Energy Saver Bulbs...

[Greg Cuetara]

So I was into BJ's the other day and they had a deal for 6 - 60 watt equivalent energy saver bulbs for $2.50. I figured that I couldn't even buy regular bulbs for that so I bought a few packs and have them installed in most of the lights in the house right now. They are much brighter than a regular bulb and are supposed to save electricity. I am on a kick right now to make my house more efficient. For those of you that are curious it only has to do with economics....If the payback on a bulb is less than a year then it is worth it for me to upgrade and pay less in the long run but anyways...

Onto my question. The package says that the bulbs draw 13 watts and that they are a 60 watt equivalent. Can I put this type of bulb into a 40 watt lamp...It is only supposed to be drawing 13 watts which is less than 40 watts so it should be ok...right? The LOML is looking for a brighter lamp in the nursery and but most of them only come with 40 watt setups so I was hoping to put one of these into the lamp to get more light...

Thanks for any insight y'al can give me.
Greg

[Joe Pelonio]

We just went through that trying to get brighter light at less energy cost. If the wattage rating of the bulbs (13) is below the maximum of the lamp then you are fine, the output equivalent is not significant, in fact they burn cooler
than traditional bulbs anyway.

[Jim O'Dell]

I bought 2 4-packs from HD when they were selling for 3.98 per pack. If I had thought about it, I would have gotten the 100 watt equivalent ones, but got the 60. They seem ok.
Anyone seen a good price on the flood lights version? I could use some outside, but the ones I saw were almost 8.00 each! And they didn't say if they were usuable outside or not. Jim.

[Mike Cutler]

We've been installing them all over the house also. They're nice. I like the fact they run cooler. We have a number of lamps with stained glass shades, and anything to reduce the heat is a benefit.
the WalMart and HD near me seem to always have a sale on them. Buy 'em in quanity and there really cheap.

The one's outside seem to light up a little slower in really cold weather. I have one on the back entrance,and I know it works at 0-5 degrees Farenheit outside.
Haven't see flood light versions as of yet. I'll have to look for them.

[Randy Cohen]

can they be used with dimmer switches?

[David G Baker]

Randy,
They can not be used on a dimmer switch but the dimmer switch can easily be replaced with a standard switch.
I bought the 100 watt equivalent daylight bulbs from Menard's and love the brilliant white color they produce. It takes some folks a while to adjust to the light color.
I also use the 100 watt bulbs as a light source for taking photos for Ebay auctions.

[Jim Becker]

I've been using CF bulbs for some time now and there was a definite impact on our electric bill, even with certain little girls not being very good at turning off lights. I have them in every fixture that takes a regular light bulb except the three over the dining table and two above the mantle as those are on dimmers. Even my outside flood lights are fluorescent. (Mike's correct that they have a heating time that means you don't get bright instantly, but I can live with that) In the addition, all fixtures that are not going to be dimmed will have CF bulbs. Those that are going to be on dimmers are LV halogen.

[glenn bradley]

I have run them in 40watt fixtures for years, no problem. The thing with these bulbs is to hang onto the package (or part of it) and the receipt. Many don't live up to the warranty period and I have gotten many free replacements. Talk about adding value.

[Greg Cuetara]

Thanks for the help...Just wanted to make sure before I did something stupid...guess I do enough of that stuff anyways around here. Randy and David I do believe that you can use the energy saver bulbs on a dimmer switch BUT you have to have some special one's specifically made to be put on a dimmer...they are a lot more expensive than the regular energy saver bulbs. Y'all are correct that they do have a heating time so they are slow to get up to the light output. I have a few fixtures in the house which take forever to warm up and when I first moved in I thought there was an electrical problem but finally figured out they were just the energy saver bulbs.

I do have some flood light type bulbs in my overhead kitchen lights but not sure they are brighter than regular flood light bulbs.

[Bob Genovesi]

Been using them here too. I have two variations, the warm incandescent light normally found inside and the bright white type in the basement. The bright white are just that, very bright and I can't believe you get all that for just 13 watts....COOL

[Jim Becker]

And you can get them with higher than 13 watts...handy when you need to replace a 150 watt incandescent for some reason! I think that all the little "outages" that may exist now for certain situations with CF will go away real soon now. There is a bit of acceleration being encourage for adoption, including energy saving legislation in various jurisdictions. I think California is soon to mandate them if I'm not mistaken and that state does tend to take the lead on things like this.

[mike wacker]

And you can get them with higher than 13 watts...handy when you need to replace a 150 watt incandescent for some reason! I think that all the little "outages" that may exist now for certain situations with CF will go away real soon now. There is a bit of acceleration being encourage for adoption, including energy saving legislation in various jurisdictions. I think California is soon to mandate them if I'm not mistaken and that state does tend to take the lead on things like this.

Spot on Jim. Sales guy last month dropped off a 65 watt CFL. It's meant to replace a 200 watt incandescent. Not something you need every day, but if you got that weird sopt with a prclean socket that you can fit a four foot flourescent in, they really rock. I used one "at camp" as a quick fix for a dark spot I wanted A LOT of lit in. Very happy with the result.

If you want to go to the absolute extreme, Framtek had a 200 watt screw-in flouresent lamp. No personal experience but OMG!

[Mike Hood]

California plans to be off incandescents by 2012 and Australia just moved to be off by 2009.

Great legislation.

[bill kiss]

GE manufactures a CF bulb that can be used with dimmers. They are called 'energy smart dimmable spirals' available at many Ace hardware stores.

[David G Baker]

Bill,
Like everything else in my life, I am a few years behind the times. Did not know about the dimmer usable bulbs.