The Incandescent Light Bulb R.I.P. ?

[Dave2]

...that last significantly longer, use less electricity for the same light output.

CFLs die faster than incandescents in my house.

[Pawpaw]

LED Bulbs are vastly superior to CFLs and don't use any mercury

And cost $100 a pop

Where?

I'm buying them for ~$15-20 at Costco, Home Despot, etc. and if there are people buying them for $100, I can make some money!

I'm gradually replacing all the lights here with LEDs, every time I go to Costco.

I'm slowly changing all of mine over to LED too.

For instance, I replaced the 4 halogen PAR38 90W floodlights on the front of my house with these. Each one only burns 20 watts of power, so the 4 LED bulbs burn less electricity that one of the old Halogen bulbs and last FAR longer.

They also put out a much "whiter" light, so they look brighter. My neighbors' lights look yellow, by comparison.

[Keith B]

...that last significantly longer, use less electricity for the same light output.

CFLs die faster than incandescents in my house.

My in-laws house has issues with CFL's in the older section. The wiring there is older cloth braided 2-conductor (hot and neutral only) NM Romex. There is enough induced current in a switch leg that the bulbs will actually 'flash' periodically when the switch is off. This is caused by the capacitor used as a ballast being charged up and once it hits a peak it discharges and causes the bulb to flash. With 3-wire (hot, neutral and ground) the ground helps prevent the induced current and doesn't cause the issue. I was able to fix one of the rooms by switching the hot leg (the proper way it should be wired anyway) and replacing the switch. The other room has a ceiling fan and I didn't pull it, and a new switch didn't fix the issue. There is no issue with the halogens or LED bulbs, and no problem with CFL's in the newer parts of the home.

[jimlongley]

Working at Home Depot, I deal with people looking for incandescents and have to explain that the govt has mandated that they cannot use them any more.

I have been switching to LEDs for years, long before they were commonly available and were relatively expensive.

[Jumping Frog]

...that last significantly longer, use less electricity for the same light output.

CFLs die faster than incandescents in my house.

My in-laws house has issues with CFL's in the older section. The wiring there is older cloth braided 2-conductor (hot and neutral only) NM Romex. There is enough induced current in a switch leg that the bulbs will actually 'flash' periodically when the switch is off. This is caused by the capacitor used as a ballast being charged up and once it hits a peak it discharges and causes the bulb to flash. With 3-wire (hot, neutral and ground) the ground helps prevent the induced current and doesn't cause the issue. I was able to fix one of the rooms by switching the hot leg (the proper way it should be wired anyway) and replacing the switch. The other room has a ceiling fan and I didn't pull it, and a new switch didn't fix the issue. There is no issue with the halogens or LED bulbs, and no problem with CFL's in the newer parts of the home.

That is one way CFL bulb life is shortened.

Another way is voltage fluctuations. If you see the lights or TV in your house flicker, bulb life was just shortened.

[LAYGO]

Not only uses less energy, but the CFL/LED bulbs make better use of the energy consumed, where as an incandescent bulb converts about 95% (!!!!) of it's energy as heat, not light.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Incandescent_light_bulb" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Incandescent bulbs are much less efficient than most other types of lighting; most incandescent bulbs convert less than 5% of the energy they use into visible light[1] (with the remaining energy being converted into heat).

[talltex]

Working at Home Depot, I deal with people looking for incandescents and have to explain that the govt has mandated that they cannot use them any more.

I have been switching to LEDs for years, long before they were commonly available and were relatively expensive.

The government has mandated that they will not be available for sale...but if you have'em, you can use'em. I don't really care much, but my wife does...she hates flourescents, and over the last year or so has been buying up cases of incandescents and we probably have enough stockpiled in one of my storage facilities to last us many, many years.

[Dave2]

...that last significantly longer, use less electricity for the same light output.

CFLs die faster than incandescents in my house.

My in-laws house has issues with CFL's in the older section. The wiring there is older cloth braided 2-conductor (hot and neutral only) NM Romex. There is enough induced current in a switch leg that the bulbs will actually 'flash' periodically when the switch is off. This is caused by the capacitor used as a ballast being charged up and once it hits a peak it discharges and causes the bulb to flash. With 3-wire (hot, neutral and ground) the ground helps prevent the induced current and doesn't cause the issue. I was able to fix one of the rooms by switching the hot leg (the proper way it should be wired anyway) and replacing the switch. The other room has a ceiling fan and I didn't pull it, and a new switch didn't fix the issue. There is no issue with the halogens or LED bulbs, and no problem with CFL's in the newer parts of the home.

The house was built in the 80s, so no 2-wire circuits. The lights do flicker... We've got voltage meters on several circuits, and the (slow) fluctuations track pretty well with expected demand (i.e. the voltage is lower during the day in summer when all the ACs are on).

[txglock21]

I've learned more about light bulbs on this thread than I think I ever wanted to know.

[psijac]

Not only uses less energy, but the CFL/LED bulbs make better use of the energy consumed, where as an incandescent bulb converts about 95% (!!!!) of it's energy as heat, not light.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Incandescent_light_bulb" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Incandescent bulbs are much less efficient than most other types of lighting; most incandescent bulbs convert less than 5% of the energy they use into visible light[1] (with the remaining energy being converted into heat).

A city in Canada converted all their stop lights into high efficiency LED lights. Everything was great until the first snow. The LEDs produced so little heat that snow iced over the lights and no one could see what light they had

[sjfcontrol]

The electronics in CFLs and LED bulbs injects noise on the power lines that can interfere with X-10 communications in smart-homes. This requires the use of filters to keep automatic lighting (and other) systems operational.

Yes, X-10 is an old technology, but still commonly used when ALC (Alternate Line Control) systems are not available.

Also, some of those CFL bulbs can interfere with IR remote controls.

[Keith B]

The house was built in the 80s, so no 2-wire circuits. The lights do flicker... We've got voltage meters on several circuits, and the (slow) fluctuations track pretty well with expected demand (i.e. the voltage is lower during the day in summer when all the ACs are on).

If voltage is not staying consistent, you may have an issue on the distribution transformer outside of your home. You should not see any major fluctuations (dimming of lights, etc) on your system other than individual circuits in the house if you apply a load like an iron or toaster coming on, and that should be just a momentary dimming then back to normal.

If you have aerial power lines see if your voltage fluctuates with the wind blowing. If underground and you see swings in the voltage, then it may be when your neighbors pull a load. If this is happening it could be related to a loose or improper earth ground a the transformer not keeping the phases balanced between sides. Call your electric distribution provider (Oncor, etc.) and ask them to check it out as these swings can cause all kinds of damage to your electronic and other electrical devices in the house.

[jmra]

The house was built in the 80s, so no 2-wire circuits. The lights do flicker... We've got voltage meters on several circuits, and the (slow) fluctuations track pretty well with expected demand (i.e. the voltage is lower during the day in summer when all the ACs are on).

If voltage is not staying consistent, you may have an issue on the distribution transformer outside of your home. You should not see any major fluctuations (dimming of lights, etc) on your system other than individual circuits in the house if you apply a load like an iron or toaster coming on, and that should be just a momentary dimming then back to normal.

If you have aerial power lines see if your voltage fluctuates with the wind blowing. If underground and you see swings in the voltage, then it may be when your neighbors pull a load. If this is happening it could be related to a loose or improper earth ground a the transformer not keeping the phases balanced between sides. Call your electric distribution provider (Oncor, etc.) and ask them to check it out as these swings can cause all kinds of damage to your electronic and other electrical devices in the house.

Had this issue at my house. When I finally got the power company to come check it they found the transformer housing full of ants and the neutral line loose at the transformer.

[VMI77]

...that last significantly longer, use less electricity for the same light output.

Light bulbs account for a very tiny amount of the electricity you consume. The efficiency of these bulbs no where near pay for the increased cost, and having used them myself I've seen very little of the promised longevity.