The packages says to use only in dry areas if not enclosed within a closed globe.
Would it be unwise to use these in a lighting fixture that uses open ended globes and located approximately 36 inches above the bathroom sink?
This is a compact fluorescent or a tube? If its the compact type, you can get various types, some of which are sealed into a regular bulb-shaped plastic covering.
no , use it..
Yeah go ahead and be dumb. Got home insurance?
36" above a bathroom sink is considered a "dry" location. It is perfectly acceptable to use a compact fluorescent there.
Ken
These will work fine, but be aware that most of the low cost CFL bulbs require 1-3 minutes to reach full brightness. People who go in the dark bathroom and flip on the switch will be greeted with a rather dim light until they warm up. That's sometimes good early in the morning, but it can be annoying in the evening when entering from a fully lit room.
Plus the ones that I've tried don't put out anywhere near the brightness equivalency that they claim. I also notice that they are dimmer at lower temps. I used some in my gargae and when it's cold they are noticeably dimmer. All in all, I'm not very impressed with these and would not use them in a bathroom or most living areas. They're best suited to garages, basements, etc, IMO.
Vince should be able to tell. If it gets a load of condensation there from the shower then it would be better to use a different bulb.
The old ones I have seen fit that description, but the current ones seem much better.
I mix them 50% with incandescent lamps so I get a good color and fast startup with more total light after they warm up with less power.
The warning is to discourage use outdoors without a proper fixture. There shouldn't be too much splash 3 feet up a wall (unless you have kids) but even a few drops won't hurt it. Humidity shouldn't effect it too much.
I use these (or similar) in almost every fixture (except a few where I cannot tolerate warmup time) and the imperfections are not a problem when I think of how much money they save me. Warm up time is more on the order of
30 seconds for the really cheap (power company sponsered) bulbs I buy ($1 each)
but if you are going to spend the money on a CF I'd use it in a location that gets more use..
if you use it in the bath, it won't pay for itself for a long time....
unless you spend lots of time in there ;-)
I use them on the outside lights that are on all night.
I don't think they are cost effective for the lightly used locatins.
Mark
The last ones I bought were $2 apiece. I've seen lower wattage CF's for $.99. Since they last several time as long as regular bulbs, I'd say they are very cost effective.
Bob
I've got a bunch of red LED exit sign bulbs around my house, 1W each and give out quite a lot of light, good enough for getting around in the night time. They were on special offer at Lowes:)
The marking on the base of these bulbs says the following:
"CAUTION: Risk of electric shock. Use in dry location only. Not to be used with dimmer or in totlly enclosed fixtures. UL Listed. "
These "CFLs" are the spiral type, not tubed, and light up quickly enough, as far as I am concerned. The same bulb in my kitchen overhead (two), however, seem to take a noticeable bit longer to charge fully. They are behind an open diffuser shield, and I might go back to incandescent in this case.
The CFLs' marking says: "Conserv-Energy, BPCE13T, 13W, 120VAC, 60 Hz, 200mA. "
The bathroom lightinf fixture consist of four open globe sockets, each rated at a maximum of 60 W. With four incandescent 60 W Soft Light GEs, I could feel the heat and the amount of light was more than what is needed, perhaps excessive for this (relatively small bathroom) application.
With these CFLs, I do not feel the heat, and the amount of illumination is satisfactory. The CFLs are rated as replacements for
60 W incandescent bulbs.I am happy with these CFLs, as long as there is no hazzard.
Ive seen the "torpedoe" shaped CFLs at HD; I did not like their appearance, so my wife also surely wouldn't.
I am trying these CFLs because the four 60 W incandescents give off too much heat. I've lost the packaging that shows the Lumens, but in this application the amount of illumination is adequate.
I bought two packages of these CFLs at COSTCO at least 24 months ago. Now down to the last 3. IIRC, each package included (I think) sixteen bulbs, and the cost was less than $4.us.
my local electric company is underwriting cfls in my area, as part of a national effort by energy star. if you go to certain places, you can get cfls at a high discount. try asking your local power company if they're participating.
We have a three-socket fixture in each bathroom and we install one traditional incandescent bulb plus two compact fluorescent bulbs in each room. We get instant full power from the incandescent bulb and energy savings from the two CFs in each fixture. This works fine for us and this is perfectly safe.
All bathrooms in my house have a dimmer switch. I have being blinded at night by those full-power bulbs.
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