Reminder About 40 & 60W Bulbs Going Away in Jan.

[Telly]

The regular 40w and 60w incandescent bulbs are up for this coming January. Supposedly, rough-service bulbs will remain, but I don't know if that includes vibration-tolerant fan light bulbs. I once saw on a list that 60w candelabra-based bulbs were going too.

For those who have converted to CFL or some LED bulbs, this may seem like no big deal. But there are many applications for incandescent bulbs that are poorly-served by CFL, or price-prohibitive for LED.

Such as: Closet lights, attic lights, hallway lights, stairway lights, some outside lights by doors where you want immediate ON, etc. Places where you need instant-on light, and they are not on very long.

CFL's are poorly suited to this type of application. Take too long to come up to brilliance, may have fallen down the stairs by then. Who wants to open a closet door and wait for the light? CFL's also have much shorter life with frequent turn-ons. And the reduced use of electricity is never going to pay for a CFL in this application, more likely the CFL will have a short life and be replaced many times.

And LED bulbs are way too expensive for such short use times, and the number of them you may need for your house. I would be dead before one of them paid back in this type of use.

In other words, the perfect use for cheap incandescent bulbs will eventually be served by high-cost replacements, and in the case of CFL, poorly served.

W-Mart has a Special Value 8 Pack of GE 60w bulbs, 840 Lumens, regular life not long-life, for $3.00 (37.5 cents per bulb). They also have 4-packs of 40w and 60w for a higher price per-bulb.

CFLs and LEDs have their uses, and I have some in service. But not for the specific applications I listed above.

 

[W2R]

I am hoping for a last minute reprieve, but realistically I know I will just have to adjust (at some point in time).

Right now, I only have one CFL bulb in use in my house. I bought it just to find out about them and I hate it. One thing I found out is that using the supposed equivalent CFL bulb means that I end up with a bulb that to me, does not seem bright enough for my aging eyes. So, next time I will just keep that in mind and buy a much brighter one than the supposed equivalent. Also, I do not especially like the quality of light from my CFL bulb. Probably an LED bulb would be brighter and better for reading, from what I have heard.

I do not plan to stockpile, and I will start using CFL or other allowed bulbs when my present bulbs and the few extras I keep around, run out. I will have to adjust sometime, and it is harder to adjust the older we get.

 

[haha]

I do not plan to stockpile, and I will start using CFL or other allowed bulbs when my present bulbs and the few extras I keep around, run out.

My approach also. If I stockpile something, it would just get lost or get thrown out because it is in my way. I trust that I never will be bankrupted by light bulb costs.

Ha

 

[ERD50]

Thanks for the reminder, I had thought this was extended further out.

I use a lot of CFLs, but I also have a lot of places with dimmers, or where I just don't like a CFL (and dim-able CFLs are even more $). And it's silly to put in a CFL for an attic light or low use closet. So I think I will stock up. LEDs might be a good alternative in 5 years or so if prices keep dropping.

I saw that the rough service bulbs are exempted. These give off a yellow-ish light, and are less efficient than a regular soft white incandescent. But I guess these would be an alternative for closets, etc.

It looks like some of the halogen bulbs that some of our fixtures use are banned also. I hated that these things take special bulbs anyhow.

Don't get me started....


-ERD50

 

[Sesq]

I have a stash of 100w bulbs that should last me several years. I may need to get some 60's and 40's. Not a big CFL fan. LED's are still a little pricey. Amazon has some can light LED's for $20 that I could probably recoup the cost in a couple years. But I suspect the better/cheaper cycle is still in full flow on LEDs.

Not sure if 65w hallogen cans are on the block also.

 

[bUU]

I would be dead before one of them paid back in this type of use.

Rest assured that those that follow on after you will appreciate the light afforded them by the LEDs you purchase. As I get older I begin to start realizing how many things I'm doing and obtaining that will naturally be passed on to others, whether that be family members or even just the folks lucky enough to drive by when my family sells whatever I owned when I died at pennies on the dollar.

 

[BigNick]

I think many peoples' reaction to CFL was like my in-laws': my FIL bought one, plugged it in, switched it on, looked at it, turned it off (after about 3 seconds), removed it, and never used it again. He didn't even leave it on for the 30-60 seconds it takes to get up to speed. When I started using them, I used to think that I hated the light too, but then I realised how much time I spent at w*rk under regular fluorescent lighting without a problem (until they start to flicker... that drives me nuts from the very first sign of trouble). Now I don't mind them (and they do start fairly quickly).

I had a GE CFL bulb that started literally instantly. It lasted a couple of years, in a room with quite a lot of traffic. I couldn't find it again when it broke (probably just not looking hard enough), so I replaced it in a hurry with one of those semi-halogen bulbs with a standard screw fitting (not sure if you get those in the US) that meet the letter of the EU version of the incandescent phase-out, if not the spirit. I think you can only get 25W bulbs in full-incandescent in Europe now.

FWIW (hope this isn't deemed political), I was about the only person I know who was against the phase-out, and who wasn't also a climate change skeptic. My reasoning was that probably 80% of light-bulb burn hours take place in the winter, when you also have the heating on. Every watt of bulb heat is a watt your central heating doesn't have to produce to warm the room; and the electric companies still promote electricity as a legitimate way to warm your home. (One enterprising German guy is importing 100W bulbs from China and calling them "small room heaters", which have the side-effect of producing a lot of light!) I've since changed my mind, in that I think the overall message is probably worth the hassle and the slightly unscientific approach. (I did like the rather abstract suggestion that nobody should be allowed to use energy to heat something unless that heat was coming out of the back of a computer or other useful device. Imagine a supercomputer in your immersion heater, folding genes or doing other medically useful computation, while also heating your shower water.)

 

[Jack_Pine]

Ia m building stash of the old style lights in a few wattage's at cabin and in home. Like the light much better.

Just my .02

 

[HFWR]

FWIW (hope this isn't deemed political), I was about the only person I know who was against the phase-out, and who wasn't also a climate change skeptic. My reasoning was that probably 80% of light-bulb burn hours take place in the winter, when you also have the heating on. Every watt of bulb heat is a watt your central heating doesn't have to produce to warm the room; and the electric companies still promote electricity as a legitimate way to warm your home. (One enterprising German guy is importing 100W bulbs from China and calling them "small room heaters", which have the side-effect of producing a lot of light!) I've since changed my mind, in that I think the overall message is probably worth the hassle and the slightly unscientific approach. (I did like the rather abstract suggestion that nobody should be allowed to use energy to heat something unless that heat was coming out of the back of a computer or other useful device. Imagine a supercomputer in your immersion heater, folding genes or doing other medically useful computation, while also heating your shower water.)

My guess is a furnace is quite a bit more efficient than a light bulb for heating...

Only have a few incandescents left. Use CFLs, including in closets. Have only had one go bad in seven or so years. I do use battery-operated LED lights in closets, and a night light style LED in bathrooms, for when I just need enough light to distinguish colors (clothing) or not stub a toe.

 

[Dimsumkid]

I have a stockpile of incandescents (from old owners, I have 100w, 150w and 200w - talk about hot!) and CFLs here. Living in Chicago, they were a big backer of helping you convert early on. They gave CFLs away for free at almost any event for a few years, even the alderman's office would give you 1/2 dozen just for showing up. We went to a conservation fair last weekend and walked away with 6 CFL's. I have so many free CFL's, I changed out 5 homes (2 parent's, 1 sibling and 2 of ours old & new home). I have 2-3 printer boxes full of free CFL's. I can tell you the brand FEIT is lousy, had plenty of these go out < 102 months. Panasonic and Philips are good quality CFLs. Only recently paid for some LED's, I was able to get Philips L Prize LED bulbs for $7.50 or less ($58 on Amazon). For people that don't like CFL's, you need to check the color spectrum of the bulbs you get to make sure it's to your liking or try LEDs. They sell CREE LED's (40w and 60w) around $10-$13 at Home Depot and are virtually unbreakable.

 

[Telly]

I don't think I've ever "stocked up" on something before that was going away. Usually things go away because of improved technology, shifting tastes, etc. and tend to ramp down slowly, like film cameras.

Few things, that I can remember, suddenly just STOP without government prohibition.

I have almost unlimited storage space in my attic for something that is light in weight and can take the heat of the big broiler. Few things can. But light bulbs can! I'm only buying for applications that CFLs do not do well, or that LED is way too expensive vs. its limited use. I am NOT going to use battery-operated LED lights in closets. The last thing I need is more batteries to maintain!

I don't know if 65w R30 SPOTlights are going away. There are 65w-equiv. CFLs, but by definition, they are floods, not spots. It takes a point source focused in a reflector to creat a spot light. CFLs are a line source. No amount of twisting the tube turns it into a point source. And I have seen LED R30 FLOOD lights, I have one, but no spots. Seems it would take one honking LED to do it, or some sort of convex array of many LEDs, and do it without a reflector. I haven't seen one, and it won't be cheap if they eventually make one.

 

[MBAustin]

For those of you who tried CFLs a few years back and were unimpressed, try again. They come in a wider variety of the color spectrum (in general, the warmer ones are more pleasant for most applications) and many are now instant on and work with dimmers, etc. I even found outdoor 60W equivalents with built in light sensors so I no longer need to worry about turning the porch lights on and off.

LEDs are also getting better - I have pendants over my kitchen counters that were running very hot with 60W incandescents (candelabra base). They were burning out every 6 months. Tried a dimmable LED that had 40W equivalent lumens, but it actually looked brighter. I think they were around $14 at Lowe's, that was several months ago. Have converted all of them now, much cooler and I'll probably never have to replace any of them again!

 

[gozer]

My guess is a furnace is quite a bit more efficient than a light bulb for heating...

Very much so.

I thought this would spell the end of Hasbro's Easy Bake Ovens. But it appears they have changed their heat source in the new models. I suppose they are low heat toaster ovens now. At least I hope they are not full blown toaster ovens.

 

[FIREd]

First time I tried CFLs, I hated the harsh light they gave off. Now that we've come up with soft light CFLs, I think they are OK. Still, they are expensive and I am unimpressed with their longevity and reliability.

 

[gozer]

I pretty much completely switched to CFLs over 10 years ago. I tried them in the early 90's and was not impressed. Then 10 years later I was at Home Depot and they had a six pack of the spiral ones for $10. I decided to give them another try. I was pleased with how much they had improved from the old Philips Earth Light ones. In multi light fixtures you didn't notice the warm up time unless you really stared at the light hard. The cheaper CFLs produced a warmer yellowish light compared to the expensive CFLs which were a very bright white at the time. You really have to pay attention to Lumens and color temperature on the CFLs to get what you want. So you do have to plan a little bit based on where and how you were using them. I changed 72 light bulbs one weekend in June. At the end of the year my gas and electric company didn't bill me in December and adjusted my level billing down to compensate for the reduced electric usage. At the end of the next year there was another downward adjustment. The money saved in the first year paid for every bulb I bought.

When I built my new house a couple years ago I paid attention to fixtures and changed most things that would not work well with CFL type lights during construction planning. I use LED lights in spot light type applications. CFLs are not ideal in directed light applications unless you are leaving them on for long periods of time.

 

[hicabob]

These led bulbs are only $4.99 - 50 watt equiv, cheapest I have seen yet. They are not dimmable though.
8.5 Watt - LED A19 - 50 Watt Equal - 3000K Warm White

 

[Brett_Cameron]

I am slowly switching from CFLs to LEDs. The CFLs never lived up to the promise of longivity. The early LEDs were not acceptable (too dim, wrong color light, etc.).

My outdoor flood lights are still incandescent.

The new LEDs are instant on and soft white color is available but are still pricey.

So far so good. RIP incandescent light bulbs.

 

[samclem]

W-Mart has a Special Value 8 Pack of GE 60w bulbs, 840 Lumens, regular life not long-life, for $3.00 (37.5 cents per bulb). They also have 4-packs of 40w and 60w for a higher price per-bulb.

Thanks for the reminder. We stocked up months ago for the uses you mentioned. I've also got a small drop-light I use to heat a troublesome water pump switch when it gets cold in the garage--a CFL wouldn't do us much good there.
The CFLs have gotten a lot better, and most of our light fixtures have them now. I do not believe we are getting the claimed service life from them. We bought our first LED bulb recently, put it in the back porch light (CFLs took too long to get bright on cold nights) and I like it.
I don't like being told which light bulbs I can buy.

 

[Walt34]

I have CFL's on the outside lights (left on all night) and a couple of them require a ladder to change so the extended life is appreciated. Those will be the first to go LED.

The only other ones inside are in the room were the computer is and I wanted daylight-balanced (5000K) light in there because the warmer light influences photo editing. (DW drew the line at painting the walls 18% gray.)

W2R, those lights are plenty bright so you may consider daylight balanced CFL's. They can be hard to find even at the big-box hardware stores. Look for the color temperature, it's always in the tiny print, but it's there, and it should be between 5,000K and 5,200K. The "K" is for the Kelvin color temperature scale. Part of the issue is that the fluorescents don't put out a smooth color of light (incandescents don't either but it's not as bad) but instead have "spikes" of light in certain color bands. That's why everything looks orange under sodium-vapor lights in parking lots because the primary color they emit is orange.

 

[calmloki]

I use CFLs at home in fixtures that are on for extended times, but can't control how tenants use their lights. We have a building where we pay the electricity - there I use CFLs. We have other places where the tenant pays the electric. Seems like most of our tenants don't really bother changing bulbs - I find it weird that people will live in a place as it gets darker and darker, but it's not uncommon to replace 10 bulbs in a one bedroom apartment at move-out. I need their deposit to pay for other transgressions, so we go through a LOT of light bulbs.

I went through my stash of 75 watt bulbs way too fast and miss them - need to buy a couple more cases of 60s.

 

[W2R]

W2R, those lights are plenty bright so you may consider daylight balanced CFL's. They can be hard to find even at the big-box hardware stores. Look for the color temperature, it's always in the tiny print, but it's there, and it should be between 5,000K and 5,200K. The "K" is for the Kelvin color temperature scale. Part of the issue is that the fluorescents don't put out a smooth color of light (incandescents don't either but it's not as bad) but instead have "spikes" of light in certain color bands. That's why everything looks orange under sodium-vapor lights in parking lots because the primary color they emit is orange.

Oh good! I am glad that I will be able to get CFL's or LED's that are bright enough for me like incandescants. I probably just picked the wrong one. I just got out the package of my present too-dim CFL. It is 2700K, a soft white instant-on bulb with 1280 lumens and I need more light than that even though it says it replaces a 75W incandescent bulb. To me, the quality of light seems faint and yellowish like candlelight and just too dim. I might try an LED at some point, too, since price is less of an issue to me than being able to SEE....

Growing old is the pits! Eventually I will have to get cataract surgery which should help, too, although my doctor says I am not quite there yet (almost but not quite).

 

[Gumby]

We went all CFL many years ago; the only incandescent bulbs we have left are the little ones in the dining room chandelier. We are gradually switching to LEDs as and when the CFLs burn out. I like the light quality of the LEDs.

 

[travelover]

We went all CFL many years ago; the only incandescent bulbs we have left are the little ones in the dining room chandelier..........

Me too - ten little 25 watt bulbs. I chafe at the power it sucks up, but I can power it for decades for what 10 LED bulbs would cost. CFLs would look ridiculous.

 

[ERD50]

... I've also got a small drop-light I use to heat a troublesome water pump switch when it gets cold in the garage--a CFL wouldn't do us much good there. ...

While researching the new laws, I see there is an exemption for 'rough service' bulbs. Those make good heaters, as they actually put out fewer lumens/watt, but they provide longer life. This means they are somewhat less efficient than normal white or soft-white bulbs.

In the 'unintended consequences' area, I found a supplier of 'newcandescents' - legal incandescent bulbs. Of course, there is nothing new about them, they are just the exempted rough service bulbs re-branded. Which means that some people will be using even less efficient bulbs than they were before. The rough service bulbs give a yellow-orange-ish light (like a bulb on a dimmer), so some people won't care for them.

I don't like being told which light bulbs I can buy.

Yes, it's really insulting and arrogant to be told that someone in far off Washington D.C. can make a better decision than I can about what light bulb I put in what socket in my house. How many legislators could even give an accurate definition of a 'watt' or a 'lumen'? What's next, are they going to mandate our AA and WR?

-ERD50

 

[M Paquette]

Look for 43W halogen Edison base bulbs. These are similar to the old incandescent bulbs in light quality, and are very good for intermittent service or short duty cycle bulbs. The filament and envelope construction are such that the bulb has a higher "black body temperature" so it puts out more light per watt than the old tungsten bulbs. Many of these are being built with the old incandescent style glass around the light so funky accessories like lampshades that clipped on the bulb still work.

CFL bulbs work better for lights that are on for hours at a time (if you get one with a decent looking phosphor). LED bulbs are pretty pricy for the functionality, but I do have one (1) 2.5 watt LED light installed where I needed a modest standing light on 24/7.