About the new energy-saving light bulbs

[Suzie-Q]

About those new energy-saving light bulbs -- I think some are called compact florescent?

Anyway, say I have a desk lamp with a small label that says that I shouldn't use more than a 60-watt bulb. A new "60-watt" florescent bulb uses only 13 watts of energy and doesn't get as hot as a

60-watt incandescent light bulb. A 100-watt florescent would only use, say, 24 watts of energy (I don't know the exact amount). So could I use a 100-watt florescent bulb in the desk lamp that's rated for no higher than a 60-watt bulb?

Thanks in advance,

[RBM]

Yes, provided it physically fits. If the fixture uses a dimmer, it would not function unless you have a dimmable CF lamp

[Robert Scott]

Yes, the rating on the fixture applies to the amount of current drawn and the amount of heat it can dissipate. On both counts the "100-watt equivalent" compact flourescant qualifies.

Robert Scott Ypsilanti, Michigan

[deke]

Those new bulbs are supposed to last 8 years, but I've noticed a very high failure rate. I've bought 20 and 10 of them failed either out of the box or within 6 months. Keep your recieipts.

Also, the 100 watt ones produce less light than the 75 watt incandescents.

[TKM]

And why is that? If the desk lamp is shielded so you're not exposed to the brightness of the bulb itself, then there shouldn't be a glare problem. Newer CFLs don't flicker by design so the only thing left is color. Choose a warm color CFL bulb that matches incandescent if you prefer.

There are some junk CFLs in the market. Buy CFLs that have the "Energy Star" label to avoid short life, poor color and low output problems. Energy Star bulbs are tested and guaranteed. Save the packaging and let Energy Star know if you're not happy with the performance.

All of the CFLs that I installed in a new house 4 years ago are still burning just fine.

TKM

[mm]

Yes, because it's not a 100-watt bulb. It's a 24-watt bulb.

[Charlie Morgan]

Well, for openers, they emit UV which is VERY harmful to eyes, especially if the source is as close as a desk lamp.

CWM

[MLD]

You're getting confused--the 24 watt florescent will produce the same amount of light (lumens) as a 100 watt incandescent bulb. Go by the wattage of the bulb-- MLD

[Frank]

I've put 75 watt equivalents in 60 watt fixtures with no problem. I think the fixture recommendations are based on how much heat they can tolerate and normal incandescent bulbs put out more heat than light. Cfl's put more of the energy into light. You should base replacement on lumens or light equivalent. Since cfl's take a while longer to fire up, I think my wife bears through it to get more light. Only had a couple of cfl's that emitted an annoying spectrum and these ended up on the front porch. Their light is harsh. Otherwise, I've had no problems and they have been long life. Frank

[barry]

Not to bash anyone, but can you say "fluorescent" light? Dictionary will confirm.

Meanwhile, if you DAGS on, say, cfl you'll get multi-mega-hits. Just ignore the "Canadial Football League" ones, or exclude such in "advanced query."

Boosts s/n ratio.

J

[k]

Sure you can, if the bulb will fit. cfls are quite a bit longer than incandescents, and successively higher wattage bulbs are also successively longer bulbs.

That's my only real complaint about the cfls. We have a lot of sconce-type fixtures here, and even the lower wattage bulbs stick out all over the place. It's not a nice effect, but I use cfls wherever possible, and have only had one blow prematurely. That's in a closed fixture, and it didn't burn out as prematurely as the incandescents that preceeded it.

[udarrell]

I am using the 100 watters' everywhere in my home. - udarrell

[Suzie-Q]

My spellchecker told me that was wrong. I believed it.

[Suzie-Q]

I was hoping it was that simple!

[Don Klipstein]

Light from CFLs has less UV of every kind/range of UV than an equivalent amount of sunlight or daylight. Light from CFLs even has less UV than an equivalent of daylight or sunlight that passed through a glass window.

- Don Klipstein ( [e-mail])

[Charlie Morgan]

Perhaps, but with a desk lamp, the source is inches away from your very vulnerable eyes. If you wreck your eyes, you can't replace them.

CWM

[Jack]

Have you seen the reports of the problem of disposal and especially the danger in clean up if one breaks. One woman was quoted a $2000.00 for decontamination of her daughters bedroom. Seems they contain mercury and it is a toxic material by EPA. So you are playing with fire in using them. Yea I know the Green people are advocating them but they aren't putting out the hazard of them either. Jack

[Anonymous]

There's as much energy in a gallon of gas as there is in a stick of dynamite !

Be sure to store ALL gasoline at least a mile from your house. ( that includes the stuff in your autos gas tank )

.... I hear the sky is falling too !

[Paul M. Eldridge]

A Philips 25-watt Marathon CFL contains less than 3 mg of Hg -- 2.64 to be exact. To put this in perspective, my Honeywell thermostats each contain 3,000 mg (my home has three). Sky falling? Now *that's* something to worry about!

Cheers, Paul

[intrepid_dw]

And keep in mind the hard lesson some have learned - when these bulbs break, you have serious hazardous waste situation with the mercury powder in the bulbs. For all the hysteria about how "eco-friendly" these CF bulbs are, they are a homeowner's nightmare.

In a word, just say "no."

-intrepid