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More light for less dough
Oct. 29th, 2007 09:08 amI use a lot of compact fluorescent lamps or CFLs. My house is all- electric, and ComEd has recently won a rate hike, so even if you're not a global warming believer, they make sense.
For example, I have a back yard post light that, per the town home association I am required to have on every night. Well, I had been using a 60-watt incandescent bulb, which blew out every other month. So, being cheap and lazy, I tried a 15-watt (60-watt-lumen-equivalent) CFL. That didn't last very long, actually going less hours then the conventional bulb.
I think the problem is, or rather was, the light fixture. A previous owner had gotten cheap, and the post-top fixture was 100% plastic. CFLs are very sensitive to heat, so I think the bulb was getting cooked. I've replaced it with a glass and aluminum model and a 100-watt-equivalent CFL. A similar fixture on my garage has shown promise with the same type of CFL. The new bulb draws 25 watts, and is rated for 1600 lumens, while the 100-watt incandescents on the nearby shelf were 1500 and 1260 lumens respectively.
At any rate, if this experiment works, I'll get vastly more light for less money, and less trips out to replace a bulb. Seems simple enough.
For example, I have a back yard post light that, per the town home association I am required to have on every night. Well, I had been using a 60-watt incandescent bulb, which blew out every other month. So, being cheap and lazy, I tried a 15-watt (60-watt-lumen-equivalent) CFL. That didn't last very long, actually going less hours then the conventional bulb.
I think the problem is, or rather was, the light fixture. A previous owner had gotten cheap, and the post-top fixture was 100% plastic. CFLs are very sensitive to heat, so I think the bulb was getting cooked. I've replaced it with a glass and aluminum model and a 100-watt-equivalent CFL. A similar fixture on my garage has shown promise with the same type of CFL. The new bulb draws 25 watts, and is rated for 1600 lumens, while the 100-watt incandescents on the nearby shelf were 1500 and 1260 lumens respectively.
At any rate, if this experiment works, I'll get vastly more light for less money, and less trips out to replace a bulb. Seems simple enough.
