I have a ceiling light that is completely enclosed with glass panels and uses two bulbs. It states to use 60 watt or less bulbs. I assume this is because of heat. Would it be OK to remove one of the glass panels to vent the heat and increase the bulb wattage to 75 watts each? Or even 100 wats?
Contact the manufacturer. Without seeing your light fixture, we have no way of knowing. Generally this is not advisable, as excess heat can and will damage the fixture wires. You're better off buying a fixture that's rated for the higher wattage.
Or you could switch to compact fluorescent bulbs, which don't put out nearly as much heat. Look for a CF bulb with light output equivalent to that of a standard 100-watt incandescent bulb (that would be the "Lumens" rating on the package). I'll bet it doesn't use anywhere near 60 watts of power.
I would say no, unless the manufacturer will tell you it is OK and I would be very surprised if he did, since he would be exposed to a lawsuit if he guessed wrong without have it tested and those test cost a lot more than getting an answer to your question is worth.
If it has not been tested and approved, I would not bother. BTW most people are not even going to be able to see the difference between a 60W and
75W, many won't see the difference using a 100W.If it is more light that you want, removing the cover will help as well using more efficient lamps (generally clear glass lamps are a little more efficient and new lamps put out almost twice the light as the same lamp just before it burns out.
Frankly I would use compact florescent lamps or get a new fixture.
I just bought a 65 watt equivalent flourescent flood. It uses 15 watts according to GE's label and should last about 5 years.
No.
I see a huge difference between 60 and 100w, all else being equal.
Heat, and fire. No, it wouldn't be OK, and I wouldn't do it.
Compact fluorescents are the way to go. You can increase lumens to the equivalent of a 100w incandescent and still be using only about 25w of electricity. The bulbs last longer (years, even), and are well-suited for anyplace where bulbs are difficult to replace or see heavier than normal use -- such as a ceiling fixture.
These days the only place I replace incandescents is in reading lamps and bathrooms where you want a lot of sharp, direct light.
Many compact fluorescents do not do well in ceiling fixtures because of heat buildup.
Although a compact fluorescent adds a lot less heat to the room than an incandescent does, the heat savings are mainly from less infrared. Compact fluorescents usually produce only a little less conducted/convected heat than do incandescents of the same light output, and they are more vulnerable to accumulated heat than incandescents are.
Compact fluorescents that are recommended for recessed ceiling fixtures include the 15 and 20 watt Philips SLS models.
An alternative is fixtures designed for compact fluorescent lamps. Those usually have ballasts and are limited to a specific wattage and style of bulb.
- Don Klipstein ( snipped-for-privacy@misty.com)
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