New florescent lights good...

[Pablo]

The water, gas, cable, phone bills seem to be very stubborn. Although if it weren't for the daughters I would kill the land line.

Anyhow I have made good progress on the electric bill. Getting all the rebate coupons, store discounts and research in a pile I went to work on our house. I replaced most high use lights with the modern screw-in florescent bulbs. The kitchen recessed buckets had the 65W bulbs, in went 18W florescents that are actually BRIGHTER! Halls got the lowest wattage bulbs. Some rooms got efficient dimmers. Some rooms got switches with photo and motion sensors (very slick for rooms like the laundry room and certain bathrooms). Now before you think I'm crazy, I ran the numbers and it makes sense in under a year!!

I won't get all quishey world view on you but at least if a bulb burns out, save those $2 off coupons and replace with the new florescent bulbs.

 

[oilyriser]

good move

light bulbs that last forever, oil that never needs to be changed. What's left to do?

 

[labman]

VOIP If you have a broadband connection, see www.vonage.com. Only real difference between them and a real land line is I pay $27/mo with all taxes for complete local and unlimited long distance. You should be able to keep your old phone number.

Also, caulk and insulate everything.

 

[brianl703]

I use a compact flourescent for my front porch light. It's on a timer--the one photocontrol I found that says it works with compact flourescent bulbs won't fit in the fixture I have.

None of my neighbors usually bother to turn their porch lights on at night, so the street was quite dark at night.

 

[rpn453]

I've been using those compact fluorescents for a couple of years. Economically, it makes sense to immediately remove all commonly used incandescents and put the fluorescents in wherever they'll work.

 

[Shannow]

We were in Ikea (don't ask) a few years ago, and they had their 11 and 15 watt C.F. bulbs on sale.

I bought a house worth.

Next power bill was $20 down on previous.

 

[stringsattached]

Just remember, compact fluorescent lights contain mercury, so it is important to recycle them if at all possible after use. I use them, and I am very happy with them, but just keep this fact in mind.

On a side note, I have a $10 lamp that I bought about 5 years ago to go along with a new computer desk. The original [plain ol] bulb that came with the lamp is still working, and this lamp gets used all the time. Weird. I'll be sad when the "little light bulb that could" finally goes...

 

[mshu7]

I'd really like to do this too, but I just can't stand the fluorescent light color it gives off. At work, I hate working under the fluorescent lights. A lot of people that have offices have brought in their own halogen floor lamps because the lighting is easier on the eyes.

 

[opus1]

quote:

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On a side note, I have a $10 lamp that I bought about 5 years ago to go along with a new computer desk. The original [plain ol] bulb that came with the lamp is still working, and this lamp gets used all the time. Weird. I'll be sad when the "little light bulb that could" finally goes...

---

Your bulb is about 95 years short of this one.... Centennial Bulb

 

[Pablo]

sa - Yes I am very aware of the Hg.

mushu- I too absolutely hate old fashioned tube florescent lights. Not crisp. However, check out the new floods at least, they are not "bare" florescent lights. Warm, yet crisp.

 

[mshu7]

Pablo,

Thanks for the tip. Any particular brand or place to find them? I usually buy light bulbs from Lowe's.

 

[JHZR2]

I dont mind those compact flouroescent bulbs to replace incandescent bulbs in applications like lights that run on timers, etc., but I have tried using them in places where I do work, even computer work, and I find that the color and the spreading of light from them are far inferior. The lights are often too blueish, or the ones that are made to be more natural seem funny too.

I think its the quality of power in my apartment, but once in a while theyd flicker too!

Overhead, "old fashioned" long flouroescent bulbs do OK by me, even when doing work, reading, etc., but the compacts are REALLY hard on my eyes. My eyes tire faster with the long old fashiopned ones than if i was working under halogen or regular incandescent bulbs, but I can hold out OK with them... not so with the minis and screw in flouroescents.

Ive also noted that my 100w equivalent screw-in flouro isnt nearly as good at lighting up my workspace as my 100W incandescent. Shadows fall easier and thinbgs arent as well lit up with the flouroescent. I suppose I could have moved up to the 150W equivalent, but I didnt have one, and IMO the ratings arent exactly correct anyhow.

For my balcony, front light, etc, I use them, but anywhere that reading or simialr work (even on BITOG) is done, I use incandescent bulbs or a 300W halogen. I dont wear glasses yet, and try to stress my eyes as little as possible... I found the compact flouroescents too stressful, and my eyes blurred faster and easier.

JMH

 

[Pablo]

mshu7 - something like this:

http://www.smarthome.com/903240.html

Not exactly the brand we got, but we got ours at Home Depot.

 

[mshu7]

Very cool....I will definitely have to check those out.

 

[msparks]

I've got those screw in lights in most of my High use lamps.

They really pay for themselves becuase they last so long, and use very little energy. Now if I could just lower my gas bill I would be happy.

 

[JHZR2]

I see that yours are somewhat different - per the link, the ones you have are reflector-based, whereas mine are just a spirally wound mini flouroescent with no outer shell.

I have to wonder if that makes some difference...

Do yours bother your eyes at all??? Id hate to ruin my eyes in the name of saving $20 in electricity... But if the ones you have which are reflector based are better, I might buy one of those to try...

JMH

 

[JAYCEE]

I've been running CFLs for several years now. They definately pay for themselves.

Older CFLs never seem to burn out, they just dim over time. I move the old ones to closets and seldom-used lamps.

Another good trick to cut power bills--attic insulation. I just had a local independent spray in 12+ inches on top of what was already there. It made a huge difference in both comfort and heat pump use.

I paid $500 for 1300 s/f of living space.

 

[Pablo]

The new bulbs don't bug me. But everyone has different "eyeballs". As I stated, I hate reading or doing fine work under the old long tubes. I can almost detect the flicker with the old ones. The main problem with the enclosed floods they are application specific. Since we have a bunch of recessed cans in the kitchen they work great, we now use the power of like two of the old bulbs and have more light, which in my opinion is brighter, crisper and very kitchen work friendly.

 

[oilyriser]

Some people with extra sharp (20/15) vision might be bothered by the CFL spectrum. Human eye lenses have chromatic aberration. The lights have three sharp peaks (red, green blue), and your eyes can't decide which plane to focus on, so it causes eyestrain. I notice white LED's have a smoother spectrum, so maybe when this technology is mature, you can use them.

The old tubular fluorescents had a broad spectrum, so people with sensitive eyes might like these, on a high freq ballast for no flicker.

Someone really needs to come out with a smooth spectrum compact fluorescent bulb, for the people with special eyes.

 

[JeepZJ4.0]

We use those in my 750sq foot apartment. With all the large light fixtures on, we use 120 watts! The output of light is 600 Watts! It's amazing! Our energy bill for using an A/C all the time and my 500W PC on all day, and electric appliances.... 73 bucks. My friends upstairs with their laptops and more efficient items, around 100. I'm sold. The next apartment I have is all utilities paid but the amount of light we get is awesome so I'll probably throw them in there too.