No more Fluorescent - going back to Incandescent

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  • bigaudiofanatic
    bigaudiofanatic Posts: 4,415
    edited December 2009
    I agree with op the ones in our bathroom are suppose to last at least 4 years. I find myself replacing at least one every 5 months or so. On the other hand they do give off better light once they warm up.
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  • cnh
    cnh Posts: 13,284
    edited December 2009
    I agree with a number of people above. My experience is if you don't buy a reputable bulb it will burn out quickly, angle and enclosed spaces will also affect the life of a flourescent. I've definitely had bulbs that lasted 5-7 years...MANY....and I've had a few cheaper bulbs go out fast!

    It's all about quality...there are a lot of badly made Chinese bulbs and they FRY very fast.

    Also, make sure you buy an enclosure approved bulb if using a light fixture...because they'll over heat in there otherwise!

    cnh
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  • seeclear
    seeclear Posts: 1,242
    edited December 2009
    mhardy6647 wrote: »
    I think I am going back to lamps burning whale oil; very retro.

    Yeah, and those whale farts are adding to the greenhouse gases anyway, so the fewer we have of those, the better! ;)
    "Don't forget to change your politician. They are like diapers they need to be changed regularly, and for the same reason."
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  • Norm Apter
    Norm Apter Posts: 1,036
    edited December 2009
    My experience match Curt's and Face's. I purchased and replaced all my incandescents with flourescents (from Costco, Home Depot, and Ikea) a little over 3 years ago in our apartment. During this 3-year period, I've probably had to replace only 2 out of the 16 or 17 that have been in place.

    So where are you guys purchasing your fluorescents? Weird that there's such a divergence of experience in terms of lifespan...

    And yes my electricity bill is still substantially less now than it was in 2002-2003 when I was using all incandescents.
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  • madmax
    madmax Posts: 12,434
    edited December 2009
    I changed all my lights to flourescent and then found some cheap LED lights at sams club which I really like so they went in the appropriate places. Overall if I turn on every light in the house (and its a big house with lighting everywhere) I'm only up to about 400 watts. The LED floods in the kitchen are awesome looking but not warm and cozy, more of a purplish tint. Looks like the transport deck on the enterprise. :)
    One thing really cool about the LED's is they glow slightly when off because they take almost zero power. I'll have to try and get a pic of the cool glow. I never again want a power sucker standard light. Oh yeah, it was easily evident on the electric bills.
    madmax
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  • AsSiMiLaTeD
    AsSiMiLaTeD Posts: 11,726
    edited December 2009
    +1 on the GE Reveal bulbs, we've used them for years and love the light that they give off, don't know about the Reveal CFL bulbs though, never seen them
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  • Willow
    Willow Posts: 10,999
    edited December 2009
    steveinaz wrote: »
    My house is about 95% converted, what brand/type are you buying Ron? Mine are holding up real well...

    Same here, never had an issue. We bought ours at Walmart.
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  • ryanjoachim
    ryanjoachim Posts: 2,046
    edited December 2009
    Those guidelines seem to me to be more geared towards industrial/business-class florescent tubes, not necessarily the bulb variety.

    I could be wrong though. I remember when just touching a florescent bulb with your finger could (and usually did) ruin the bulb.
    MrNightly wrote: »
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    mystik610 wrote: »
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  • F1nut
    F1nut Posts: 50,467
    edited December 2009
    All florescent bulbs contain mercury, same as the tubes.
    Political Correctness'.........defined

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  • mhardy6647
    mhardy6647 Posts: 33,724
    edited December 2009
    Yup, they are fundamentally mercury-vapor lamps; they use a phosphor to convert the light (which is mostly in the UV, with a spectral maximum at 254 nm) to visible, more-or-less white light.
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  • nadams
    nadams Posts: 5,877
    edited December 2009
    nooshinjohn - Did you follow all those EPA procedures any time you broke a thermometer?
    Ludicrous gibs!
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  • madmax
    madmax Posts: 12,434
    edited December 2009
    Eh, whats a little mercury...
    Vinyl, the final frontier...

    Avantgarde horns, 300b tubes, thats the kinda crap I want... :D
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  • Ron-P
    Ron-P Posts: 8,516
    edited December 2009
    Ahhh, so nice to be back to incandescent. Changed out all the kitchen cans, my daughters bathroom and a couple lights in the living room tonight. Next up; daughters room, master bath and bedroom.

    Instant on, dim-able, brighter and at 2/3's the cost. I honestly don't care if I'm not saving energy, or coin. Incandescent is so much better then florescent. By next month my entire house will be back to incandescent.
    If...
    Ron dislikes a film = go out and buy it.
    Ron loves a film = don't even rent.
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  • disneyjoe7
    disneyjoe7 Posts: 11,435
    edited December 2009
    Don't worry they will kill all those incandescent lamps so you can't buy them in the future.

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  • nooshinjohn
    nooshinjohn Posts: 25,383
    edited December 2009
    nadams wrote: »
    nooshinjohn - Did you follow all those EPA procedures any time you broke a thermometer?

    I never broke one...
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  • Ron-P
    Ron-P Posts: 8,516
    edited December 2009
    disneyjoe7 wrote: »
    Don't worry they will kill all those incandescent lamps so you can't buy them in the future.

    No matter, there so cheap I can buy up plenty to last me for a very, very long time. BTW, is there a date set?
    If...
    Ron dislikes a film = go out and buy it.
    Ron loves a film = don't even rent.
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  • bobman1235
    bobman1235 Posts: 10,822
    edited December 2009
    You're old; you'll be dead by then.
    If you will it, dude, it is no dream.
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  • Jetmaker737
    Jetmaker737 Posts: 1,045
    edited December 2009
    nooshinjohn wrote: »
    EPA recommends the following clean-up and disposal guidelines...

    Yeah, and along with that you can't toss the old ones in the trash (legally). Sucks.

    My biggest beef with CFL's is that some of the ones in my house emit a very high pitched sound that is annoying at close distance.
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  • Ron-P
    Ron-P Posts: 8,516
    edited December 2009
    bobman1235 wrote: »
    You're old; you'll be dead by then.

    Good to know, then I don't have anything to worry about.
    If...
    Ron dislikes a film = go out and buy it.
    Ron loves a film = don't even rent.
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  • shack
    shack Posts: 11,154
    edited December 2009
    I'm at about 75% CFL in my home an I like them a lot. I have yet to have one fail in the last 2.5 years. I have a few lighting applications where they will just not work or I would have higher usasge.
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