wattage cfl bulbs for a unheated garage

[Fitter30]

looking for a bulb that screws into a normal socket to putout a lot more lite
than a 100 watt incandescent bulb. like a 65 watt cfl and how well it works at 30* f

 

[JTK]

This application would be better suited for an LED bulb rather than a CFL. CFLs take a minute or two to warm up and get to full brightness where LEDs do not.

 

[scurvy]

JTK is correct. LED would be a much better choice. I have 4x60 watt equivalents in my unheated garage and they snap on instantly even at our lowest temperature so far this year of -12ºF. CFLs do not last long in that service.

 

[Virtus_Probi]

I remember putting some "outdoor use" rated 100W equivalent CFL bulbs in the enclosed fixtures by my front door and finding that they were about as bright as two recently deceased fireflies on cold winter nights.
I also say that LEDs are the way to go here...I use a 100W equivalent as the work light in my garage and it is pretty darned bright. I guess I've never shopped for any LEDs brighter than that, I would guess they must be out there somewhere...???

 

[hatt]

The have 150w equivalent and up LEDs. That's what you seek. CFL will be useless in the cold. Even in FL the CFL in my garage takes several minutes to get up to speed. The two dead fireflies stuff was LOLOL.

 

[Donald]

Originally Posted By: Fitter30
looking for a bulb that screws into a normal socket to putout a lot more lite
than a 100 watt incandescent bulb. like a 65 watt cfl and how well it works at 30* f


I have four 120 equiv. watt CFLs (bright white color) and they are great for a 1 1/2 car garage. The 30 second time to get full brightness is not an issue.

You will find when you get to high wattages for LED bulbs, its expensive and they get hot.

 

[JHZR2]

Agree - look for 100W equivalent LEDs.

 

[i_hate_autofraud]

Cold CFLs often light with a very low "color temperature" and are unpleasant when cold.

On any LEDs you get be sure they all have the same "color temperature" ie, "2700 K" is a warm white most folks are used to. A "3700 K" to "5100 K" have an awful stark white-blue hue!

 

[Wolf359]

Or change the light fixture and use 2 60 watt equivalent LED bulbs. When they're not the 60 watt replacement LED bulbs, the price tends to be much higher. Regular 60 watt equivalent ones go for $1-$1.50, those 100 or 150 end up costing $8-$20 each.

 

[buck91]

I forget actual wattage, but I've been running 100w equivalents in my garage (x4) for the past few years. Under about 50F they just don't even get up to full output; during the coldest months its downright unacceptable. Replaced them with some 100w equivalent LED bulbs from Costco last month... World of difference.

I have seen some of the florescent tubes which are rated for cold weather- in fact my workbench light has them and they work great. Maybe if you went to full fixtures instead of CFL's you could look at that route.

 

[edhackett]

Originally Posted By: Wolf359
Or change the light fixture and use 2 60 watt equivalent LED bulbs. When they're not the 60 watt replacement LED bulbs, the price tends to be much higher. Regular 60 watt equivalent ones go for $1-$1.50, those 100 or 150 end up costing $8-$20 each.


Yup. They make adapters to convert a single socket into 2-7. Buy the appropriate one and load it up with 60W equivalent LEDs.

Ed

 

[Virtus_Probi]

All this talk about LEDs reminded me that I bought some LED bulbs at Lowe's that look like glass incandescents and have the same wide angle of light output...wish I could think of the name of the manufacturer right now, maybe it was Utilitech??? The price was pretty decent for dimmable bulbs (about $5 each) and I really like them a lot. I probably have 20 years worth of LED bulbs for my house now...I used to design LED driver circuitry (not for household stuff) and I just felt like I had to try anything new that popped up. With the availability of dimmable bulbs that can be used in closed fixtures and have light output ranges that basically match incandescents, I don't see any reason to buy anything other than LEDs.

 

[fdcg27]

Most CFLs work just fine after a few minutes warmup.
The higher light output ones are much cheaper than LED lamps of similar output.
The idea of using multiple lower output LEDs is a good one.
The 60 watt equivalent LEDs are pretty cheap while the higher output ones are too costly.
This will change as time goes on.

 

[cb450sc]

Just a heads up... I installed LED lights in my garage door opener at the beginning of the summer. Over the summer I had intermittent problems with the door not going back down after leaving the garage (the lights were still on). When my spring broke last month I had a company come in and replace it. I mentioned the problem to the installer who said that LED bulbs somehow mess with the incoming signal from your car and block it. He said this is especially true on older openers like mine. I was in a bicycle accident in early November and have not been able to change out the bulbs to test his theory. When I do I will report back.

 

[Andrew1972]

Led bulbs in openers have a short life in my finds with Lowes offerings.

Put the brightest CFL you want into fixture they work at low temps however take a long time to warm up. My mums 2.5 story barn(6 stall/holds 4 vehicles down middle) has ancient wiring (switches spin) so she wanted brightest bulbs with less draw. Her CFLs I think are 150w to 200watt equivalents and working fine are I installed 5 years ago.

 

[SHOZ]

I see the 4' florescent LED replacements are only about $4 a piece.