My CFL Replacement!

[SVOboy]

Excuse my fluffy posts, but I want to get this section more traffic and get the ideas flowing!

I didn't replace every bulb because those cone types for the bathroom are too rich for my blood. Perhaps the next time around! But here's what I did.

6 x 23W (100W Equivalent) = 462W saved
3 x 14W (60W Equivalent) = 138W saved
2 x 19W (75W Equivalent) = 112W saved
------------------------------------------------
Total = 712W saved

Wee, that's pretty exciting...makes me want to go door to door and tell people about it...

Over the life of the bulbs mother will save ~558 bucks. It may take forever to save it all, but that's pretty darn exciting I think...

Thanks for indulging me!

[zpiloto]

Excuse my fluffy posts, but I want to get this section more traffic and get the ideas flowing!

I didn't replace every bulb because those cone types for the bathroom are too rich for my blood. Perhaps the next time around! But here's what I did.

6 x 23W (100W Equivalent) = 462W saved
3 x 14W (60W Equivalent) = 138W saved
2 x 19W (75W Equivalent) = 112W saved
------------------------------------------------
Total = 712W saved

Wee, that's pretty exciting...makes me want to go door to door and tell people about it...

Over the life of the bulbs mother will save ~558 bucks. It may take forever to save it all, but that's pretty darn exciting I think...

Thanks for indulging me!
Yea I was the same way. They had a sell on the CFL's and I replaced every one in the house but 2(they were on dimmers that we use all the time). From the Garage to outdoor lights etc. Now if we could just get repete86 and his crew to come down and stop the coal plant they just ram rodded through:(

[Bill in Houston]

That is cool. I'm a little gunshy because the last set of bulbs I bought...
take about a second and a half to come on
come on reallllly dim
and
are a sickly blue

Is there something I should look for to keep this from happening next time I buy bulbs?

[SVOboy]

The bulbs I bought have a little marking on the package that show you the color. It goes "soft white - bright white - day light." I got soft white and they match the color of my normal bulbs.

They come on immediately, but take a bit to warm up. I didn't even notice until I replace the basement lights (which are only two lights for the whole thing, so it's already underlit). My mother hasn't noticed any difference in any of the lights, so I would say they're very good replacements.

The brand is n:vision, got them at home depot.

Total cost was 42 bucks including tax (and another bulb I had no where to put).

[Silveredwings]

I bought about a dozen of them to try. The ones I replaced first are the ones that tend to get left on all the time. Lights that stay off don't need much help saving electricity.

As for the slow-on, I've gotten used to them and it doesn't bother me. As for the way they dim warm-up, it's not noticable if they're one of the ones that have been left on. ;) Otherwise, if that's the worst thing I have to worry about, I'm doing well.

Then there's the A/C dividend: the incandescents put off so much heat that the 712W saved is mostly wasted heat. :thumbup:

[Hockey4mnhs]

yeah we just re did all our lighting in our house and i made sure the guy put in cfls. they dont even look like cfls there incased in anouther piece of glass. the ones up stairs are slow turn on and they are dim at first but i love that becasue the get insanely bright after awhile and that would kill the eyes in the morning

[Bill in Houston]

I'll try the soft white next time. The day light ones really are sort of like daylight, but it seems really unnatural inside the house.

[Bill in Houston]

Then there's the A/C dividend: the incandescents put off so much heat that the 712W saved is mostly wasted heat. :thumbup:I figure that for us the A/C dividend is HUGE. It always chapped me to pay for the same power twice. Once to make the light/heat, and again to move the heat outside...

[DracoFelis]

Nobody has mentioned installing skylights in dark hallways and such.
I'm sure you could, if your roof is directly above where you want the light. And if not, you could (in theory) use those fiber-optic "light tunnels" to pipe in outside light to wherever you want it.

However, both approaches seem like more trouble than they are worth (not to mention a little costly of a renovation). That's why my "low tech" solution to having a little light (in an otherwise totally dark room/hall) is to get LED nightlights (that burn under a watt of power each) and plug them in at strategic locations. Yes, I pay for the electricity, but the nightlights are reasonably cheap (about as cheap as CF bulbs are), and burn a fraction as much power as even CFs do. And while their light level is also a fraction as much as a CF bulb, it's none-the-less enough light to avoid "tripping over things" when you are walking down that dark hall...

NOTE: I'm not talking about traditional "nightlights" (that burn several watts each) here. I'm specifically talking about newer (110v plug in) LED based nightlights, that use the same LED technology used in energy saving LED flashlights. Such "nightlights" are considerably more energy efficient than the old style nightlights were (for about the same amount of light). In fact, some LED nightlights are even more energy efficient (in terms of light for power used) than CF bulbs are. Their total light output is small (LEDs are mostly good for lower light "spot lighting"), but their actual energy efficiency is high. So if you just need "a little light" to avoid tripping over the floor, or walking into the wall, LED lighting is ideal (as you can leave it on constantly, due to the very low power usage of each "nightlight" (I have some LED nightlights that only use about 1/3 of a watt of power each)!!!

[Snax]

I disagree that skylights are more trouble than they are worth. The aesthetic appeal adds significant value to the liveability of the space.

We have a staircase that was just plain dungeonous with 3 light fixtures (always left on of course by everybody but me), and the addition of two 10" tube skylights has virtually eliminated those lights getting turned on at all during daylight hours. Throw in the benefit of the much more open feel of it, and it was $200 and my own DIY time well spent.

Oh, and we have replaced all but 10 bulbs out of 40 with CFLs. The incandescents remain in the dimmable fixtures, and one each in the multi-bulb bathroom vanity fixtures to eliminate flicker. I think LEDs would make sense in a couple of places, but they are ridiculously priced for the light levels required.

[SVOboy]

Aren't skylights bad for insulation? I've heard this but I'm not sure...

I just walk around in the dark anyway.

[rGS]

NOTE: I'm not talking about traditional "nightlights" (that burn several watts each) here. I'm specifically talking about newer (110v plug in) LED based nightlights, that use the same LED technology used in energy saving LED flashlights. Such "nightlights" are considerably more energy efficient than the old style nightlights were (for about the same amount of light). In fact, some LED nightlights are even more energy efficient (in terms of light for power used) than CF bulbs are. Their total light output is small (LEDs are mostly good for lower light "spot lighting"), but their actual energy efficiency is high. So if you just need "a little light" to avoid tripping over the floor, or walking into the wall, LED lighting is ideal (as you can leave it on constantly, due to the very low power usage of each "nightlight" (I have some LED nightlights that only use about 1/3 of a watt of power each)!!!

DracoFelis,

To add to your note, I'm using some motion sensing night lights in the hallways. So "motion sensing LED based nightlights" may be better because why keep a hallway lit when no one's moving through it? The motion sensor also detects if it's daytime so the nightlights automatically stay off during the day, no matter how much motion occurs in front of it.

[SVOboy]

How much do said motion sensors cost?

[Hockey4mnhs]

i have the same ones it sounds like and i think mine were 18 bucks.

[DracoFelis]

To add to your note, I'm using some motion sensing night lights in the hallways. So "motion sensing LED based nightlights" may be better because why keep a hallway lit when no one's moving through it?
Keep in mind that most "motion sensors" use a little power for the sensor itself (how much I'm not sure, but virtually all "motion sensors" are active circuits that do use some power even when their "load" is "off"). While this is a great trade-off when you have a higher power light/load (as the small power for the sensor will be more than recovered by not running the "light" as often as you otherwise would), the trade-off gets worse and worse as power levels for "on" get lower.

So if you are powering a really low power load anyway (say a 1/3 watt nightlight), my theory is that you may be better off (power usage wise) avoiding the motion sensor, and just powering the light/load more often then you technically "need" to. IMHO you should save the "moton sensors" for those situations where you want a fair amount of light (for example, several florescent bulbs) to come on when someone walks in the area. Because motion sensors make a lot of sense for auto-controlling less used (but still noticeable) power usage lighting situations. But for really low "night light" situations, I think you are usually better off avoiding the motion sensor, and instead just letting the low power light run more often.

The motion sensor also detects if it's daytime so the nightlights automatically stay off during the day, no matter how much motion occurs in front of it.
FWIW the LED "nightlights" I got had built-in light sensors. So when it was "bright enough" (i.e. when the light figured it was "day" based upon it's light sensor), the nightlight shut itself off (saving even the slight power the light otherwise uses). Honestly I don't think this saves a huge amount of power (when you are talking only about 1/3 watt of power during "on" anyway), but it was a feature built into the nightlights I got. And that feature probably does save a very small amount of power, by allowing some of the nightlights to run only about 1/2 of the day (on average), instead of running 24/7.

But really, even if all my 1/3 watt "nightlights" (around the house) were running 24/7, their electrical loads would still be small compared to things like the fridge (or even just the chargers for my wireless phones). Remember, at about 1/3 watt per light, we are talking only a 10 watt load for 30 of the things scattered in stratigic places around the house. And while none of those nightlights produces much light (they really are "nightlights"), they do produce enough light to avoid tripping when walking down an otherwise "dark" hall...

[Hockey4mnhs]

they stop me from turning the big lights on that go down the hall way 80% of the time so i think that saves the most

[VetteOwner]

i love using the twisty style flourecent ulbs in my fan cuz usualyl the vibration would be enough to burn out a standard bulb in about a month. i have the same twisty bulb and my fan stays on 24/7 its been in there for shees a year or more.i also love how the bulbs do not radiate much heat at all. so their perfect for those garage clamp lights or a clamp reading light.

[rGS]

How much do said motion sensors cost?

SVOboy,

Honestly, I forget because it was a while ago. I got them from Home Depot if that helps. They use incandescent bulbs, but I intentionally bought a set of lower wattage bulbs. I've even forgotten the exact wattage of either original or replacement bulbs. I mainly got it for the motion sensing, daytime sensing , bright enough to see, and dim enough to avoid bright enough induced insomnia.

[Snax]

Aren't skylights bad for insulation? I've heard this but I'm not sure...

I just walk around in the dark anyway.

In general it's a tradeoff with a net gain in solar heating - if direct sunlight shines through them during the heating season. The tubes that I have installed however are a relatively small surface area and do not present a noticeable cooling effect on even the coldest nights.

Where people get into trouble with skylights is with overdoing it. They end up with too much direct solar heating in the daytime only to be frozen out at night. Moderation is the key.