for my mini Soap Box, I love polititians (sic).

CA is / was discussing making CFs mandatory, outlawing regular incandescents. The Polititian proposing this was confronted with the Mercury issue, and I believe that same article. His reaction, OH we'll worry about a recycling program later. Never worry about today what you can put off until tomorrow.

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KLK, MCSE

1990 500SL

I was always taught to respect my elders.
I don't have to respect too many people anymore.

The CFL's don't tend to last as long as they should at my house, or at least in certain areas of the house. So we have been slowly going back to the good old fashioned Edison Bulb, since they are cheaper and power is so darn cheap here. I am using a CFL right now in the light I use above my computer, which I am mostly doing so, because it is one of those paper shades that can catch fire if it gets too hot. What I have found is that the double life incadesent and the 130V incadesent bulbs last forever, as long or longer than the CFL's.
My next switch will however be to the LED bulbs, when they come down enough in price...

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1999 Toyota Corolla VE (Mine)
2006 Honda Odyssey (Wife's)
1979 300CD (sold)

you can pretty much bet that everybody and their brother are just gonna toss em in the trash with everything else.what mercury goes in the landfill will be well in the landfill.

So far we have had very good luck with the CFLs we have put in.

Our Incandescents do last a long time though as most are on dimmers, so the ramp up and down. Minimizing the stress on the filament.

Also most CFLs can NOT be dimmed.

I too have heard amazing things about the LED lights.
Extremely low power usage for light output.
NO heat output, safer don't have to cool in the summer.
Last almost forever.

__________________
KLK, MCSE

1990 500SL

I was always taught to respect my elders.
I don't have to respect too many people anymore.

Has anyone noticed a decrease in the elec. bill?

Over the last 10 years, my avg. usage has gone slightly down (I have replaced most bulbs with CF's) - my bills are about $15-20 more than they were 10 years ago - mostly because electricity became more expensive.

For me, the other main attraction, is the little heat it gives off - it's hot enough in Fla. already.

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It is a truism that almost any sect, cult, or religion will legislate its creed into law if it acquires the political power to do so. Robert A. Heinlein


09 Jetta TDI
1985 300D

Dimmers are the way to go, I have been trying to get my dad to put some dimmers in, but he won't. Get the exact light output needed, however it changes the frequency, and gives off a buzzing noise sometimes. I know I saw somewhere an incandesent bulb that is good for like 40,000 hours, I might give those a try someday...

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1999 Toyota Corolla VE (Mine)
2006 Honda Odyssey (Wife's)
1979 300CD (sold)

I'm with dimmers also, got them on just about every switch. We keep most lights on the lowest or close to lowest setting and have CF only were we need full power lighting for reading or tasks. Under cabinet fluorescent strips in the kitchen which are the lights on most in the house. Our electric bill is at least half of what most homes our size are.

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300TD W124, Two VW TDI Passat Wagons,Cummins Ram 250, Kubota Tractor
23 cylinders sipping the sweet sauce of the soy bean

Flourescents on dimmers require higher frequency ballasts. That makes them more expensive. I am using CF's all over my house. I can't get anyone here to EVER turn off a light, so I just replace them with CF's as the incandescents burn out.

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" We have nothing to fear but the main stream media itself . . . ."- Adapted from Franklin D Roosevelt for the 21st century

OBK #55

1998 Lincoln Continental - Sold
Max 1984 300TD 285,000 miles - Sold
The Dee8gonator 1987 560SEC 196,000 miles - Sold
Orgasmatron - 2006 CLS500 90,000 miles
2002 C320 Wagon 122,000 miles
2016 AMG GTS 12,000 miles

I have a bunch of them in the house and here's a few things I found by personal observation:

1. If you want to dim them, you have to buy the ones designed to dim. But, the lamps "sing" when dimmed.

2. All CF lamps take about a minute to come to full intensity. In closets and places where you'll just have it on for a few seconds to see whatever it is you are working with, stick with an incandescent.

3. For outdoor "spot" fixtures, they make PAR style CF lamps. Ironically, none of them fit ANY fixture due to the size of the transformer assembly...

4. For timers, most are not rated for ballasts or CF lamps. Intermatic ST01C is the only one I've found so far that works. The SS7C is rated for flourescents but the one I had crapped out soon after I installed it - $29 down the drain... It uses a AAA battery to power the switch mechanism which is not that great IMHO.

5. CF's are not great in motion triggered lamps. Again, because they take a while to come to full intensity and also, the pulsating light tends to simulate motion leading to self triggering.

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-Evan


Benz Fleet:
1968 UNIMOG 404.114
1998 E300
2008 E63


Non-Benz Fleet:
1992 Aerostar
1993 MR2
2000 F250

I started replacing my Ins w/Fs about 5-7 years ago...I only have two Ins left...they are 130V-116W in the front porch fixtures...they've both been there for over 3 years on a daily timer (1830-2300 EVERY DAY)...

As for the Fs, I've watched my electric bill drop, as the changeover was being made, until it stabilized at $40.00-$50.00/month less than what I was paying the previous year. Our current electric rate is $0.09127/kWh...

Here's a tip when you start swapping out your Ins for Fs...take a "Sharpie" and write the date on the Fs transformer or on the tube surface itself.

There are "quick start" fixtures that you can buy...and they come up to 95% full-brightness right away...I'm using those in the basement and by the front door entry-way, and in the bathroom...usually where safety/clarity is needed immediately. Otherwise, in the bedrooms and computer room - the regular Fs work just fine.

I'm looking into seeing if the "200W" Fs will work in the garage, but up north the issue might be that it's too cold to come on in un-heated areas.

The best thing to do is check two things...

FIRST: Check the voltage, either at the socket, or at the electric panel, of your house. Most areas, you should have 120V (± 3%) at the panel/socket. If not, get ahold of your local electrical utility and ask them to check it out. The BEST way to do this is write a letter (or 'e' them). That way, you'll have a record of your request and as anyone knows, companies DON'T LIKE HAVING PROOF THAT THEY'VE IGNORED A REGULATION WHEN IT'S BEEN BROUGHT TO THIER ATTENTION....just don't let them know that until you've been ignored...otherwise, they'll treat you like a smart@55, and you don't want that.

SECOND: Don't be afraid to experiment when you try out different styles of fixtures. Remember, you're trying something new. What works great for one person or in a particular circumstance won't, neccessarily, work great, or at all, for you. Then again, you may have great luck and everyone else may be bombing out. It all depends on where you "source" your lamps from and how they were handled/delivered at your place of purchase. One item to keep in mind is that, just like Ins, Fs DO have filaments (small ones, on each end of the tube) and they are just a "fragile" just like the filaments in Ins, particularly when you're turning them off. Remember, don't jar them too much. When was the last time (let alone the first) that you saw an F used in lighting for an automobile? Never? There's one reason.

BTW, in the article, there was a mention of "mercury dust" - First, mercury can't acheive a "dust" state...what should have been said, instead, was "phosphor dust" - and what makes the phosphor dust dangerous is its impregnation with mercury itself. Again, the phosphor dust contains traces of mercury, along with the normal amount of mercury that would be seen in the tube itself. Anyway you look at it, just be careful when buying, transporting and installing your bulbs.

Good luck.

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M. G. Burg
'10 - Dakota SXT - Daily Ride / ≈ 172.5K
.'76 - 450SLC - 107.024.12 / < .89.20 K
..'77 - 280E - 123.033.12 / > 128.20 K
...'67 - El Camino - 283ci / > 207.00 K
....'75 - Yamaha - 650XS / < 21.00 K
.....'87 - G20 Sportvan / > 206.00 K
......'85 - 4WINNS 160 I.O. / 140hp
.......'74 - Honda CT70 / Real 125
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“I didn’t really say everything I said.”
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ~ Yogi Berra ~

I use them, they work great. I have had good luck with the GE bulb's, they seem to be built pretty good. I don't know what kind my are but they seem to come up to 90% right away.

They do put out a ton of light! In one fixture I used to have 3 60 watt normal bulbs. 3, 60 watt CF's were overpowering. So I put 40 watt CF's in insted.

That fixture alone went from using 180 watts, to probably about 30 with the CF's.

__________________
1999 SL500
1969 280SE
2023 Ram 1500
2007 Tiara 3200

My experience has been that the high wattage CFL's have not lasted long, but the low wattage ones have. As far as the higher wattage CFL's the one that I have purchased from 1000bublbs.com have been far better than the 'flash bulbs' that I have purchased from Wal Mart. I am on Toledo Edison (ARGH!!!) so I am always looking to lower my electric bill.

Some florescent bulbs do have heaters, but not all of them do. For the "old style" cylindrical fixtures, four-pole bulbs use heaters but two-pole bulbs do not. Typically, 8' florescent bulbs are two-pole and use no heaters while 4' bulbs are four-pole and do use them.

I don't know whether CF bulbs use heaters. I doubt it, but I haven't looked inside.

Even if your florescent bulbs do use heaters, there is little current running through them while the lamp is running. They're only hot for start. The problem with incandescent bulbs is the mechanical shock, especially during cool-off when the power is first disconnected (they contract a lot). You won't have that problem with florescent bulbs unless you remove them from the socket during the start cycle.