Re: CFL bulbs -- how bright for how long.

I really cannot see how you could justify the bulb change based on cost. At $0.15/kWh the 87600 watt hours you use in a year only costs about $13.00. Changing to the LED's would lower this to about $2.30. Hardly worth a trip to the store.

EJ in NJ

Jimw wrote:
On Sat, 17 Jan 2009 22:03:45 -0500, "Percival P. Cassidy"
<nobody@xxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:

On 01/17/09 06:18 pm Ed Pawlowski wrote:

"Percival P. Cassidy"<nobody@xxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
news:PFscl.69901$3_4.26899@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
My attention has just been drawn to the following document:

http://www.lrc.rpi.edu/programs/NLPIP/PDF/VIEW/SR_SB_CFL.pdf

Note that although the original report is older, this .PDF includes
supplements through 2005.

This seems to show that Osram/Sylvania have the shortest life and a
significant deterioration in light output during that short life,

GE appear to be the best. I think they are available at Wal-Mart and Sam's
Club.
In terms of CFL technology, 2005 is almost pre-historic. Most new bulbs are
quite nice. I hated and refused to use them years ago but like the bright
white of some now.
Probably true that a lot has changed since 2005. But most of the CFLs I've bought have been Sylvania, and they haven't lasted particularly long. Perhaps that's a Sylvania thing: I had some Sylvania incandescents that popped as soon as I switched on and at least on more out of the same pack that lasted only a couple of days.

I have just bought some "Lights of America" brand 45-watt-equivalent LED bulbs (power consumption only 3.5W) intended for use in accent lights: a nice white light and no warm-up delay.

Perce

Where did you buy those LED lights? Do they screw into a standard
socket? I have horses in a barn and have a 10watt CFL (equal to 40W)
security light which is on all the time (so the horses can see). I
guess 240W per day is not too bad on the electric bill, but the CFLs
get very dim in cold weather, and when our recent cold spell dropped
to MINUS 39F, it was so dim I could only see a dull glow, and then it
burned out. I replaced it, and it was so dim I could not see
anything. I finally replaced it with a smaller incandescent.

I'd like to cut down power usage, as well as eliminating this dimming
problem in the cold. Besides that, I was told NOT to use a light
sensor to shut off the power during the day (on a CFL), because when
they turn on and off, they are not putting out full power for a minute
or two (like a dimmer), and that will destroy a CFL quickly. I'm sure
a LED would not be affected by that, so I can save even more power.

Using 10W CFLs 24/7 for one year is 87,600 watts. If those LEDs use 3.5 W and I could put on a sensor, so it would only
be on about 12 hours per day (average), that would only be 15,330
watts per year. Quite a savings.

Jim
.

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