We just had out bathroom remodeled and decided on 2 wall sconces for the lighting. The sconces are rated for 60 watt bulbs max, but now I'm finding that it is a bit dimmer in the bathroom than I would prefer.
How conservative are those ratings? Would it really be a big deal if I put
75 or even 100 watt bulbs in the sconces? If it were a light that were on for hours at a time, I probably wouldn't do it, but bathrooms lights are probably on 30-45 minutes max at a time during showers and even less during routine visits.
Put in two 13 watt fluorescents (60 watts of light) and you get all the light you want and won't violate the heat specs of the fixture. About $2 each
I would stick with the rated bulb but perhaps you need a flood or spot bulb to solve your problem. Even the lower wattage florencents that are rated at 100W output will work OK. Some fixtures have a heat sensor breaker which is a safety feature.
On the farside consider this. Your house catches on fire and the insurance investigator finds you installed a 100W bulb where it shouldn't be and they refuse to pay. Might never happen, but why take the chance.
Before I did that, I'd probably try halogen bulbs. As I recall, they produce more light per watt, yet have similar color characteristics to regular bulbs (unlike the typical fluorescent).
Why do you think they put that sticker on there? Someone tested it and found it was not safe. You are too cheap to do it right so you want to ignore the safety notice. Are you smart?
Rather than looking for an excuse to ignore the safety warning, let's look for a way to brighten up the room.
I replaced half my lamps with CF. I reduced the total wattage and greatly increased the amount and quality of light. Try it.
Two 13 watt fluorescents will put out less light that two 60 watt incandescent bulbs. Don't care what the package says. Substitute one 4 bulb holder and it will immediately be clear (even if the cover is translucent) which is the 13 watt fluorescent bulb. You need to go up at least one size of fluorescent to achieve the light output of a 60 watt bulb.
Overlooking the safety implications of exceeding the maximum wattage allowed, much can be determined by whether or not the bulb(s) is enclosed. Heat is the bad guy here. At best you'll have to change burned-out bulbs more quickly using an oversized bulb. At worst you'll have to remodel your bathroom again. Possibly even the whole house. (no joke)
I wouldn't consider anything larger than a 75-watter.
Still not enough light? Do something different but, for safety considerations, do it right.
Yeah, but the wattage restriction is for when you forget to turn it off before you drive off on your two week vacation.
CF (compact fluorescent) bulbs might be a solution.
by your illustration, your fixture is enclosed. halogen bulbs are too hot for this fixture. for many compact fluorescent light bulbs no enclosure is permitted. you could remove the nice decorative covers permanently and screw in a compact flourescent light bulb of your favorite design of maybe 42 [nice and bright reading and shaving light] or 26 watts [comes out at about 100 watts of light after warmup]. for others choosing fixtures you'll want up to 400 watts worth of light for reading, which you can achieve with four x 26 watt CFL's for example. when selecting new light fixtures consider height to illuminate under chins to be shaved as well as usual eye level angle. a vertical old style fluorescent on each side of medicine cabinet mirror was ideal for this angle of lighting but not always bright enough. consider subject to your climate whatever your modern equivalent choice might be for the nice old style clear infrared 250 watt heat lamps for reading and stepping out of a hot shower into a cooler bathroom.
CFs now come in color temps that match the BEST of what incandescents have. A 75w to 100W CF with color temp of 5000 to 6500 Kelvin will produce great looking light
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This is an example of a 75W model (only uses 18W of electricity), 10,000 hour rated life $6.15. It fits inside the fixture that is being used (4.8 inches long, 2.3 inches wide) 6500 Kelving color temp matches overhead sun on a cloudless, pollution free day.
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This is an example of a 100W model (only uses 23W of electricity),
15,000 hours rated life $8.43. Same size as 75W lamp above.
For reading, in a lamp that has a harp that will accept this bulb, 55W of electricity, 3600 lumens of light, about same as 240W bulb 4.45 inches in diameter, 8.39 inches long $15.xx, 8000 hours lamp life. High color fidelity for this lamp.
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This one will fit in most lamps easier as it is narrower 3.74 inches,
10W more electricity at 65W, 3400 lumens of light, and 9.65 inches tall,
8000 hours life 20.95 each Very high color fidelity for this lamp.
Or for a REALLY bright light
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10,000 LUMENS, 6500 Kelvin color temp, 10,000 hour lamp life A lamp like this one is used for circadian therapy, 15 minutes a day 2-3 times a week for a month to get body clocks reset to normal (for folks that seem to have trouble sleeping and are tired, sleepy most of the day - insomniacs - more of a problem the further north/south you go - i.e. getting to within a few hundred miles of either the Arctic or Antartic Circle.)
I use these examples MERELY to point out that the selection of CFs is MUCH higher than what we see at WalMart, Home Depot, and Lowes or similar stores. There are several such vendors (like 1000bulbs) out there. CFLs are NOT the same as your memory of them
Really? I've never seen this mentioned on the package for any of the CF bulbs I've bought. I have plenty of CF bulbs in enclosed fixtures, and have never had a problem.
In fact, I've got CF bulbs outside that are _supposed_ to be in an enclosed, weather- resistant fixture.
Really nice sconces. I am quite certain the limit is the cover as they are not well ventilated. Looking at other posts, the consensus seems to be for compact fluorescents. Try the one that is listed as equivalent to 100W. Those I think are actually about 23 watts. It seems to me that it takes a minute or two for them to come to full brightness.
For me they seem to have a higher failure rate when used in enclosed fixtures but for your use that should not be a problem because they will not be on continuously.
If you use larger than 60 watt incandescent bulbs in those fixtures they will overheat and the plastic light socket will fail. Using the lights less will only cause them to take longer to fail it will not avoid the failure. The insulation on the fixture wires that supply the light socket may also degrade to the point of arcing but that usually takes a little longer to happen.
You have not seen modern CFs work. The new ones are at full brightness in less than 15 seconds. The older twin tube lamps had the slow on cycle that you are remembering.
I have two CFs, twin tube in my bath ceiling 13W each. They have been in there for 10 years with not a single failure. I will change then out soon for 15W lamps with a better color output. This is a completely enclosed fixture.
The longest running application is the outside light fixtures. They are on about 8 hours a night, 7 days a week or about 2900 hours a year. The fixture is open at the bottom and the lamps are mounted in an inverted position. Its about a 2-3 year interval between lamp replacements there. The ballast gets WARM in this application.
Depending on manufacturer, the 100W bulbs are either 23W or 27W. For most pleasant color, look for bulbs with 4100 Kelvin color rating or higher. 6400 Kelvin gives the best rendition of color, aka Stark White. Many think this color has some Blue in it, a very pleasant contrast to the yellows and greens of incandescents and older fluorescents. The garden variety bulb at Walmart, Home Depot and the like has a 2700 kelvin color temp. This color is one of the traditional colors of fluorescent lamps and we have all become uneasy with it.
4100K looks so MUCH better (I have a F25T8 fixture with a couple of
4100K lamps in it). They look wonderful compared to the other 2700K lamps beside them.
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