light bulbs

I stocked up on light bulbs yesterday and was looking for 60 watt standard bulbs and the store only had the halogen type which look just like the regular bulbs. I have a ceiling fan with two light bulbs in it, one of which was bad. I replaced it with the halogen and it would not come on. If I took out the other regular bulb it would come on. (Not loose) I then put two new halogen bulbs (60 W equivalent) and only one came on. I was baffled at this point and put two standard 40 watt bulbs in and they both came on as expected. This is a late model hunter ceiling fan ~8 years old. At this point I wisely called it a day!

Anyone know why this problem could happen with the halogen style regular bulbs?

Best way to save electricity is turn it off!

Dtaylor wrote:
Last year, I bought two large cases of both 60 watt and 100 watt bulbs. Obviously, I am not a fan of the "new" ones.

yep, a while back I suggested to the DW that she stock up on 100s since that was the first size to be phased out. eliminated/not sold anymore/etc. regardless of statements here to the contrary.
bumpy

the only longevity issues I have had with CFLs is the ones where the coiled up tube is placed in an external bulb style case. I have had other CFLs that have lasted for 5-8 years so far.
bumpy

Last year, I bought two large cases of both 60 watt and 100 watt bulbs. Obviously, I am not a fan of the "new" ones.

Rockhillmanor,

No offense taken. I was just trying to clarify. Enjoy your posts and you are a valuable member here.

Dog Folks wrote:

rockhillmanor wrote:
It sure CHANGED my electric bill.

My home had cathedral ceilings where the designer of the home got "can light crazy". I had 20 in the great room area and over 20 in the master bedroom/powder great room, and in the family room not to mention the multiple lighted sconces over each bathroom and kitchen. :R

I changed all my lights to CFL actually just to see IF it would make a difference, and it DOES! Cleared off over 1/3 of my electric bill in one fall swoop.

Don't like that they are Mercury, yes you drop them and they are 100% going to shatter all over.

I have yet to see a recycle for them so off they go into the garbage. The mercury and the vast amount that will hit the landfills is sad, but saving $100 bucks a month on the electric bill is enough for me to use them until the power company stops raping us.

WOW-- I wish I knew that when I had a sticks and bricks and a $300.00 light bill. My reference was about the RV live in.

My carbon foot print is much lower than the average house as it is.

Sorry thought you were talking about your sticks and bricks! Same here too in my RV. Wouldn't do squat in my MH either, all the lights but 2 desk lamps are 12V and they aren't making cfl's for those anytime soon. I never use them so I see no need to switch them to led.

All the leds I saw installed weren't much brighter. I like LOTS AND LOTS of 'bright white' light in my MH. I use 6500 Kelvin CFL's in 2 desk lamps and it lights it up like your are sitting outside.

The electric bill on the house was just one very small $$ reason I sold it and hit the road full time! :B

I live in area that has terribly high electric rates. After a major dispute with my electric bill a few years back (I won) I started looking at my bills much closer than I had in the past. At that time I replaced virtually all of the light bulbs in the house with CFL's. Hated them but they did save on the bill. Even the ones that were quick to come on were slow to provide optimum lighting. I have lots of dimmers in house. Dimmable CFL's don't work that well. I noticed that the lifespan of the bulbs were no where near what I expected or what was advertised. After doing a little research I found that a CFL is not a good bulb in situations where it is not just turned on and left on for long periods. Repeated on/off cycling really reduces longevity.

I was curious about LED's but the cost was just too high. Recently however I noticed that I was seeing some LED's that the cost was comparable to the CFL's. Costco started carrying more and more of a selection. I decided to try them out so as CFL's burned out I replaced with LED. I was so happy with the results that I went ahead and replaced almost every bulb in the house with LED's. They provided instant on lighting, dimmables work well, longer life span, and they burn much cooler than either incandescent or CFL. Wife actually commented this morning about how much cooler the kitchen is now that all the can lights in there are LED.

Bottom line is that I am sold on the LED's. Now if only solar costs would come down enough to make it affordable.

old guy wrote:
My son told me today that starting jan 1st it will be illegal in USA to make in-condensate lights any more. they are making them 24/ 7 to make a large supply and after they sell out you can only get LED and halogen and one other bulb, can't remember what it was now.

Nobody's saying that we can't manufacture or use incandescent bulbs. The regulation only states that the bulbs must produce more light per watt than they currently do.

Part of the problem in America is that we've gotten used to referring to light bulbs by the power they consume rather than the light they produce. Light is measured in lumens, electricity usage in watts.

Lumens per Watt is a lot like Miles per Gallon. Think of it as the government requiring higher fuel economy, but for light bulbs instead of automobiles. Many manufacturers have already used halogen bulbs to improve efficiency by more than 25%.

Dog Folks wrote:

paulcardoza wrote:
Is all change this painful? How about the push to replace the paper dollar with a coin, which will also cut the cost of producing them dramatically? I assume we all hate that one too? :-/

For what it is worth, I would use a dollar coin rather than paper even though I was born and raised near where all the paper for US currency is made.

We will never succeed in replacing the paper dollar with a coin unless we can reduce the number of these coins the average American has cause to carry. If the government wants to do away with the $1 bill, the only way to do it properly is to start flooding America with $2 bills.

paulcardoza wrote:
It's both humorous and sad at the same time, to see how advances in technology are vigorously resisted by so many Americans. You would think that a technology which would cut your energy usage by 80%-90%, SAVING YOU MONEY, would be welcomed with open arms! LED light bulbs cost more now, but economies of scale will fix that AND they will outlast you and I once installed.

Is all change this painful? How about the push to replace the paper dollar with a coin, which will also cut the cost of producing them dramatically? I assume we all hate that one too? :-/

I tend to agree, but want to pick what technology I want to use, not have it forced down my throat.

For what it is worth, I would use a dollar coin rather than paper even though I was born and raised near where all the paper for US currency is made.