View Full Version : energy saving bulbs
Hey guys, not sure if I should have put this thread here or in the technology forum.
anyway, I am wanting to know if there are anywhere that sells energy saving light bulbs that would fit a screw in R50 bulb? I know it sounds small but they have made great advancements in the size of these things.
I have six of the wee buggers and they keep blowing out asap. it is costing me a fortune.
ik
I beleive I had a energy saving bulb of this size from IKEA, it was only 3watt though which meant it was more of an non-light than a light :)
Its worth going down you local elctrical specialist and having a chat with them.
Would 3W energy saver be equivalent to about 40W normal?
No it was much less than that, equivelant to 15w I think. It gave out little more than a glow..
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This is not a spot bulb but would fit in th 14mm fitting:
http://www.lightbulbs-direct.com/variant_detail.asp?var=3525
No it was much less than that, equivelant to 15w I think. It gave out little more than a glow..
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This is not a spot bulb but would fit in th 14mm fitting:
http://www.lightbulbs-direct.com/variant_detail.asp?var=3525
I am looking at the 7watt version of this. I would need to make sure they fit.
would they work with a dimmer?
EDIT: They do fit, I will try to buy them when I get paid
ik
etccarmageddon
21-03-2005, 13:39
I dont think it's possible as the bulb size is too small for the electronics to fit in.
keithwalton
21-03-2005, 13:42
I dont think you can use a dimmer on energy saving bulbs because of the way they work is much like a strip light.
Flubflow
21-03-2005, 13:47
I am looking at the 7watt version of this. I would need to make sure they fit.
would they work with a dimmer?
EDIT: They do fit, I will try to buy them when I get paid
ik
I've never seen an energy saving bulb that works with a dimmer.
One other thing I've noticed about energy saving bulbs is that they take time to warm up. i.e. the light output is significantly lower when you first switch them on and it takes a good few minutes before they reach full light output. Hence they are not very good for transient rooms like a hallway, landing or bathroom etc where the light is only required for a short time.
Its worth mentioning that buying cheap enrgy saving bulbs do suffer from a slow starup. the branded more expensive ones no longer suffer from this, due to the elctroncis inside them
I've never seen an energy saving bulb that works with a dimmer.
One other thing I've noticed about energy saving bulbs is that they take time to warm up. i.e. the light output is significantly lower when you first switch them on and it takes a good few minutes before they reach full light output. Hence they are not very good for transient rooms like a hallway, landing or bathroom etc where the light is only required for a short time.
yeah I know, I got one for an energy saving one for a hall.
ik
I agree. Since they are fluorescent, I would assume that these bulbs will not work with a dimmer unless it says specifically that they do.
You might want to try LED lamps, as were requested here:
http://www.cableforum.co.uk/board/showthread.php?t=24746
...but these may use so litle current that your dimmer switch will stop working - check the documentation for the dimmer.
bob_builder
21-03-2005, 13:54
Would 3W energy saver be equivalent to about 40W normal?
The equivalent wattage for an energy saving bulb is 5 times it actual wattage, i.e. 12W is equivalent to 60W, 20W equivalent to 100W, etc.
zoombini
21-03-2005, 13:56
They are basically just fluorescent lights but smaller.
I have many around the house, esp in the hallways 7 bathrooms etc.
I hate them, they are far too dim compared to what they say on the box. 11w=120w like yeah, my backside its equivalent! (for mr/mrs pedant, this is an example & not necessarily accurate).
bob_builder
21-03-2005, 13:57
I dont think you can use a dimmer on energy saving bulbs because of the way they work is much like a strip light.
It is possible to get dimmers for strip lighting but they work by reducing the frequency of the alternating current instead of reducing the effective voltage. Strip lights and energy saving bulbs are designed to work at 240V.
orangebird
21-03-2005, 14:00
The damn things should never have been invented. When I see one in a house I immediately think - 'tight wad'.
The damn things should never have been invented. When I see one in a house I immediately think - 'tight wad'.
Hmm interesting view seeing how they cost more to buy thatn 40p cheap lightbulbs. ;)
And surly anything to cut down enviromental polution is a good idea
but hey each to his own
Flubflow
21-03-2005, 14:15
It is possible to get dimmers for strip lighting but they work by reducing the frequency of the alternating current instead of reducing the effective voltage. Strip lights and energy saving bulbs are designed to work at 240V.
Standard triac or thyristor dimmers work in a similar way to this (but by chopping up the AC sinewave) and these types don't work with flourecsent lighting.
I think you need a special kind of ballast for the flourcescent lighting rather than a special dimmer.
orangebird
21-03-2005, 14:30
Hmm interesting view seeing how they cost more to buy thatn 40p cheap lightbulbs. ;)
And surly anything to cut down enviromental polution is a good idea
but hey each to his own
So do people use them to be green, or to save a few pence on their electric bills each year?
I use them for both the green issue and to save money, when you are paying 8p per KWH having 10 100 watt light bulbs compared to 10 10watt light bulbs the saving over the course of year is pretty massive, and as long as you by decent qaulity makes I find no problem with the light output
10 100 watt lightbulbs costs £175 aprox per anum.
10 10 watt bulbs cost £17.52 per anum..
this is worked out on an average use of 6 hours per day.
Its also worth notging that four people livin in my house in a shared environment so we have a lot of lights on, almost all at once.
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I am really bad at maths so my workings may be incorrect...
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its also worth noting that we spend aprox £30 per week on electric, so anything we can do to cut down our impact on the environment is a good idea..
orangebird
21-03-2005, 14:54
I use them for both the green issue and to save money, when you are paying 8p per KWH having 10 100 watt light bulbs compared to 10 10watt light bulbs the saving over the course of year is pretty massive, and as long as you by decent qaulity makes I find no problem with the light output
<snip>
And pray tell, where do you finds these light bulbs? All the tightwad lightbulbs I've seen give of a very horrible yellow tinge and the actual level of light emitted is so poor, I do not believe is very good for your eyes when you're trying to read....
And pray tell, where do you finds these light bulbs? All the tightwad lightbulbs I've seen give of a very horrible yellow tinge and the actual level of light emitted is so poor, I do not believe is very good for your eyes when you're trying to read....
B&Q is a good start.
Our newly built house has a couple of low energy bulbs with three bayonet prongs to try an encourage thier use (only these three pronged bulbs can be used)
But as they last years, I can see the documentation for who to contact to get replacement bulbs being lost or not passed to the next occupant, and then the light fitting being replaced (by an acredited sparky, as you're not allowed to do it yourself these days)
Try these:
http://www.eurobatteries.com/sitepages/bulbs.asp
orangebird
21-03-2005, 15:17
Is the light they give off as true as my terrible naughty poluting capitalist bulbs?
Is the light they give off as true as my terrible naughty poluting capitalist bulbs?
I have also got a desk lamp that uses an 11 watt energy saving tube. The light I get off it can only be desrbed as being perfect! Its ot yellow at all and infect whiter than most normal bulbs.
Anyone who buys energysaving bulbs for less than £4 is bound to have problems as these are generally based on the old design, they take 5 minutes to warm up and give off a horrible light quality.. Modern bulbs are as good as standard ones in my opinion, and the have the added benefit of not having to be changed evy few months. Which is great if you find it difficult to do a balencing act of an over streched ladder over your stairs :)
Dave Stones
21-03-2005, 16:16
going back to the original post, homebase sell R50 size green bulbs... wouldn't get anything from there though ;)
personally i hate the light that comes off of energy saving lamps... i'm used to the nice yellow glow of my tungsten filament, i tried anenergy saving lamp and a "daylight blue" tungsten filament before, both had a horrible harsh white light that gave me headahces every time i had the light on. also seemed darker... :erm:
Electrolyte01
21-03-2005, 16:22
Is the light they give off as true as my terrible naughty poluting capitalist bulbs?
The one in my lamp gives off the same amount of light as a standard 60W bulb, and this energy saving one is 11W.
zoombini
21-03-2005, 21:28
That's what they tell you anyway.. :D
They can be obtained for free quite often, just visit the local roadshows/council do's where you often find a stall that has energy advice one & they give you one for free peroviding you agree to an energy survey.
take the survey & plug the bulb in. I took it several times :D
See, I'm a tightwad & I'm trying to be green.
Or just write to your energy supplier asking for advice on saving energy, quite often they'll send them out.
BG did for my ex and she wasn't even using them!
allieyoung666
21-03-2005, 22:37
Ikea is really cheap.
Electrolyte01
21-03-2005, 22:39
Another good thing is that they last a LOT longer than standard bulbs, very helpful in my room since the other lamp is right on the other side :erm:
homealone
21-03-2005, 22:56
Another good thing is that they last a LOT longer than standard bulbs, very helpful in my room since the other lamp is right on the other side :erm:
good point - I agree about the quality of light being worse in all but the more modern 'energy saving' bulbs, but their long life is why I buy them for hall, landing, bathroom (left on a lot) lights ;)
There was a booklet in with New Scientist a while ago with lots of fairly cheap EE bulbs of all shapes and sizes, saved it for next time we need to order some.
See attached :)
shaun, what is a rar file?
ik
A rar file is very similar to a zip file. as in it is compressed, you need a peice of software such as winrar to decompress it www.rarlabs.com
homealone
21-03-2005, 23:59
shaun, what is a rar file?
ik
it is a compression format, like zip & arj
rar supports multiple parts which eventually make up one file, a format often used on newsgroups.
try
http://www.altools.net/Default.aspx?tabid=47&alzip=front
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