Aces High Bulletin Board

General Forums => The O' Club => Topic started by: BreakingBad on January 31, 2013, 03:41:28 PM

Title: Light Bulbs
Post by: BreakingBad on January 31, 2013, 03:41:28 PM
I don't know about you guys, but I've noticed those Compact Fluorescent lightbulbs (CFL's) don't last for the years and years they are supposed to.

Matter of fact, I've been having to change those things in my house left and right.  They cost 5 times more than the incandescent bulbs and last half as long, and we have to buy them now.

What a crock.   :bhead
Title: Re: Light Bulbs
Post by: Nefarious on January 31, 2013, 03:47:02 PM
You're right, They are horrible for lighting and they are filled with deadly Mercury. Have you read the instructions on how to clean them up if they break in your home? And just think, they all go to the landfills when they die.

I still buy regular bulbs when I can find them, I've got a nice little collection.
Title: Re: Light Bulbs
Post by: MrRiplEy[H] on January 31, 2013, 03:55:57 PM
Same thing with the 'energy saving' halogen bulbs. They cost almost 10x more but last only 50% of the duration. Still they're miles better than the horrible fluorescent lamps - I refuse to use them in my house. They're ok for outside lighting at most.
Title: Re: Light Bulbs
Post by: rabbidrabbit on January 31, 2013, 04:14:33 PM
Not to mention low use spots like closets where you want light but only once in a great while for a short period of time.  How the heck is it green friendly to use fluorescent that only gets used less than an hour per year? How is it saving me any money?  Idealism and reality, they occasionally cross paths.
Title: Re: Light Bulbs
Post by: Easyscor on January 31, 2013, 05:12:31 PM
The electrical and lighting industries did a terrible job educating customers about CF bulbs.
If you don't leave them off for at least ten minutes after turning them off, it drastically shortens the bulbs life.

Mute point now really. Most people hate them for the same reason as the OP.

The future is in LED bulbs. Far more efficient, and last years without the drawbacks of CF.

The LEDs are also considered hazardous waste and both bulb types need to be disposed of properly. Try your local Homedepot for their disposal program.

Incandescent bulbs are being banned in California because of their energy use. You'll be next.  :old:
Title: Re: Light Bulbs
Post by: uptown on January 31, 2013, 05:23:25 PM
I just replaced every light fixture in my house a couple months ago (had a fire) and in doing so I bought several boxes of these high dollar bulbs. We hate them. The light is very dim, and that is with 2 in each light fixture. Not only that, we have dimmer switches in the dining room and living room and these bulbs will not work with dimmers.....they just flash off and on.  :bhead Thankfully they still have the old style bulbs out there. 

Which brings me to the question: will this mean the end of dimmer switches in the future also?
Title: Re: Light Bulbs
Post by: Copprhed on January 31, 2013, 05:24:29 PM
I manage and maintain an apartment community, and I find the OP's statement to be false. First, at Lowes you can get 6 60watt equivalent bulbs for under 4 dollars. Once I put one in a fixture, except for rare occasions, I forget about them for at least one year, if not longer. No, you can get compact florescents for use with dimmers.
Title: Re: Light Bulbs
Post by: Randy1 on January 31, 2013, 05:35:21 PM
I buy my bulbs here.  I still use the kind Edison designed. :aok

http://www.1000bulbs.com/?gclid=CIbZ9fHgk7UCFQPOnAod4UEAlw
Title: Re: Light Bulbs
Post by: Babalonian on January 31, 2013, 05:36:18 PM
I don't like the light from CFLs but I like Incandescents (but they do suck up the power, like a lot) and LEDs.  LEDs are the way to go for the future I think.
Title: Re: Light Bulbs
Post by: uptown on January 31, 2013, 05:38:34 PM
I manage and maintain an apartment community, and I find the OP's statement to be false. First, at Lowes you can get 6 60watt equivalent bulbs for under 4 dollars. Once I put one in a fixture, except for rare occasions, I forget about them for at least one year, if not longer. No, you can get compact florescents for use with dimmers.

I thought they probably did.... or at least I hoped they did. But I looked all over Menards the next day and damned if I could find any.  As far as the dimness, they seem to get brighter the longer you have them on. And I do have to say that a lot of the dimness issues we have can be blamed on our light globes as they are a smokey brown color.Which by design cuts down on the light I guess.

We have noticed a reduction in our electric bill by almost a 3rd.
Title: Re: Light Bulbs
Post by: MarineUS on January 31, 2013, 06:28:28 PM
(http://cdn.roflzone.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/11/Her-Husband-Got-The-Pic-When-Changing-Bulb.jpg)
Title: Re: Light Bulbs
Post by: Rondar on January 31, 2013, 06:44:17 PM
 :O :O :O :O :O  If that was my wife i would keep some bad bulbs around and put in some bad ones once in a while  :devil
Title: Re: Light Bulbs
Post by: pembquist on January 31, 2013, 06:46:25 PM
I've moved over to CF bulbs and they seem to work fine and last longer. They come in different color temperatures which can be confusing because they are not always clearly labeled.  A hotter color temperature is actually a colder light.  I talked to a GE rep and asked him why anybody wants the bluer lights and he said that in S America everybody prefers the bluer light.  My neighbor likes the bluer light, I hate it. Anyway one advantage my aging eyes have found is that I can put bulbs that are the equivalent to 100watt incandescents into fixtures that would be scortched otherwise.  They also take longer to warm up to full brightness unless you buy the more expensive instant on variety.
Title: Re: Light Bulbs
Post by: CAP1 on January 31, 2013, 07:46:22 PM
I don't know about you guys, but I've noticed those Compact Fluorescent lightbulbs (CFL's) don't last for the years and years they are supposed to.

Matter of fact, I've been having to change those things in my house left and right.  They cost 5 times more than the incandescent bulbs and last half as long, and we have to buy them now.

What a crock.   :bhead

 i can't stand em. the light they make annoys me. i did see an LED light, and it was cheap, so i tried it. so far, i love it........
Title: Re: Light Bulbs
Post by: Dago on January 31, 2013, 07:53:13 PM
There are special dimmer switches for CF bulbs.
Title: Re: Light Bulbs
Post by: Meatwad on January 31, 2013, 09:07:05 PM
Lowes here has CFL that are designed for dimmer switches. They arent much higher then a standard CFL.

I have about 75% of the lights here CFL. The biggest problem I hate about them is that even the "instant on" type still have to warm up to get the maximum lumens out of them.

I would switch over to all LED but they are still too expensive for me, and the output in lumens are less then that compared to a 40 watt incandescent.
Title: Re: Light Bulbs
Post by: danny76 on February 01, 2013, 02:02:40 AM
We bought 'instant on' bulbs for the whole house. 19 bulbs at £3.15 each. They drive me to distraction. You go into a room ti look for something, switch the light on, root around in the semi darkness, find whatever it is and then switch off the light again, which has by this time reached 4 candlepower. Utter tksh and quite simply not fit for purpose :bhead
Title: Re: Light Bulbs
Post by: Randy1 on February 01, 2013, 05:13:25 AM
I did use white light LEDs for kitchen counter lights.  You don't realize how yellow other lights are till you try the white leds.
Title: Re: Light Bulbs
Post by: MrRiplEy[H] on February 01, 2013, 05:19:01 AM
The electrical and lighting industries did a terrible job educating customers about CF bulbs.
If you don't leave them off for at least ten minutes after turning them off, it drastically shortens the bulbs life.

Mute point now really. Most people hate them for the same reason as the OP.

The future is in LED bulbs. Far more efficient, and last years without the drawbacks of CF.

The LEDs are also considered hazardous waste and both bulb types need to be disposed of properly. Try your local Homedepot for their disposal program.

Incandescent bulbs are being banned in California because of their energy use. You'll be next.  :old:

I have replaced most of my 50W GU20 halogen spots to 3-4W LED GU20 spots. The spots work pretty well but the life is nothing as advertised. They burn sometimes even faster than the regular halogen spots and when they do it's a small explosion that sometimes knocks the automatic fuse offline.
Title: Re: Light Bulbs
Post by: Skuzzy on February 01, 2013, 06:50:34 AM
LED based lights are due to be replaced with a new technology later this year.  Just FYI.

Do a search for "polymer light bulb" if you want to know more about it (http://www.extremetech.com/extreme/142086-new-plastic-light-bulbs-are-cheap-bright-shatterproof-and-flicker-free).
Title: Re: Light Bulbs
Post by: MrRiplEy[H] on February 01, 2013, 07:42:45 AM
LED based lights are due to be replaced with a new technology later this year.  Just FYI.

Do a search for "polymer light bulb" if you want to know more about it (http://www.extremetech.com/extreme/142086-new-plastic-light-bulbs-are-cheap-bright-shatterproof-and-flicker-free).

Sounds cool. But unfortunately the 'cheap to make' part is going to translate into 'huge profit margin' for the coming years if history repeats itself.
Title: Re: Light Bulbs
Post by: Shamus on February 01, 2013, 08:55:17 AM
I don't know about you guys, but I've noticed those Compact Fluorescent lightbulbs (CFL's) don't last for the years and years they are supposed to.

Matter of fact, I've been having to change those things in my house left and right.  They cost 5 times more than the incandescent bulbs and last half as long, and we have to buy them now.

What a crock.   :bhead

I find just the opposite, the things last forever, the slow start up in cold temps make them a pain in some applications though.

shamus     
Title: Re: Light Bulbs
Post by: CAP1 on February 01, 2013, 09:06:19 AM
as for their longevity, mom put a few in my living room lights a couple years ago. they're lasting fine. i just can't stand the farking light they make. i can't put my finger on it, but it's not something i like.
 i installed an LED bulb that i got at home depot in a light in my room. it says it's equivalent to a 40 watt incandescent......to me it seems brighter. nice white light, and full brightness instantly. i'm going to pick up a few more of those.
Title: Re: Light Bulbs
Post by: Meatwad on February 01, 2013, 09:19:42 AM
LED based lights are due to be replaced with a new technology later this year.  Just FYI.

Do a search for "polymer light bulb" if you want to know more about it (http://www.extremetech.com/extreme/142086-new-plastic-light-bulbs-are-cheap-bright-shatterproof-and-flicker-free).

If those go into production, that would be great.
Title: Re: Light Bulbs
Post by: Skuzzy on February 01, 2013, 11:09:46 AM
If those go into production, that would be great.

My Wife has already attended seminars about the upcoming release of those lights.  It was about how it was going to impact commercial building lighting codes.  They said they are on schedule to be in production this year.

She got to put her hands on some working units.  She said it was strange to see they light it put out but virtually no detectable heat emission.

Unless there is some unforeseen issue, it seems they are going to be a reality.  Should put the lighting industry on its ear.
Title: Re: Light Bulbs
Post by: Drano on February 01, 2013, 11:38:29 AM
Funny how we all had the incandesant bulbs for like a hundred years and now it seems they're coming out with something else every five! How do ya keep up? As far as the dimming goes it took them a long while to come out with a dimming CFL bulb and they came out with those before they came up with compatible dimmer switches. Trying to dim a  dimmable CFL with a standard dimmer will dim the bulb--just not by much. The voltages are way different. Now they're out with the LED bulbs, it took a while to come out with dimmable models and I haven't found many compatible dimmers for those as they're also again totally different. Now they're coming out with yet ANOTHER bulb(?).

Ths good news is as long as my employer keeps trying these out in an attempt to cut their massive commercial electric bill it keeps me in a job. :D

Passed Skuzzy's link on to my boss.
Title: Re: Light Bulbs
Post by: MrRiplEy[H] on February 01, 2013, 11:57:54 AM
as for their longevity, mom put a few in my living room lights a couple years ago. they're lasting fine. i just can't stand the farking light they make. i can't put my finger on it, but it's not something i like.

Fluorescent light flickers a bit like old CRT screens. Some people are sensitive to it, me included.
Title: Re: Light Bulbs
Post by: blkblade on February 01, 2013, 01:43:35 PM
(http://cdn.roflzone.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/11/Her-Husband-Got-The-Pic-When-Changing-Bulb.jpg)
That's clever! She's stored the light bulbs in her shirt for easy retrieval.
Oh, wait,...
Title: Re: Light Bulbs
Post by: MrRiplEy[H] on February 01, 2013, 01:53:52 PM
That's clever! She's stored the light bulbs in her shirt for easy retrieval.
Oh, wait,...

With Skuzzys new material they can probably start to make self luminated implants.
Title: Re: Light Bulbs
Post by: Babalonian on February 01, 2013, 01:56:25 PM
(http://cdn.roflzone.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/11/Her-Husband-Got-The-Pic-When-Changing-Bulb.jpg)

Nice bulbs.  Gigitty.
Title: Re: Light Bulbs
Post by: blkblade on February 01, 2013, 02:15:52 PM
Must be LE-Ds
Title: Re: Light Bulbs
Post by: shotgunneeley on February 01, 2013, 04:50:30 PM
(http://cdn.roflzone.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/11/Her-Husband-Got-The-Pic-When-Changing-Bulb.jpg)

looks like there is more wattage in the left bulb than in the right one...

We need another perspective, just to make sure. Sure don't want any fuses being blown.
Title: Re: Light Bulbs
Post by: Rob52240 on February 04, 2013, 12:09:17 PM
I've had decent luck with the compact ones but LED is really the future in my opinion.