Energy saving globes

[Minty]

I've been using energy saving globes mainly in the hallways where I switch
them on in the evening and turn them off several hours later. I leave one
switched on overnight above the stairway. They last a few years as claimed.

I've just replaced a normal bathroom globe with an energy saving globe and I
wonder whether the more frequent on-off use in there would shorten its life.

 

[Zebulon Blah]

On Sat, 7 Feb 2004 22:17:48 +1100, "Minty" <minty@surethisismyrealemail.com> wrote:

I've been using energy saving globes mainly in the hallways where I switch
them on in the evening and turn them off several hours later. I leave one
switched on overnight above the stairway. They last a few years as claimed.

I've just replaced a normal bathroom globe with an energy saving globe and I
wonder whether the more frequent on-off use in there would shorten its life.

Like any flourescent light, its life will be badly shortened if they used where they
are switched on and off fairly often. My personal rule with compact flourescents is
to use them only where they are normally switched on and then off, once a day.
I have two CF's in ceciling fittings in the living room and one in the kitchen ceiling.
All other lights in the house are conventional incandescant globes.

 

[amstereo]

i've decked the whole house out with CF's and I notice the one in the toilet
seems to suffer the worst. its only the baby 8watt job, i use it in there
cause of the fade up on turn on, very usefull when you go in there after
waking up, it doesn't stun the eyes like a normal light, and also gives
adiquate light.

I find the best thing for them, is to rotate the hevily used one with other
ones that are less used (used = turn on then turn off)

I perfer them for one other reason, and thats heat. this house during summer
is a bastered with heat caused by lighting. having the CF's installed reduce
this alot. there is only 2 permanent light fitings that don't have a CF, My
room - case i have a hpm touch dimmer, andthe carport (which i can't reach).

I also found that, ising the big 19 watt units out side, light the yard up
enough to see around it very well. Daylight white in the kitchen gives the
effect of a normal fluro

 

[Bob M]

Hi there

I have replaced all the lights in my house with CFs. After
experimenting with a few different types, I discovered a few
interesting things that helped me decide which units to use and which
to avoid.

There seem to be 2 general types, those with magnetic series ballasts
and traditional starters (they go blink blink when they start) and
those with electronic ballasts (usually instant start).

The magnetic ballast units, generally costing the least amount,
usually do not have replaceable lamps, thus when the end of the bulb's
life is reached, the entire unit is discarded. These lamps also
exhibit the symptom that when they start, they are dim and require
some time to reach operating temperature (i.e low on resistance) and
thus maximum brightness. They may take several seconds to initially
light, the time getting longer and longer near the end of its life.

Of the electronic units, I found several different units each with
several features. They all have instant start (something I like).
Other things:

1) Some have replaceable lamps while others do not. The more expensive
units have replaceable lamps.

2) Lamp colour- cool white to daylight, i.e. yellowish to bluish)

3) Lamp efficiency (lumens output for a given power consumption)

4) Some are dimmable with regular dimmers while others are not
dimmable at all- they will suffer permanent damage and so will the
dimmer. The lamp by my bed is a circular tri-light with 3 levels low,
medium and high.

5) Many different shapes and sizes- everything from linear to circular
to compact.

6) Power factors approaching unity. This is a more recent issue.

Additionally, one neat feature is that the better ones have a highly
regulated power supply that maintains a constant power output
regardless of the physical temperature of the bulb, i.e. instant full
brightness when initially turned on, without ever overdriving the
bulb.

Most of the lights I am currently using have the regulated power
supplies with replaceable lamps- i.e. the more expensive ones. As far
as noticing whether life expectancy is diminished due to frequent
turning on and off, I haven't really noticed any trends. I suspect the
regulated power supply can compensate for changes in the bulb as it
ages.

My house has been equipped with these lamps for more than 10 years
now. My first "investments" were units that were made in California by
a company called Lights of America (www.lightsofamerica.com). Since
then, I have found locally available "equivalents".

Hope this is of some help to you.

Cheers from Canada!

Bob Morgoch


"amstereo" <amstereo@optushomeDOTcompanyDOTaustralia> wrote in message

news:<4025a5f4$0$5870$afc38c87@news.optusnet.com.au>...

i've decked the whole house out with CF's and I notice the one in the toilet
seems to suffer the worst. its only the baby 8watt job, i use it in there
cause of the fade up on turn on, very usefull when you go in there after
waking up, it doesn't stun the eyes like a normal light, and also gives
adiquate light.

I find the best thing for them, is to rotate the hevily used one with other
ones that are less used (used = turn on then turn off)

I perfer them for one other reason, and thats heat. this house during summer
is a bastered with heat caused by lighting. having the CF's installed reduce
this alot. there is only 2 permanent light fitings that don't have a CF, My
room - case i have a hpm touch dimmer, andthe carport (which i can't reach).

I also found that, ising the big 19 watt units out side, light the yard up
enough to see around it very well. Daylight white in the kitchen gives the
effect of a normal fluro

 

[Minty]

Thanks amstereo and Bob for your very helpful replies.

The ones I have are the magnetic series ballast type, taking a minute or two
to fully brighten up. I don't know if there're any electronic ballast type
available here in Australia. They would be useful in frequent on-off area
like the bathroom.

I remember earlier Philips CF lights produced huge electrical noise causing
bad A.M. radio reception. Thankfully, the cheapest CF lights in the market
these days produce no detectable noise.

 

[Gnuthad]

On Sat, 7 Feb 2004 22:17:48 +1100, "Minty" <minty@surethisismyrealemail.com>
wrote:

I've been using energy saving globes mainly in the hallways where I switch
them on in the evening and turn them off several hours later. I leave one
switched on overnight above the stairway. They last a few years as claimed.

I've just replaced a normal bathroom globe with an energy saving globe and I
wonder whether the more frequent on-off use in there would shorten its life.

I've used a number of brands of CF globes around my house for the past 3
years, ranging in power draw from 9W right up to 48W and usually the cheaper
brands (sub $8 a globe). I've noticed little difference between brands and
wattages and even between switching patterns when referring to life of the
globes and I generally get at least a couple of years out of each globe.

The only real difference I have noticed between the globes is the fact that
some of the cheaper brands tend to heat up a lot more than some of the more
expensive brands, Philips for instance. I can say that my power usage has
dropped a reasonable amount for my lighting based purely on the act that I've
gone from using over 1000W in lighting to around 180W, albeit not all at once.

I have had a number of friends ask me why I'm using CF globes rather than the
"better" downlights and I find it amazing that some people can be so ignorant
of the sheer waste of energy that is required just to decently light a large
room such as a loungeroom using downlights. My loungeroom has 2 fixtures of
42W each (3x11W + 1x9W) and the room is nicely bright, certainly bright enough
to read easily even if you're sitting near a corner. To get the same effect
using downlights I would be looking at close on 300W in globes, another 10W or
so wasted in transformers and then the light wouldn't be as diffuse as with my
current arrangemrent.

I will never go back to using filament globes unless I really have to use
them, the benefits of CF globes just outweigh the slightly cheaper costs of
normal globes too much.

Gnuthad

 

[David L. Jones]

"Minty" <minty@surethisismyrealemail.com> wrote in message news:<4024c923$1_1@news.iprimus.com.au>...

I've been using energy saving globes mainly in the hallways where I switch
them on in the evening and turn them off several hours later. I leave one
switched on overnight above the stairway. They last a few years as claimed.

I've just replaced a normal bathroom globe with an energy saving globe and I
wonder whether the more frequent on-off use in there would shorten its life.

In theory, yes, and that is what some makers claim. In practice, it
ranges from no difference to a substantial difference. Simply try it
and see.
Heat seems to be a killer though. I had one in a very tightly enclosed
light shade which got pretty hot, and it blew 2-3 times a year at
least. After a while I started putting a little sticker with the date
inside to track it. All of my other ones of the same type/brand last
for many years under similar on/off conditions.
I also have CFs in the bathroom and other places which have many
on/off cylces per day and they last for years too, I haven't really
noticed a difference with varying on/off cycles.

Regards
Dave