# Taking the change a light pledge just got cheaper



## redstrat

Just a little FYI I'm sure many of you have seen my signature about the change a light pledge from energy star, if not its on this post. Anyway if you've ever wanted to do this and just thought it was to expensive upfront for the CFL bulbs, check out your local Home Depot. Two of the HD stores near me have these 6packs of the 15w (60w incandecant equivilant) bulbs for less than $10!!!! I stocked up and bought a couple packs, now every bulb in my apartment is CFL. I get that nice little peice of mind every time I flip a switch, ahh thats only using 25% of the energy it used to 

Also in the spirit of the change a light pledge, I urge everyone to do a little research and really consider the effects of greenhouse gasses and take a look at how you can conserve energy. If everyone does something even if its just a little like the change a light pledge it would be a big step in the right direction. I'm not trying to get all political here, I dont care what side of the fence your on about the issue of climate change, you can't argue that its not wise to conserve energy when its so easy.


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## Laith

And it's such a simple thing to do. Yes, the upfront cost may be higher but everyone gains over time; bulbs last a lot longer and use a lot less energy.  

I changed over all my light bulbs about a year ago.

Australia just went one better and is banning incandescent light bulbs as of 2009/10...


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## freydo

i had tried to change all the bulbs in my apartment to CF bulbs, but because i live in a character building, the covers don't fit because the lamps are too long. so i'm stuck with incandescents.

but my desk lamps are using CF lamps


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## redstrat

freydo said:


> i had tried to change all the bulbs in my apartment to CF bulbs, but because i live in a character building, the covers don't fit because the lamps are too long. so i'm stuck with incandescents.
> 
> but my desk lamps are using CF lamps


sorry to hear about that, weird fixtures definately pose a problem, they do have special CFL bulbs out there that may fit but the price is definately higher. at least your tryin, I have to give you props for that :clap2:


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## redstrat

Laith said:


> And it's such a simple thing to do. Yes, the upfront cost may be higher but everyone gains over time; bulbs last a lot longer and use a lot less energy.
> 
> I changed over all my light bulbs about a year ago.
> 
> Australia just went one better and is banning incandescent light bulbs as of 2009/10...


thats sounds pretty crazy at first, I heard California was trying to do something like that, but if you think about it actions like this should only drive the up front cost down by increasing the demand. I thought $1.66/bulb was a steal.  As well as grab the public's attention and and hopefully bring the greater issue to the front stage.


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## dennis

Thanks for posting this Davis. Good resource on the deal and great to see folks being aware.



> Also in the spirit of the change a light pledge, I urge everyone to do a little research and really consider the effects of greenhouse gasses and take a look at how you can conserve energy. If everyone does something even if its just a little like the change a light pledge it would be a big step in the right direction. I'm not trying to get all political here, I dont care what side of the fence your on about the issue of climate change, you can't argue that its not wise to conserve energy when its so easy.


And I swear, anyone jumps on davis for this, or starts any crap.......


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## tfmcder

Looks like I gotz to get my ass to home depot! ...seriously, I have all my light bulbs changed in my place but my woman is a different story. I swear I'm gonna smash all her lights, she leaves every light on in her apartment, whether she is home or not, and won't change them to cf until the incandescents burn out. Well now it looks like I'll buy the cf and put them in without her knowing!!!:boxing: We'll see how that works out. 

Now on a different note, does anyone know how to dispose of the dead cf bulbs. I know you are not really supposed to throw them in the regular trash because of the mercury but when I asked the sanitation department by me they were kind of dumb founded by my question and never really answered it.


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## JanS

tfmcder said:


> Now on a different note, does anyone know how to dispose of the dead cf bulbs. I know you are not really supposed to throw them in the regular trash because of the mercury but when I asked the sanitation department by me they were kind of dumb founded by my question and never really answered it.


This link was passed on to me by another member quite some time ago, and it can pretty much find any places that accept them in any area.
Earth 911: recycling centers, water pollution and conservation, Earth Day This one is Mn specific, and I don't have time to find the nation wide link, but I'm sure you can find it from there.


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## redstrat

dennis said:


> And I swear, anyone jumps on davis for this, or starts any crap.......


Its really suprised me how much crap I've gotten about that signature, not that I'm gonna take it off or anything, its just a little shocking that it upsets people and stirs the political debates it has. lol.

All in all, I'm really happy to see all the positive support!!! Thanks everybody


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## bpimm

I switched over several years ago and most of the bulbs only lasted a couple months and all of the first purchase died before two years. That kinda ticked me off a little as the rating says 7 years. This was in the first big push for them and I think they were having manufacturing problems. I ended up going back to incandescent, but now I'm gradually switching back and the bulbs seem to be lasting better.

If we really want to conserve energy think of how much fuel is consumed delivering junk mail in this country.


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## Burks

We use those bulbs in all of our lights (except the one I use for coin photography). Got tired of the incans burning out so I bought a 6 pack of them about a year ago for about $8-$10. Little buggers and pretty bright but I'm not a fan of the urine yellow output. They'll get switched out for daylight or soft whites when they die,.


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## JanS

I tried switching to all CF bulbs in the house, but with aging it's getting harder and harder to see without bright light. Even though we tried some of the high watt equivalent CF bulbs, it just didn't cut it, so we wound up going back to incandescents in the rooms we needed more light in for a while.

I have since found some small screw in bulbs that are called something like metal halide, but they are just like the CF's when it comes to energy consumption (maybe they're a form of CF?), and they do the trick.


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## redstrat

JanS said:


> I tried switching to all CF bulbs in the house, but with aging it's getting harder and harder to see without bright light. Even though we tried some of the high watt equivalent CF bulbs, it just didn't cut it, so we wound up going back to incandescents in the rooms we needed more light in for a while.
> 
> I have since found some small screw in bulbs that are called something like metal halide, but they are just like the CF's when it comes to energy consumption (maybe they're a form of CF?), and they do the trick.


Hmm I've never heard of those,i'll have to look into them. The bulbs I got at HD in the 6pack are brighter than the "equivilant" incandecant bulbs I replaced, they are soft white and actually apear to be a little whiter than the soft white incandecants from before, personally I haven't seen a downside yet with the HD packs. I also bought a 4pack of cool white just to try them, they were the same price and definately cool white, I can't imagine using them everywhere but definately nice in the bathroom and way brighter than the previous bulbs.  I'm sure your milage may vary but its definately worth a shot IMO. If I had to come up with one thing I noticed that I haven't seen before is these bulbs seem to be a little dimmer and yellower when they first turn on but within 30seconds they are bright and whiter.


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## jamesB

Has anyone else every tried to use CFs outside? When we moved into our house there was an old CF in the light post, looked nice and bright on those late summer nights. However, 5 months later when the temps dropped to -20F the light became rather pathetic. It took the light several minutes to light up, I am actually rather surprised it ever did, and then it never got all that bright. This goes along with what is probably my biggest complaint with CFs, walk into a dark room flip the light-switch on and then stand there and wait for the lights to come up to full light. Not that this has stopped me from getting more and more of the lights.

Does anyone know if I am shortening the life of the bulbs running them at low temps?

Also, does anyone know if they have come out with CFs that can be but on dimmer switches? 
I have seen a three-way CF but it was huge with ratings of 75,100,150 or something like that. Right now we are thinking about taking the dimmer switches out so we don't blow the CFs by running them at a lower power.


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## tfmcder

> Also, does anyone know if they have come out with CFs that can be but on dimmer switches?


Yes they have. I am yet to try them but I have seen them. They are still quite rare but would imagine that they will become more readily available as the technology is perfected.

Dimmable Compact Fluorescent Light Bulbs


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## Jubs

We just moved into a new apartment and we have some strange fixtures in the main lights in the rooms and hallways and I have been trying to source some decent priced CFL's that will fit the the small fixutres I found some I think at Lowe's but the cost was pretty high for them as they are shaped like the candle flame style with a small base but they are making them just need to do some shopping around. 

I have heard that these don't last as long if they aren't left on for a bit and will burn out fast if they are only used for a couple minutes at a time in say a bathroom. Anyone know if this is true or not, not that it matters as any savings in electric would be nice considering what all my lighting and such on my tanks is using up I would like to save some energy where ever I can!


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## Left Coast DJ

I read somewhere (or someone told me) a long time ago that your brain is able to detect the flicker of a flourescent bulb even if you cannot. So in the long run, it's supposed to be unhealthy for you. I Googled it, and found this:

http://www.daylighting.com/Article-HealthHazardsofFluorescentLighting.htm

I work in a place with flourescent lighting. So when I come home, I want to watch Family Guy under my Philips Reveal 100s.

DJ


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## charter

Hey davis I take it that you only tinker with low light tanks and no CO2, based on this thread I must be the devil. By the way this morning in PA it was 10 degrees Fahrenheit this global warming is really hot. CF lights are a joke, wait 5 min. and then you get the full effect. Have you ever tried one of those CF flood lights, don't, they can't light up near as much as the old incandescents. Hopefully the LED market will wipe out both Incandescents and CF's.


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## goalcreas

I buy all of my bulbs from Costco.
I get an 8 pack of the CF flood lights for my recessed kitchen lights, they are like $14 but they give you the energy rebate up front, so the 8 pack only cost like $6 out the door.
I also get the 60 watt or 75 watt equivilent bulbs there and 6 or 8 pack is like $9 but again you get the energy rebate up front so out the door they are like $3 or $4 for the pack.
If you have Costco's in your area, this is where to buy your bulbs, if you don't, maybe online at www.costco.com , but shipping costs may not make this the best deal.

BTW I think they are all Phillips brand but could be wrong.


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## redstrat

charter said:


> Hey davis I take it that you only tinker with low light tanks and no CO2, based on this thread I must be the devil. By the way this morning in PA it was 10 degrees Fahrenheit this global warming is really hot. CF lights are a joke, wait 5 min. and then you get the full effect. Have you ever tried one of those CF flood lights, don't, they can't light up near as much as the old incandescents. Hopefully the LED market will wipe out both Incandescents and CF's.


where in this thread did anyone say anything about it being a problem to use something other than low light tanks or that being environmentally irresponsible or CO2 for the aquarium being a problem, or if by not taking the pledge or doing anything it makes you the devil? I personally have a high tech highlight tank, and yes I realize there may be more environmentally frendly ways to enjoy my hobby, ie NPT or low light or hell if we're going that far, an aquarium would be a waste of energy because its not usefull other than for our own enjoyment, which is ludicrous. I feel that its wastefull to use incandecent lighting for your home, you could get the same output from a CFL at a fraction of the energy used. I've never seen one that takes anything cloes to 5 minutes unless its really cold to get to its normal output, mine may take a couple seconds and I dont see it as a big deal because there is plenty of light when it first turns on. I think its smart to make changes where you feel you can without changing your life completely unless your comfortable doing so.

All I want people to do is be concious about the things they do, and how they effect the environment, make whatever changes you can if you feel compelled to do so. Every little bit helps. I'm don't consider myself to be a tree-hugger but I do care about the environment and state of the earth today as well as tomorrow. Like I said I'm not going for a political debate here I just want people to think.

If nothing else, the energy saved by using CFLs in my house helps offset the energy consumed by my aquarium, actually I think I personally save roughly 2 times as much as the hightech aquarium consumes every day.


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## bpimm

Left Coast DJ said:


> I read somewhere (or someone told me) a long time ago that your brain is able to detect the flicker of a flourescent bulb even if you cannot. So in the long run, it's supposed to be unhealthy for you. I Googled it, and found this:
> 
> http://www.daylighting.com/Article-HealthHazardsofFluorescentLighting.htm
> 
> I work in a place with flourescent lighting. So when I come home, I want to watch Family Guy under my Philips Reveal 100s.
> 
> DJ


This was true for magnetic ballast fixtures that ran at the 60Hz line frequency. With the advent of the high frequency electronic ballasts (which these screw in CF's use) that problem has gone away as your eye can no longer detect ant flicker.

Brian


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## goalcreas

charter said:


> Hey davis I take it that you only tinker with low light tanks and no CO2, based on this thread I must be the devil. By the way this morning in PA it was 10 degrees Fahrenheit this global warming is really hot. CF lights are a joke, wait 5 min. and then you get the full effect. Have you ever tried one of those CF flood lights, don't, they can't light up near as much as the old incandescents. Hopefully the LED market will wipe out both Incandescents and CF's.


Oh, when I replaced my incandescent floods with the CF, my kitchen got way, way brighter, granted it took 30 seconds for full effect, but my wife and kids walked into the kitchen for the first time and looked around and said, what the heck, why is it so bright in here.


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## redstrat

goalcreas said:


> Oh, when I replaced my incandescent floods with the CF, my kitchen got way, way brighter, granted it took 30 seconds for full effect, but my wife and kids walked into the kitchen for the first time and looked around and said, what the heck, why is it so bright in here.


I have noticed the same result with all the CFLs I've used as well I'm glad to hear I'm not the only one.


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## Fortuna Wolf

I bought a 12 pack of 40 watt equivalents for $11 from costco, and a 6 pack of 100 watts for the same IIRC. 
Sadly they're warm white and not a neutral or bluish colour that I'd prefer.

I understand the complaint about specialized fixtures which is why, IMO, you ditch those things!  I replaced the dimmer switches for my ceiling fan/light with dual on/offs for the CFL.


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## mrbelvedere138

I'll stick with incandescent or Halogen for outdoor lighting. CF's don't fire up well when the ballast is cold.


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## Fortuna Wolf

Its not the ballast being cold, its the tube itself really. It warms up after a few minutes and gets nice and bright.


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## Squawkbert

I'm not sure about this... CFs contain some Hg - recycling/proper disposal may be more of an issue than w/ W based lights.

I need to look into this as I just found out I can get these on the cheap (Panasonic co supplier deal).

(no, they have no 6500K ones)


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## jason311

I bought a 4 pack of the cf flood lights for my basement living room.I have only had them about 2 months and 2 of them have already died.I paid a little more for them expecting to get more life out of them.Even my regular flood light bulbs lasted 6 to 8 months.Kind of hard to want to switch to something to help out with saving energy when it doesn't work.


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## redstrat

jason311 said:


> I bought a 4 pack of the cf flood lights for my basement living room.I have only had them about 2 months and 2 of them have already died.I paid a little more for them expecting to get more life out of them.Even my regular flood light bulbs lasted 6 to 8 months.Kind of hard to want to switch to something to help out with saving energy when it doesn't work.


This is really suprising to hear these stories, I've never had a problem with any of these bulbs, the technology really isn't that new its been around for at least 10years, I have some CFLs my grandpa bought in the early 90's that still work, granted they are a little dimmer when they first light but the full intensity comes pretty quickly, but the bulbs are at least 14years old!!! anyway, maybe its just the weird styles like flood lights and decorative bulbs I, haven't really tried any of these. My expereices with them have all been positive so far. I guess YMMV but if you have problems take it up with the MFG serriously because they shouldn't sell products that don't even remotely live up to their claims.

by the way Happy belated 311 day


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## Blacksunshine

Just stopped into costco last night and they have some sweet combo packs of CF house bulbs. comes with 3 13 watters 3 I think 20 wat'ers and one CF spotlight. the whole thing was like 5-6 bucks.


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## redstrat

Blacksunshine said:


> Just stopped into costco last night and they have some sweet combo packs of CF house bulbs. comes with 3 13 watters 3 I think 20 wat'ers and one CF spotlight. the whole thing was like 5-6 bucks.


Awesome!! thanks for the tip


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## Jimbo205

PM Sent. 

All good.


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## Olvar

*Re: taking the change a light pledge just got cheaper*

Well I'm one of those people who hates flourescent lights because of the flicker, I get migraines like crazy. But I lived with it on my tanks, since if i keep the water topped off it doesn't seem to affect me. One of my new tanks I didn't have any more T8 or T12 lights left, so I bought some cheap walmart CF Daylights (5 bucks for a 2 pack at 60W equivalents) and some cheap 3 buck shiny metal shop lamp hoods. For a simple growout tank, that tank now looks better than my same size tank with T8s on it, it has half the wattage, but looks twice as bright. And cost about 1/6th to put together lighting wise. I've been cringing at what lighting for my 180 was going to cost me, now i'm thinking I'm going to make my hood taller and just put these CF's and reflectors under it for lighting.

Now I'm starting to replace some of my other bulbs in the house with CFs, the hardest ones to replace are the ceiling fan lights, as CFs just don't look right in those light fixtures...


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## Burks

*Re: taking the change a light pledge just got cheaper*



Olvar said:


> Now I'm starting to replace some of my other bulbs in the house with CFs, the hardest ones to replace are the ceiling fan lights, as CFs just don't look right in those light fixtures...


I'm not a big fan of those in ceiling fans either, even with the covering. Sometimes I just don't have enough light to see what I'm doing.

That's when I bring out my big lamp. 2x60w Reveal Incandescent bulbs. :heh:


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## redstrat

*Re: taking the change a light pledge just got cheaper*



Burks said:


> I'm not a big fan of those in ceiling fans either, even with the covering. Sometimes I just don't have enough light to see what I'm doing.
> 
> That's when I bring out my big lamp. 2x60w Reveal Incandescent bulbs. :heh:


has this been a common complaint? all i've ever noticed is an improvement in light output vs the incandecent equivilant, what if you replaced those two 60w reveal bulbs with some 25wCFLs(100w replacement)? that woudl be 50w vs your 120w and definately more light output, if you used daylight bulbs it woudl be very similar to the reveal bulbs. Granted It sounds like this fixture is only used on occasion so there really isn't much energy savings so its not all that worth it other than the fact of bulb life and the improvement in output. Every incandecent i've replaced put out less light than the equivelant CFL i replaced it with. Personally I've been very pleased with my CFL exeperiences. They are in all my ceiling fans, and yes you can see the bulb and tell that its different when its off but who really pays any attention to that, plus once its on you can't see the spiral shape any more its just a big bright ball.


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## Laith

*Re: taking the change a light pledge just got cheaper*

Over here we see two types of CF bulbs. One type looks like a typical CF setup with thin tubes, usually in a double "U" shape.

The other type is a CF bulb that has the same shape as an incandescent bulb but a bit thicker at the base where the electronics are. This one is meant for locations where the "tube" CF style would be visible and not as nice.

I've found that the ones with the same shape as the incandescent bulb look a bit dimmer but I think that that's actually due to the softer hue (a bit yellowish) that they emit (these are Philips "Softone" CF bulbs). They also take longer to reach maximum output...


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## Jimbo205

*Re: taking the change a light pledge just got cheaper*



> my kitchen got way, way brighter, granted it took 30 seconds for full effect, but my wife and kids walked into the kitchen for the first time and looked around and said, what the heck, why is it so bright in here.


 dittto.

For me in NYS, it is simple - if you have to pay the electric bill around here, you do WHATEVER you can to reduce it. The easiest way was to find all the lights in the house that I thought may be easily and most often left on, and replace them with a CF bulb. To me that only made sense with the CF bulbs rated at least at 100 Watts. When the bulb only burns 25Watts, why not have it as bright as I can get? 75% less use of electricity wins every time. I do not often see the point to the lower wattage bulbs. Unless it is only to put on the front porch just to make it easier for people to see the front door and or mailbox.

The biggest issue is the color. The daylight brand is no longer available at the stores around here. Therefore to get the same bulbs, I would have to go online - buy in bulk and then pay for shipping. Off the shelf in the local stores was much cheaper and easier.

I do hope the Daylight bulb eventually comes back to our shelves. 
I have been trying to figure out how T5 lights can be used around the house practically. There may not be an answer for that one.

But if I could have every bulb a 'Daylight' bulb that looks like natural sunlight with 75% less electricity used and have the rooms MUCH MUCH BRIGHTER - I would be so happy.


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## Burks

*Re: taking the change a light pledge just got cheaper*



davis.1841 said:


> all i've ever noticed is an improvement in light output vs the incandecent equivilant, what if you replaced those two 60w reveal bulbs with some 25wCFLs(100w replacement)?


Wrong color for coin photography.


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## redstrat

*Re: taking the change a light pledge just got cheaper*

burks- Gotcha :-D


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## tfmcder

*Re: taking the change a light pledge just got cheaper*

I just got some cheapo bulbs from walmart. 13W or 23W (60W and 100W equivelant) for $.96 each. They are a slight yellowish color(I only noticed because it was next to a daylightish PC), but not bad for a basement or garage or a supplemental room light. Damn, for $.96 pick one up and see if you like it or not!!! And hell if the thing does burn out in a year it would still be worth it. I don't know how long the sale is for though.


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## Jimbo205

*Re: taking the change a light pledge just got cheaper*

tfmcder, thanks for the good tip.

I can now ask my Dad to pick me up some while he is visiting down there and bring me up a pack.

Thanks! (I've been looking for those around here since last summer.)


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## DonaldmBoyer

*Re: taking the change a light pledge just got cheaper*

I finally broke, and have decided to become "eco-friendly." I now have 7 energy star bulbs in my apartment....all bought this past week.......all because Davis.1841 kept reminding me to do it with his "Change a Light bulb" pledge-thingy, and I've been talking to him a lot recently.

You got me. Finally. 

I have about another six or seven to buy......I'll do it Monday.


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## redstrat

*Re: taking the change a light pledge just got cheaper*

Don - Thats awesome man, I'm happy to hear that.


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## tfmcder

*Re: taking the change a light pledge just got cheaper*

:clap2: :clap2: :clap2: The earth thanks you Don!


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## Stunned Coach

*Re: taking the change a light pledge just got cheaper*

I've switched some of the lights to CFL, and found that GE's "Soft White" or Slyvania's "Warm White" give me a nice color. Sylvania's "Soft white" on the other hand was pretty harsh, but I guess its a matter of taste.

A friend of mine who loves to play the contrarian pointed out that the bulbs contain mercury and so I was actually making things worse. This concerned me quite a bit, but after some research I realized that 1) the amount was quite small 2) programs are in place to safely dispose of the bulbs 3) the largest source of mercury comes from coal burning fuel plants (40%) and the exhaust from such facilities is more difficult to manage than mercury contained in bulbs.

This site has a list of places and links to find a location where you can recycle your CFLs: http://www.nema.org/lamprecycle/recyclers.html 
This site (beware its a .pdf!) has a fact sheet on mercury in CFLs and how to safely dispose of a bulb should it happen to break: http://www.energystar.gov/ia/partners/promotions/change_light/downloads/Fact_Sheet_Mercury.pdf


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## redstrat

*Re: taking the change a light pledge just got cheaper*



Stunned Coach said:


> I've switched some of the lights to CFL, and found that GE's "Soft White" or Slyvania's "Warm White" give me a nice color. Sylvania's "Soft white" on the other hand was pretty harsh, but I guess its a matter of taste.
> 
> A friend of mine who loves to play the contrarian pointed out that the bulbs contain mercury and so I was actually making things worse. This concerned me quite a bit, but after some research I realized that 1) the amount was quite small 2) programs are in place to safely dispose of the bulbs 3) the largest source of mercury comes from coal burning fuel plants (40%) and the exhaust from such facilities is more difficult to manage than mercury contained in bulbs.
> 
> This site has a list of places and links to find a location where you can recycle your CFLs: http://www.nema.org/lamprecycle/recyclers.html
> This site (beware its a .pdf!) has a fact sheet on mercury in CFLs and how to safely dispose of a bulb should it happen to break: http://www.energystar.gov/ia/partners/promotions/change_light/downloads/Fact_Sheet_Mercury.pdf


Thanks for the tips and info. There seems to be a surprising number of people out there who want to fight making a switch to CFLs but I don't see a downside as long as all things are considered its a much more efficient means of lighting our homes, its so easy too.


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## Jimbo205

*Re: taking the change a light pledge just got cheaper*



> There seems to be a surprising number of people out there who want to fight making a switch to CFLs


Well, they can pay MY power bill if they want to!

Of course last time I said something about our power bill from the winter 
my wife said something about the electric bill for the heaters 
in my aquariums.

OUCH!


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## T-Bone

*Re: taking the change a light pledge just got cheaper*

Yup, every light in my house is a energy saver. In the fixtures, in the reading lamps, even in the vanity mirror ( wich I dont like, but its the only light in the bathroom) I even took out most of the bulbs that were in it. I think the positives far outweigh the negitives.


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## goalcreas

*Re: taking the change a light pledge just got cheaper*

Do they make any that are suitible for outdoor use yet. 
I would really like to put them in the fixtures on the patio and in front of the house but they always state not recommended for outdoor use or for fans, and the ones that I just ingnored and used outside, they did not last long at all, like a month or two tops.

Has anything changed there that anybody knows of.


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## turbomkt

*Re: taking the change a light pledge just got cheaper*

I've got some outdoor floods. They do OK once they've warmed up in cooler weather.


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## goalcreas

*Re: taking the change a light pledge just got cheaper*

Yeah, but what about the regular bulbs, like for front door lights?


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## Jimbo205

*Re: taking the change a light pledge just got cheaper*

Definitely pay attention to WHERE a bulb can be used. That is very important.

And no, I do not and will not use CF EVERYWHERE. Just where I will get the most bang for my buck.

I have a lamp or light fixture next to our family couch. The flexible reading lamp is CF. The 'top' part that aims at the ceiling tends to not last long. I have only 4 kids in the house that watch tv and play on the couch. At the cost of CF's, I do not get much of a return on a bulb that gets 'roughhoused' by the kids and 'burns out'. The position qualifies for a cheap incandescent bulb or some energy efficient alternative that is 'more' affordable than some.

You can get outdoor flourescent bulbs for outdoors but they have to be labelled for such.

If you ever get frustrated while shopping, ask a good staffperson for help. If they have not a clue (which DOES happen), find out from friends for the store in your area that you should go to.

My area has replaced all LIGHTS OF AMERICA bulbs with GE. That stinks. I miss the old bulbs. I remember from an earlier post that Long Island still has them. I keep forgetting to ask my Dad to pick me up some.

Good luck in Arizona. Let us know what you find (for good stores).


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## BigRed27

*Re: taking the change a light pledge just got cheaper*

They finally make CF's that are smaller and on the last earth day I went to Costco and bought enough bulbs to convert every light in my house. The only bulbs I didnt change was my fridge and my fishtank. I try not to have my fridge door open enough to need a CF there. LOL


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## redstrat

*Re: taking the change a light pledge just got cheaper*



BigRed27 said:


> They finally make CF's that are smaller and on the last earth day I went to Costco and bought enough bulbs to convert every light in my house. The only bulbs I didnt change was my fridge and my fishtank. I try not to have my fridge door open enough to need a CF there. LOL


the bulb probably wouldn't like the fridge temps anyway lol. Thats awesome though I'm glad to hear you made the switch


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## trag

bpimm said:


> I switched over several years ago and most of the bulbs only lasted a couple months and all of the first purchase died before two years. That kinda ticked me off a little as the rating says 7 years. This was in the first big push for them and I think they were having manufacturing problems. I ended up going back to incandescent, but now I'm gradually switching back and the bulbs seem to be lasting better.


Exactly the same experience here. Ticked me off and made me grumble about "typical stupid "green" can't find their sliderule with both hands, scheme that does more harm than good." But they do seem to be lasting longer now. The especially shortlived bulbs in my experience were the Lights of America brand widely sold at Sam's Club in that time frame.


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## trag

Burks said:


> We use those bulbs in all of our lights (except the one I use for coin photography). Got tired of the incans burning out so I bought a 6 pack of them about a year ago for about $8-$10. Little buggers and pretty bright but I'm not a fan of the urine yellow output. They'll get switched out for daylight or soft whites when they die,.


Any color of screw-in CF you could want here: <http://www.1000bulbs.com>


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## trag

jason311 said:


> I bought a 4 pack of the cf flood lights for my basement living room.I have only had them about 2 months and 2 of them have already died.I paid a little more for them expecting to get more life out of them.Even my regular flood light bulbs lasted 6 to 8 months.Kind of hard to want to switch to something to help out with saving energy when it doesn't work.


I wouldn't know about short life in floodlights--or maybe I do. One thing to watch out for in the floodlights is that they are @#$%^& delicate. An incandescent floodlight is a fairly durable thing with thick glass that can be banged around a bit. The CF floodlights are a spiral element in the center of a very thin, very very fragile glass reflector and cover. If you ding those CF floods into *anything* they will break. For example, the brick wall just below the flood fixture. And by ding, I mean barely bump.

If they'd just make the reflector out of thicker material, but in a CF it is not holding a vacuum as it is in an incandescent, so they make it as thin as material science allows.


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## Tex Gal

Ok, I have to chime in here. I have the CF bulb in my canned lights in the kitchen. I HATE THEM!!!! I don't hate hardly anything, but these I HATE! They don't last long, maybe 6 months. I'm always buying them. But the thing I hate the most - when I turn the lights on I'm in the dusk for about 5 minutes (it seems) until the things power-up. By then I could be done and out of the kitchen - but nooooo. So by me "saving" by buying the "long lasting" (NOT) bulbs, who will pay for my switches burnt out or the other lights waiting for me to finish my 30 sec task in the kitchen, while I wait 5 min for the lights to heat up. I think the cure causes more problems than the issue.

Ok, I'm done complaining.


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## trag

*Re: taking the change a light pledge just got cheaper*



Jimbo205 said:


> My area has replaced all LIGHTS OF AMERICA bulbs with GE. That stinks.


Probably with good reason. My experience with Lights of America bulbs is that they lasted about 4 - 6 months. My GE bulbs, on the other hand, well of the first four I bought, one burned out at 5 years, the next at 6 years and the other two are still going.

There are other GE bulbs in the house, but I haven't had them as long, only three or four years. In several cases the GE bulbs are in the same ceiling fan fixture as the LofA bulbs were and installed within months of each other. Now, there is not an LofA bulb left in the house, because they've all burned out, but most of the GE bulbs are still going strong.

Perhaps LofA has improved their product, but several years ago, they were big on promises and also big on costing their victims much more than if they had just stuck with incandescents--not to mention the damage they probably did to CF's reputation as a viable alternative to incandescent.

If I hadn't had the working GE bulbs in house, I would have given up on CF then and there after my experience with that LofA trash.


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## redstrat

TexGal, how cold is your kitchen!!! 5minutes to get good light out of the bulbs, thats insane i've only seen that on my CFs that are outside and only when its below 50. on cold mornings i've seen my bulbs located indoors(from the same package as my bubls outdoors) maybe start a little dim for 30 seconds or so then full brightness. What brand of bulbs are you using? have you tried others? I recommend the cheapies sold at HomeDepot in the 6 packs. I think there are 6 in a pack, its been so long since i bought lightbulbs I can't remember exactly. So far I've replaced one that I think was defective because it burnt out within a week or so of installation but all of the other bulbs in my house are the original CFs from my switch. 99% of the time I can't even tell i made a switch other than brighter light output. I've even moved since switching and roughed the bulbs up in the time I've had them and I still have been really satisfied with them and aparently really lucky with bulb life. To attest to durability of the standard 15w spiral bulbs i blasted one in my ceiling fan with my guitar the other day I thought I busted the bulb but it was fine and turned on afterwards like any other time.


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## Tex Gal

redstrat said:


> TexGal, how cold is your kitchen!!! 5minutes to get good light out of the bulbs, thats insane i've only seen that on my CFs that are outside and only when its below 50. on cold mornings i've seen my bulbs located indoors(from the same package as my bubls outdoors) maybe start a little dim for 30 seconds or so then full brightness. What brand of bulbs are you using? have you tried others? I recommend the cheapies sold at HomeDepot in the 6 packs. I think there are 6 in a pack, its been so long since i bought lightbulbs I can't remember exactly. So far I've replaced one that I think was defective because it burnt out within a week or so of installation but all of the other bulbs in my house are the original CFs from my switch. 99% of the time I can't even tell i made a switch other than brighter light output. I've even moved since switching and roughed the bulbs up in the time I've had them and I still have been really satisfied with them and aparently really lucky with bulb life. To attest to durability of the standard 15w spiral bulbs i blasted one in my ceiling fan with my guitar the other day I thought I busted the bulb but it was fine and turned on afterwards like any other time.


I live in TX. I have high ceilings. It get's hot here. It can't be THAT cold up there. (I might have exaggerated a little about the 5 min. :heh I did a test and set a timer at 1 minute. It was still was not done getting bright! It's a long time when you standing there waiting to see something. I have bought them at Home Depot and Costco. I think I have all kinds up there. They don't last very long at all. I haven't really had any break.


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## MatPat

After moving back in October, I started to replace the old incandescent bulbs with CF bulbs. First thing to be replaced were the 200w incandescents in my garage. The 200w replacement CF bulbs only use 40w and they are actually brighter than the incsndescents. Now I only use 160w when I need to light the garage versus 800W. You can calculate the saving on that fairly easily 

However, one of those bulbs burned out after about 3 months and at $8+ each, they are not cheap to replace but replace it I did. I read the package the new bulb came in and it stated that there will be diminished life if the bulbs are not used in the "upright" position or in an enclosed fixture. I think I just got a bad bulb and the manufacturer will replace it but the cost of shipping it to them and paying for the return shipping is more than buying a new bulb  

Now that I am aware of the "horizontal" use warning on the package (you need to read the really fine print on the package), I read all packages before I buy them. Most of the CF bulbs I have purchased have the same warning. Unfortunately, most of the bulbs I am replacing will be used in enclosed fixtures, upside down in ceiling fixtures, or vertically, which will give me diminished life. I've only had the one bad bulb (out of about 30) in the past 6 months and I have them just about everywhere. 

While they do take 30 seconds or so to warm up, they are definitely brighter than the incandescents. I replaced 100w incandescents in my basement with 60w CF bulbs and they are definitely brighter. I figure even if they burn out in a year or so, the amount I have saved on electricity will more than pay for a new bulb considering how low the prices have gotten 

Now, if they would just make 3-way CF replacements short enough to fit inside the shade on my lamps, I would be set 

Anyone know of some small reflectors that can be used for these lights? I think that would really increase the amount of light over sinks where you really need "task" lighting versus general light.


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## redstrat

Matt, I have seen reflectors out there for cf bulbs like your talking about so I know they exist I can't remember where i saw them though, I think it was lightbulbs.com or 1000lights.com or something like that sorry I can't be of much more help right now.


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## brandonttu

MatPat said:


> After moving back in October, I started to replace the old incandescent bulbs with CF bulbs. First thing to be replaced were the 200w incandescents in my garage. The 200w replacement CF bulbs only use 40w and they are actually brighter than the incsndescents. Now I only use 160w when I need to light the garage versus 800W. You can calculate the saving on that fairly easily
> 
> However, one of those bulbs burned out after about 3 months and at $8+ each, they are not cheap to replace but replace it I did. I read the package the new bulb came in and it stated that there will be diminished life if the bulbs are not used in the "upright" position or in an enclosed fixture. I think I just got a bad bulb and the manufacturer will replace it but the cost of shipping it to them and paying for the return shipping is more than buying a new bulb
> 
> Now that I am aware of the "horizontal" use warning on the package (you need to read the really fine print on the package), I read all packages before I buy them. Most of the CF bulbs I have purchased have the same warning. Unfortunately, most of the bulbs I am replacing will be used in enclosed fixtures, upside down in ceiling fixtures, or vertically, which will give me diminished life. I've only had the one bad bulb (out of about 30) in the past 6 months and I have them just about everywhere.
> 
> While they do take 30 seconds or so to warm up, they are definitely brighter than the incandescents. I replaced 100w incandescents in my basement with 60w CF bulbs and they are definitely brighter. I figure even if they burn out in a year or so, the amount I have saved on electricity will more than pay for a new bulb considering how low the prices have gotten
> 
> Now, if they would just make 3-way CF replacements short enough to fit inside the shade on my lamps, I would be set
> 
> Anyone know of some small reflectors that can be used for these lights? I think that would really increase the amount of light over sinks where you really need "task" lighting versus general light.


We use reflector CFL in our can lights in the kitchen. They are made to be mounted upsidedown. Got them at WalMart but they are a bit expensive. I actually use similar 'daylight' bulbs in my tank for spotlighting of specific plants/areas.

also, we have CFL which are almost exactly the same shape as incandescent bulbs. Actually look the same except they have the ballest at the bottom. You can get these in dimmable (for sure) and I think 3-way (1000bulbs.com).


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