Low energy bulbs

[Rhyl Lightworks]

I think the low energy bulbs are definitely causing some people to use more energy
I had someone tell me they left their lights on 24/7 because they were so efficient that it required more energy to turn them off than to turn them on.

This is only true if the bulbs are being turned on again within a couple of minutes. You should tell this person that they are wrong.

Incidentally, I have this theory that there is resistance to low energy bulbs only because they are different from convential incandescant ones. If the positions were reversed, and we had grown up with compact fluorescents, there would be just as much resistance to replacing them. A new type of mindset is needed, where we accept low energy bulbs as the norm and accept any drawbacks because of their energy and cost savings.

Barrie

 

[Go Eco]

LED bulbs are cheaper to run by about 1/50th but the light output isn't quite as good and really only work in spotlights at the moment. There is no delay on switching and they last at least 20 times longer than say 50W halogen bulbs.
However, they are expensive but I am gradulayy changing all my spotlights over as the old halogen ones fail!

Nigel

 

[KM-Tiger]

LED bulbs are cheaper to run by about 1/50th but the light output isn't quite as good and really only work in spotlights at the moment.

Some brighter ones have started to appear, see here for instance. I've got some of the warm white 3 watt GU10's, and I'd say they are about as bright as a 35 watt halogen, and the colour temperature tolerable, not blueish.

Not cheap, but they will pay back.

 

[Marzipan]

My husband's been on a mission to replace all our bulbs around the place and now it's like the Adams Family crypt in here. There was uproar when he replaced the bulbs in the bathrooms so we won a reprieve on them but only until one blows - hopefully by then he'll get the newer 1 -2 second ones.

The trouble now is that we have nearly 100 of the slow start and gloomy bulbs installed around the place and it's hardly eco-friendly to bin them in favour of newer models so we're stuck with them

 

[Rhyl Lightworks]

After 2 years of low energy bulbs outselling conventional incandescent ones, yesterday saw huge sales of the old type bulbs, thanks to the good old Daily Mail. Even our suppliers had sold out of 100W bulbs by midday. Talk about conservatism (with a small 'c') gone mad.

Barrie