Energy Saving Lightbulbs

[Gary]

It's good that this is a none controversial subject upon which everyone agrees.

So. I've been trying these halogen capsule based energy savers. I like them.

I put a so-called 60W (claimed) CFL in one of our pair of ceiling roses, and a halogen capsule 60W (claimed - input power 43W) in the other. The difference is outstanding. The halogen capsule light bulb is so much brighter, and.. It comes on when you turn it on. Plus they look good with the clear envelope and the little halogen capsule inside.

I don't think the lifetime of these halogen energy savers will be anything like as good as the CFL but it's worth it in order to be able to see. In my opinion these things are the business. An ingenious way to get the same (or, better, even perhaps) light quality as tungsten filament.

I wouldn't use them in situations where I have to leave a light on for most of the day, like at the top of our staircase (no windows) but for times when you want good light for a few hours or something and you still want to save some energy, I suggest you give them a try.

[dennis]

If you want a lamp to see by then buy a better lamp. Fitting some fashion item and then trying to find a bulb to make it work is not the way to go. There is a reason why fluorescent tubes are used in place where people need to see. ;-)

I recommend 250w metal halide lamps myself, far easier to see with than halogen.

[Slider]

How much do energy saving light bulbs actually save in the real world. I only have 1 in the lamp in the living room, thinking I should use them throughout the house.

[Toby]

It depends on what wattage bulb you fit, and what was there before.

If you replace a 60w bulb with an 11w bulb, you are saving 49w

So, lets assume this 60w bulb was used every day for an average of 4 hours. In a year, the 60w bulb will use 87.6 units of electricity and the 11w bulb would use 16.06 units

So you are saving 71.84 units of power per year, for this lamp.

If you were paying 12p per unit, this is a cost saving of £8.62 for this one lamp.

You also have to take in to consideration the cost of the bulb too, but as energy savings bulbs generally last a lot longer than filament bulbs, you should still be saving money.

I did this analysis for some 50 lamps we have in our office a while ago...

Assuming electricity is about 11p per KW/h

Non energy saving lamps of this type consume 50w and last 2,500 hours at a cost of £3.15

consume 11w, and last 15,000 hours already they are cheaper, as 6 50w ones will cost £18.90

Most of them seem to be an all day Let's assume they are on 250 days a year to make it easy

If they are on for 8 hours a day, the normal ones will use 100 units of power, or £11 per year

Energy saving ones will consume 22 units, or £2.42

On my assumption, we will use them for about 2000 hours per year, so they should last about 7.5 years, so a saving of £64.35 in power, per lamp. (Even if this estimate is off, it makes no difference, they will just be in service for more or less time)

We have 34 of these lamps in the office, so that's a saving of £2187.9 over the life of the lamps.

Take off the difference in cost between the "cheap" lamps (£3.15 x 34 x 6 = £642.6 ( x6 because they only last 2500 hours!) and the cost of 34 "expensive" lamps (£268.6),

....and the saving is £2561.9 over the life of the lamps

Toby...

[David Hansen]

On Fri, 7 Nov 2008 10:24:57 -0000 someone who may be "Toby" wrote this:-

And that assumes electricity prices remain constant.

[Toby]

Yes, it was a rough calculation, based on current energy prices.

Anyway, the cost of the energy savings lamp was cheaper than the cost of the "normal" ones over the life of the energy savings one, so irrespective of electricity costs, it was cheaper!

Toby...

[Stewart]

I read somewhere recently that you should not consider replacing tungsten filament light bulbs until they have burnt out. The point being that it is wasteful to throw away a functioning light bulb.

[Toby]

Just because you replace them, it doesn't mean you have to throw them away, just remove them carefully and keep them for places where they are more useful than an CFL, like an under-stairs cupboard.

Toby...

[John]

But the CFL was considerably less that 43 watts.

Halogen isn't really an 'energy saving lamp' it is merely a slightly lower wattage - but the smaller filament and the whiter light makes it appear equal to a 60 watt conventional bulb. I've been using the Halogena bulbs for years as I like the shape and the colour

[meow2222]

So lets get this clear...

You run 2 bulbs side by side, picking the wattages such the halogenis much brighter than the other, and thus conclude that halogens are better than CFLs because the halogen you picked was brighter. What daft nonsense.

NT

[Owain]

... or until you move house and want to take your CFLs with you ... or until they're worth something on fleabay

Owain

[Bob Eager]

Unfortunately, the light output is not equivalent, however.

[tonyjeffs]

I recently installed a 35w energy saver bulb in my office. It is claimed to be the equivalent of a 200w incandescent lamp, but in practice it is nowhere near as bright, and the harsh colour is unpleasant. Low energy bulbs cost more to make, and more to dispose of - if disposed of properly. They pollute with with mercury.

You can achieve a big saving by choosing an appropriate lampshade. A white shade that is open at the bottom, and does not completely enclose the bulb at the sides, like an inverted v shape for example, will in my experience be twice as bright as a coloured semi-enclosing shade. I have happily replaced the 35 watt energy saver with a 60 watt conventional.

In future, I'll be sticking with old fashioned light bulbs and open shades.

Tony

[Derek Geldard]

But doesn't include the cost of paying for white sticks &/or nightscopes for the family and all the visitors, or alternatively the misery and inconvenience of living in perpetual gloom.

Derek

[Derek Geldard]

7.5 years my arse. They are as dim as a Toc H lantern after a couple of hundred hours service.

The ones I measured were down 48% after 12 months.

I made some measurements comparing a 60w GLS filament lamp with a claimed to be 60w equivalent CFL. So I dutifully bought a 60w pearl GLS lamp from Tesco (16p) and set up an experiment with a luxmeter (taped so as not to move) on the outside of the lampshade.

The GLS lamp reached 330 Lux at 5 sec. and maxed out at 350 Lux within

10 seconds.

The (brand new) 13 watt CFL reached 140 lux at 5 sec. and reached 240 Lux at 2 mins more/less maxed out.

A (1 year old) 13 watt CFL reached 80 Lux at 5 sec. and reached 124 Lux at 2 minutes more/less maxed out.

So after 1 year of use my feit electric 13 watt CFL gave out less than

25% of the light of a 60 watt GLS filament lamp within a reasonable few seconds of waiting, and never got above 35%.

Comparing the brand new and 1 year old CFL's, it appears the light output is down 48% in 12 months.

SWMBO has just reminded me that *all* 3 CFL outside lamps have failed :-( , thats in less than about 14 months (on time controlled by photocells). Oh - and another one in the kitchen.

They also give off a lot of UV which makes white fabric lampshades turn brown.

Apart from this they're not too bad.

Derek

[meow2222]

Strange that you didnt pick bulbs with equivalent outputs to begin with. And since cfls fade more, start with a cfl with a bit higher output.

NT

[David Hansen]

On Fri, 07 Nov 2008 18:41:53 +0000 someone who may be Derek Geldard wrote this:-

Yawn. Change the record.

[Bob Eager]

Excellent, abuse. The last resort...

[John Rumm]

Indeed - or at least its claimed equivalent is to a bulb type that no one actually seems to use (i.e. "soft tone").

I did find one CFL that was almost ok a few weeks back though. Its a Megaman ultra compact candle. About the same physical size as a candle bulb and claimed to match a 40W lamp for brightness. To be fair it is actually quite close in brightness and colour temperature. Note tried it in the absence of tungsten light yet, so I can't comment on how bad its spectra discontinuities are. The down sides being the purchase price as quite high (£7 approx), and while not particularly objectionable to look at, it was not as attractive as a clear filament lamp when used in open fittings.

[John Rumm]

I have seen 9W lamps claiming to be 60W equals, let alone 13W.