energy-efficient light bulbs FYI

[skaterbabscpst]

http://www.ccrane.com/lights/led-light-bulbs/index.aspx

For those of you interested in an alternative to the compact flourecents. these are LED lightbulbs. While VERY expensive, they last longer than CFs, don't contain mercury , and use even less electricity. Whether this particular place is the best place to buy them, I don't know. We haven't had the funds to order any yet, but we're going to replace ours one at the time.

I personally do not like the CFs for a variety of reasons, not the least of which is that they explode with force when they break. (Which I learned the hard way when the kids broke a bulb!)

[groovymom2000]

I have been looking into this some--I really want to change most of the bulbs in our house over to LED. I think I am going to try one or two and see--what I got from the research that I had been doing, though, is that as of right now, they really aren't bright enough for general room lighting. They also tend to focus the light in one beam--kind of like a spot light. So, if you installed one in a lamp, it would shoot the beam of light straight up toward the ceiling, as opposed to spreading it around and down. Does that make any sense? I definitely want to try some, though. Thanks for posting that, b/c it reminded me!
We've already switched most of our Xmas lights over--now those are cool.

[skaterbabscpst]

From what I've read, there are newer LED lights that provide a broader beam, more suitable for general usage. The review I read said it took some research to find the bulb that works best for a particular application (general vs task lighting), but the quality of the light is better.

[southpawboston]

right now we have 90% of the bulbs in our house switched over to CF. the electric company was subsidizing the purchase of new CF bulbs to help promote energy efficiency. new bulbs only cost us $0.99. so for us, switching to CF was a no brainer. we use about 1/4 of the electricity we used previously to light our house. the only two bulbs we haven't replaced are on dimmer circuits. neither CF nor LED can work with dimmer circuits. :( we're really into dimmers :)

i would have no problems switching to LED, but i don't think they're ready for prime time just yet. from what i've read thus far, they consume even less energy than CF, they last longer, they don't contain mercury, and they are more environmentally friendly to produce (and dispose) as well. all good things. but like the PP said, most LED lights at this point still have too narrow a beam angle and tend to focus the light. the quality of the light is strange too... it's not as broad a spectrum as incandescent or CF.

LED lights for bikes have become the standard. i have a *super* bright headlight on my bike, and two small AA batteries allow it to work for something like 100 hours! (i'm something of a bike-light freak-- headlight, taillight, and helmet light... all blinking!)

once they resolve the wavelength spectrum problem and the beam angle problem and the costs comes down, i'll do the switch. but until then, CF still seems to be the most cost-effective way to save energy.

[joolsplus3]

My mom's got a houseful of LED's and they are COOL! (haha, literally and figuratively).

I'm not entirely thrilled with my CF's currently, so they are next on my list (I'm totally bummed, I was an early adopter of LED xmas lights a couple years back, and they are way more dim than the current new ones I saw at target last week :P)

[groovymom2000]

Cool...Time to do some more research. I got my Xmas lights last year, and they are pretty bright. The price has really dropped in the past few years, as well. Definitely going to change our nightlight bulbs over to LED. SPB--that's a bummer about the dimmer circuits--I would love to change out my bedroom bulbs, but they are on a dimmer---I guess I could change out the dimmer to a regular.....

[heathernick06]

Wow, LEDs are expensive. The only bulbs we have in our house are CFs, and we aren't allowed to change them (military housing). But I do think they make a big difference because we get a $20-$30 refund on our utilities, and our electric bill is only about $15 a month, so I'm pretty happy with the CFs.

[southpawboston]

I would love to change out my bedroom bulbs, but they are on a dimmer---I guess I could change out the dimmer to a regular.....

oh, the CF bulbs will work on a dimmer, but only with the dimmer all the way bright :), like a regular switch. if you try to dim the circuit, they begin to flicker violently then just shut off.

[jen_nah]

We have been slowly switching over to CF bulbs in our house. We are about 50% there. We have been switching over when the old bulbs burn out.

I didn't know that CF didn't work on dimmers but good to know. We only have 1 fan that is on a dimmer but it takes a special build that I am not sure is available in CF just yet anyways.

[joolsplus3]

oh, the CF bulbs will work on a dimmer, but only with the dimmer all the way bright :), like a regular switch. if you try to dim the circuit, they begin to flicker violently then just shut off.
LOL, yeah, we accidentally have one in a dimmer lamp... it could give you a seizure if you don't turn it all the way up.:o

[southpawboston]

LOL, yeah, we accidentally have one in a dimmer lamp... it could give you a seizure if you don't turn it all the way up.:o

exactly! :dizzy:

[skaterbabscpst]

We flat refuse to use the CF bulbs after having just ONE break. Sorrt, my kids have enough trouble without dealing with mercury poisoning to save a few bucks on electricity.

Just not worth it. We'll use standard bulbs until we can get completely switched over to the LEDs. :twocents:

[joolsplus3]

Can't say I blame you at all! Ours are the floodlights in cans in the ceiling, FTMP, not a bunch of breakage risk (though Leah's my little danger baby, she'll find a way to pull the living room lamps down..I should probably deal with those bulbs before she does :p)

[Morganthe]

I've used primarily cf's since Germany. It doesn't make any sense in the summer time to pull down the rolladens on the HUGE living room windows to keep it tolerable, then have the heat from lightbulbs raising the temperature. :o

TBH, there's not a lot to choose from on the US market in comparison to over there. But supposedly, only about 8% of US households have them vs. over 65% in Germany. They really do help out the electric bill. DH is TERRIBLE about turning out lights. They also keep it cooler in the house during the summer.

With the breakage, I don't really worry about it. So far, one has yet to die in our household. Besides, when I was a young super troop, I discovered regular lightbulbs exploded like a small grenades even when they were burned out. I was in a deserted building acting as enemy ops to the 'good guys'. Freaked everyone out when I started tossing them around from my hiding spot. Took out an entire fire team between the 'grenades' and the time I had to pick out targets while they were in 'shock'. :o

[southpawboston]

there is legislation in the works in the EU to *require* households to use CF or equivalent bulbs. they take energy efficiency very seriously there.

slightly O/T but all the europeans i meet at meetings and conferences tell me one of the first things they notice in the US is how wasteful everyone is... idling cars, taxis and trucks, lights left on just about everywhere, ginormous packaging on consumer goods, etc...

i can understand the mercury concerns during explosion or disposal. is the mercury in the glass bulb section itself or in some other part of the light? i haven't researched that too much.

[skaterbabscpst]

I figure I want to limit the items requiring hazardous waste disposal in my house as much as within my power. As it is, when a standard bulb breaks, the damger is from broken glass. Not broken glass + mercury vapor, and the remains of a dead bulb can be safely tossed in the kitchen trash can.

I think the desire behind CFs is good - reduced energy usage, but I'm not willing to sacrifice my kids for it. And broken bulbs are a very common thing in my house. So if your household doesn't have very many broken bulbs, CFs are certainly an option for you; just don't forget to dispose fo them properly when they burn out.