Going the way of the dodo bird

Hmm!! I like incandescent bulbs, and my energy bills for this 1600 square foot house, including air conditioning in the heat of New Orleans summers, averaged $83/month last year. I'd sure like to continue using incandescent bulbs and I turn them off when not in use.

So, I looked up the legislation in Wikipedia, and found this little gem:

Various specialty bulbs, including appliance bulbs, "rough service" bulbs, colored lights, plant lights, and 3-way bulbs, are exempt from these requirements as well as light bulbs currently less than 40 watts or more than 150 watts.
Click to expand...

So let's see - - I could put my big lamps on 3-way bulbs, my small lamps on bulbs less than 40 watts, and other than that, make abundant use of colored lights, I suppose. I wonder if "rough service" bulbs include bulbs for ceiling fans.
 
W2R said:
.........I'd sure like to continue using incandescent bulbs and I turn them off when not in use...........
Click to expand...

Not to worry. I replaced nearly all my incandescent bulbs and I have boxes of them to give away. I'm sure I'm not alone. :cool:
 
Out of curiosity, anybody using alternative dimmable bulbs? We have mostly dimmable switches, and I like the flexibility. I tried some (supposedly) dimmable CFL, but they suck. Completely worthless. I haven't tried the LEDs or halogen. For the most part I dislike LED light quality, but I'm willing to try. As far as halogens, are they really that much more efficient than incandescents for the price difference? I guess I'll go stock up on incandescents, but after 10 years or so I'll have to make the switch. Maybe the technology will be better by then.
 
I bought a bunch of CFL bulbs a few years ago. I HATE, HATE, HATE the greenish-tinged color of light that they throw off, so I switched back to CFLs.

From the IKEA article, I learned that only 14% of Americans, like me, are "very concerned" about the light color of CFLs.

I may have to go on a shopping spree and buy some cases of incandescent bulbs to tide me over for a while.

omni
 
harley said:
Out of curiosity, anybody using alternative dimmable bulbs? We have mostly dimmable switches, and I like the flexibility. I tried some (supposedly) dimmable CFL, but they suck. Completely worthless. I haven't tried the LEDs or halogen. For the most part I dislike LED light quality, but I'm willing to try. As far as halogens, are they really that much more efficient than incandescents for the price difference? I guess I'll go stock up on incandescents, but after 10 years or so I'll have to make the switch. Maybe the technology will be better by then.
Click to expand...

Our entire upstairs lighting is 'incandescent free'. All the fixed lights are halogen or pressurized xenon lamps, on dimmer circuits, and the various lamps, which don't dim, use CFL bulbs.

Halogen and xenon lamps are more efficient than the older incandescent bulbs, and are available with the standard Edison base and familiar bulb shape, if you need a bulb that matches a table lamp's harp or bulb-mounted shade. They're also in candelabra base bulbs.
 
It's true that some CFLs have greenish lights. But the ones that work well, I cannot tell the difference from incandescent bulbs. But then, I may be either [-]color-blind[/-] color-challenged or easy-minded.
 
NW-Bound said:
It's true that some CFLs have greenish lights. But the ones that work well, I cannot tell the difference from incandescent bulbs. But then, I may be either [-]color-blind[/-] color-challenged or easy-minded.
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Agreed. Although my CFLs are not quite the same color temperature as incandescents, they are pretty close, and quite warm in color.
 
harley said:
Out of curiosity, anybody using alternative dimmable bulbs? We have mostly dimmable switches, and I like the flexibility. I tried some (supposedly) dimmable CFL, but they suck. Completely worthless. I haven't tried the LEDs or halogen. For the most part I dislike LED light quality, but I'm willing to try. As far as halogens, are they really that much more efficient than incandescents for the price difference? I guess I'll go stock up on incandescents, but after 10 years or so I'll have to make the switch. Maybe the technology will be better by then.
Click to expand...

M Paquette said:
Our entire upstairs lighting is 'incandescent free'. All the fixed lights are halogen or pressurized xenon lamps, on dimmer circuits, and the various lamps, which don't dim, use CFL bulbs.

Halogen and xenon lamps are more efficient than the older incandescent bulbs, and are available with the standard Edison base and familiar bulb shape, if you need a bulb that matches a table lamp's harp or bulb-mounted shade. They're also in candelabra base bulbs.
Click to expand...
I will have to try some of those alternative lamps upsatirs in our reading lamps. I have ceiling floods in the kitchen and basement and have switched to dimmable florescents --- they suck big time. I tried regular florescents but they burned out in weeks (because of the dimmers I assume). At the rate they were burning out my carbon footprint must have skyrocketed and expenses were out of sight.
 
Major Tom said:
Agreed. Although my CFLs are not quite the same color temperature as incandescents, they are pretty close, and quite warm in color.
Click to expand...

Mine too... I found that there are different hues. I bought some that had a very eerie glow to them, kinda like florescent tubes and a very cold feeling. But, I use the soft white ones and they throw off a nice warm light. I have them all over the house in recessed fixtures, lamps...everything. I have long ones and short ones for lamps. I buy mine at Sam's, Sylvania soft white.
 
Almost all of our incandescent bulbs were replaced with CFLs about 5 years ago. Apart from a few defective ones, they have lasted at least several years, and most are still going strong.

The first ones we got had a very harsh light, which DW disliked. But the ones we've bought in the last few years have had a warmer, more natural light that is practically indistinguishable from the old incandescents.

We still have a couple of high intensity reading lamps, and the little bulbs in the garage door opener (probably what they mean by "rough usage" since they're vibration resistant).

Considering the greatly increased service life, I doubt if they're much more expensive in the long run.
 
Now when LED bulbs come down in price and are available in pleasing color temperatures, we will have hit the jackpot, IMHO.
 
My mother had saved an original light bulb from when I have no idea, but you would not believe how thick the glass is on it. Must be 50X thicker than today's.


Lowe's told me last week when I went to buy bulbs that they are doing totally away with the old ones now. Be prepared if you love the old style and stock up NOW.
 
happy2bretired said:
Mine too... I found that there are different hues. I bought some that had a very eerie glow to them, kinda like florescent tubes and a very cold feeling. But, I use the soft white ones and they throw off a nice warm light. I have them all over the house in recessed fixtures, lamps...everything. I have long ones and short ones for lamps. I buy mine at Sam's, Sylvania soft white.
Click to expand...


I'm encouraged to hear that they've improved the color of CFLs. Do they still take a while to get to full brightness?

And does anyone have any input on how LEDs compare to incandescents (color-wise?) I'm assuming they go to full brightness immediately.

omni
 
omni550 said:
I'm encouraged to hear that they've improved the color of CFLs. Do they still take a while to get to full brightness?
Click to expand...

Mine take about a minute to ramp up. However, I heard there are new bulbs that cut that time down a lot. However, they are about 40% more than my "old ones"..........
 
Was thinking today that the purchase of a case or two of 75W bulbs would probably be as good an investment as forever stamps.
 
omni550 said:
Do they still take a while to get to full brightness?
Click to expand...

Yes, but not that long. It seems to be temperature related. The ones I have in outdoor fixtures take several minutes to get to full brightness when it's really cold out, although they are still perfectly usable as soon as switched on.

Indoors, the difference is much less, so although they do get a bit brighter within a minute or so, it's not that noticeable.
 
I'm not ready to make the switch to CFL. I still perfer incandecent bulbs. I like the GE Reveal Brand and Sylvania Daylight although they don't last very long.
 
FinanceDude said:
Mine take about a minute to ramp up. However, I heard there are new bulbs that cut that time down a lot. However, they are about 40% more than my "old ones"..........
Click to expand...
I like the CFL daylight bulbs, but my wife doesn't. We have a little conflict about this. In trying to find a CFL daylight-type bulb my wife would put up with, through experiment I've discovered that she can't stand 6500K CFLs (too blue-greenish) but 5800K CFLs are more tolerable. However, the low-wattage 5800K bulbs I've found so far do take at least 10 seconds or so to ramp up. Higher wattage 5800K bulbs don't seem to have this problem -- they come on full right away.
 
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