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Posted by Kris Krieger on July 25, 2007, 5:08 pm
> I did what Rico suggested the otherday in my solar post.
> I bought a Compact Flourescent Light (CFL) bulb and replaced my office
> bulb with it.
> Bought it at Walmart for $3.44 and its one of those curly 13 watt
> jobs. My previous bulb was an incandescent 60 watter.
> Its a GE Energy Smart model and the package claims the 13 watt isequal
> to the 60 watt.
> It also says it will last 5 years...we'll see.
> (based on 4 hours of use per day)
>
> So far, to me, the amount of light it casts is the same as the old one
> but the light itself seems whiter, whereas the other bulb had an
> orange look to it.
> At 13 watts, as opposed to the old one that was 60 watts, it is
> consuming less than 25% of the juice as the old one, and thats a good
> thing.
>
> Now, if I could drop the wattage requirement for my PC I'd be half way
> home regarding taking this box off the grid.
>
What you describe is what I've seen. I've been using CFLs for many eyars.
The life of the bulb i salso influenced by th efixture - if thewiring isn't
quite right, it can shorten the bulb life. Also, for lamps that turn on
using a pull chain or rotating knob, turning them on an doff with an even,
smooth motion also helps the bulb to last longer, because the flow of
electricity is smoother. Anything that causes flickering (intermittant
electrical flow) can shorten the bulb life.
But I've had bulbs last for much longer than 5 years.
You can also get outdoor-rated CFLs - I have a 150-Watt-Equivalent in the
garage here, but in Massachusetts,it was difficult to get one to last in
the garage ebcause of the lack of insulation - the bulbs evidently just go
too cold.
LEDs *might* have a better cold tolerance - that seems logical since they
have no element, but I don't know for a fact whetehr that is true, whetehr
there are LED replacements/analogues for "regulatr" bulbs, or for that
matter, how bright they can be made - I'd have to check.
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