I like the way they claim they will last for years and years, what they don’t tell you is that is only if you turn them on and leave the on forever, that sure saves a lot of energy. also the mercury required to start them is a enviromental disaster
Oh wait Horace… It’s time to switch to LED…. ! ! ! Your idea will appear as a dot instantly and it will last your 20 years or more unless you change you mind…. ! ! !
Go Horace!I changed out all the main used light bulbs in our house to CFLs. The difference in my electric bill was visible the first month. And waiting a few seconds for the bulb to warm up not only isn’t a real problem but early mornings when I don’t really want to be up anyway, having a gradual natural light on instead of a painful flash in the eyes is quite nice.And the family loves that I don’t scream my head off when they forget to turn the light off when leaving the room for 5 minutes.
The new “Dimmable” LEDs have a delay of ~1/4 second as their power supply wakes up – a whole lot better. Only noticeable if you mix both on the same circuit.
The biggest issue with new bulbs is the ballast inside – you can’t get 15K+ Hours from a CFL or 50K+ Hours from LED if they use dirt cheap 5K Hour active components (transistors and diodes) and assemble them badly.
LEDs seem to be the ultimate at this point. Hopefully they have learned the lesson from CFLs and won’t make them so cheaply and have such a high failure rate, which gave the CFLs a bad rep. Still, don’t take chances, save your receipt.
Here in Alaska, fluorescent lights do not work outdoors or in unheated storage buildings during the winter; it gets too cold for the ballast to “fire” the bulb. I wouldn’t trust LEDs in those conditions, either. Heavy-duty incandescent bulbs with multiple filament supports work in the cold, and they also produce heat, which helps keep their surroundings dry.
I tried putting CFL in the light over the stairs going into the basement. You turn the light on and have to wait until it wakes up to go down stairs. I can go up and down the stairs half a dozen times before the light is at full out put. In places like that CFLs just don’t make sense. Seeing as I can not get 100 watt bulbs any more I put two 60 watt bulbs in it. And that is another thing. People are just going to use more bulbs at a lower watt to get the light they want . No savings there. I am thinking of trying 1156 (12 volt) auto light bulbs on my back porch.
DamnHappyChappy over 10 years ago
Good old Horace. Saving energy is very important and he is good at it, now he even manages it with his thoughts.:-)
edclectic over 10 years ago
Light and art in one package!
Oldbutnotstupid over 10 years ago
I like the way they claim they will last for years and years, what they don’t tell you is that is only if you turn them on and leave the on forever, that sure saves a lot of energy. also the mercury required to start them is a enviromental disaster
InTraining over 10 years ago
Oh wait Horace… It’s time to switch to LED…. ! ! ! Your idea will appear as a dot instantly and it will last your 20 years or more unless you change you mind…. ! ! !
Rista over 10 years ago
Go Horace!I changed out all the main used light bulbs in our house to CFLs. The difference in my electric bill was visible the first month. And waiting a few seconds for the bulb to warm up not only isn’t a real problem but early mornings when I don’t really want to be up anyway, having a gradual natural light on instead of a painful flash in the eyes is quite nice.And the family loves that I don’t scream my head off when they forget to turn the light off when leaving the room for 5 minutes.
Sherlock Watson over 10 years ago
Looks to me like he now considers his thoughts carefully before he declares that he has an idea.
BruceBergman over 10 years ago
The new “Dimmable” LEDs have a delay of ~1/4 second as their power supply wakes up – a whole lot better. Only noticeable if you mix both on the same circuit.
The biggest issue with new bulbs is the ballast inside – you can’t get 15K+ Hours from a CFL or 50K+ Hours from LED if they use dirt cheap 5K Hour active components (transistors and diodes) and assemble them badly.
JayBluE over 10 years ago
Horace’s ideas are now 30% brighter, and a little more efficient!…
benbrilling over 10 years ago
LEDs seem to be the ultimate at this point. Hopefully they have learned the lesson from CFLs and won’t make them so cheaply and have such a high failure rate, which gave the CFLs a bad rep. Still, don’t take chances, save your receipt.
blackshire over 10 years ago
Here in Alaska, fluorescent lights do not work outdoors or in unheated storage buildings during the winter; it gets too cold for the ballast to “fire” the bulb. I wouldn’t trust LEDs in those conditions, either. Heavy-duty incandescent bulbs with multiple filament supports work in the cold, and they also produce heat, which helps keep their surroundings dry.
fixer1967 over 10 years ago
I tried putting CFL in the light over the stairs going into the basement. You turn the light on and have to wait until it wakes up to go down stairs. I can go up and down the stairs half a dozen times before the light is at full out put. In places like that CFLs just don’t make sense. Seeing as I can not get 100 watt bulbs any more I put two 60 watt bulbs in it. And that is another thing. People are just going to use more bulbs at a lower watt to get the light they want . No savings there. I am thinking of trying 1156 (12 volt) auto light bulbs on my back porch.