Comments on: Compact Fluorescent Lightbulb Changeover Complete

By: Curt

Curt — Tue, 27 May 2008 15:13:29 +0000

Hello all, just so you know most utilities have programs in place to off set some of the costs. As a matter of fact just about anybody that pays an electric bill funds these programs. When you get to the 2nd page look for public purpose programs, this goes to rebates and funding low income users. I currently work with SDG&E and a very surprising thing is that very few people actually use the rebates they help fund. I say get every penny back that you can.

By: Mary

Mary — Fri, 09 May 2008 01:37:12 +0000

Could you please tell me how much it costs to run a 100 watt incandescent lightbulb 8 hours/day for a year? Then compare the cost for a year with a CF bulb? Which wattage would I buy of the CF to replace the 100 watt? I’m new at this. Thanks for your response.

By: Thomas

Thomas — Sat, 10 Mar 2007 18:50:19 +0000

I switched over 14 bulbs back when I bought my house in August 2005 and of those 14, I still have 13 original CF bulbs. I have a 766 W or 76.6% reduction, but that amounts to almost $20 off my bill each month. The rest are T12 flourescent bulbs. Of the two, the flourescent bulbs are slower on than the CFs. There *might* be a 1/4 or less second difference between the CFs and the old IC, and you don’t even notice it after a while. Here in coastal GA, where we only get down to maybe 20 degrees a few nights out of the year and average maybe 40 most winter nights, the exterior lights actually work better than the flourescent ones in my uninsulated garage with maybe a 1 second hesitation at most, and within 5 seconds they are full brightness.
I second the comment about taking the short lifespan bulbs back. That is not normal and there might have been a bad batch because my experience has shown they should last an average of 3 years if used daily for extended periods of time.

By: Lindsey

Lindsey — Sun, 25 Feb 2007 01:19:36 +0000

good job doing your part in saving energy!
A buddy of mine, who is a teacher, came across this company that works with schools to do environmentally friendly fund raisers. Not only do the schools make extra money but they help the environment and make people more aware of global warming as well. They also offer lesson plans for teachers who are interested in teaching their students about the environment as well as lesson plans for An Inconvenient Truth with Vice President Al Gore. Their main product is compact fluorescent light bulbs which save a ton of energy and money compared with incandescent bulbs. They are called One Plant Fund raising and their website is http://www.oneplanetfundraising.com. Definitely worth checking out!

By: Elbo Cenvari

Elbo Cenvari — Sat, 10 Feb 2007 18:49:06 +0000

I think the warm-up of the cf bulbs is a bonus feature. It’s nicer on the eyes to have it brighten up gently rather than instantly, especially first thing in the morning.

By: nickel

nickel — Fri, 12 Jan 2007 16:41:36 +0000

Norm, it really varies from brand to brand. I’ve found the cheap multi-packs at Lowe’s and Home Depot to give off pretty good light, and they’re pretty much ‘instant on’ (unlike some that require a bit of warm up). We have a number of ’spotlight’ type recessed lights, and I switched those over, too. Unfortunately, those lights start up kind of slowly, and so it’s a couple of minutes before you get full intensity. No real problem with yellow light, although I’ve run across some like that in that past. If you don’t like them, return ‘em and try a different brand.

By: Norm

Norm — Fri, 12 Jan 2007 13:34:58 +0000

Those of you that have put in CF bulbs…did they have more of a yellow hue to them than regular bulbs? I recently replaced the bulbs in our living room and went with the CF bulbs but things are looking dingier. Now, it could be just because the old lights we had in there were the “white light” bulbs which are less yellow than normal bulbs but it seems like a much bigger switch this time.

Interested to see how these hold out. The white light bulbs were burning out in the living room in just a couple months….

By: Mike

Mike — Mon, 04 Sep 2006 04:04:04 +0000

When the cold weather sets in, you may find that the exeterior lighting is dim. The efficiency of CF lighting is very temperature dependent.

By: jim

jim — Wed, 30 Aug 2006 20:23:50 +0000

My strategy with the bulbs has been to use up the regular bulbs on places where you want instant light, instant on and instant off, because you won’t use them for a long time. Closets are a prime example. I just the CFs for my hallway lights and room lights where I know the bulbs will be on for an extended period of time.

By: Golbguru

Golbguru — Tue, 29 Aug 2006 20:45:56 +0000

107 light bulbs !! woah..you got one big house there.

By: nickel

nickel — Tue, 29 Aug 2006 15:29:00 +0000

Matt: While I’ve found that they probably don’t last 10X as long (or whatever) as a regular incandescent bulb, I’ve never had them burn out quickly like that. I’d take them back to the store where you bought them and complain.

NCN: If you already have the bulbs in hand, I’d go ahead and put them in.

By: NCN

NCN — Tue, 29 Aug 2006 14:25:52 +0000

Nickel,
I have about a dozen of the cf’s not in use… would you suggest waiting until the traditional lights go dead, and then replacing them, or replacing the traditional lights now, and using them as back-ups for when / if the cf’s go dead?
NCN

By: Matt

Matt — Tue, 29 Aug 2006 06:58:52 +0000

In my experience, the longevity thing isn’t as big as it’s touted (I replaced the overhead bulbs in the dining room with CFs this spring, and only one of them is still burning today, despite the fact that those lights are rarely turned on), but they do very definitely throw off way less heat, and that’s always a good thing.

By: Blaine Moore

Blaine Moore — Mon, 28 Aug 2006 12:41:16 +0000

I got lucky; shortly after I bought my house, we went to a home show where they had a promotion for you to buy compact fluorescants for 50 cents each. We bought around 70; 50 for my uncle, and the rest for our house.