Energy Saving Light Bulbs? Pah!!

[FatBloke]

I have a drawer full of energy saving light bulbs, usually given to me free by various electricity companies that have supplied us.

They are of various outputs but have one thing in common - the caps are all of the large bayonet type.

Now 20 or 30 years ago that was all you would have found in the typical British household. Nowadays we have a plethora of light fittings with small bayonet caps, small Edison screws and large Edison screws, not to mention the GU10 lights that we use in the bathrooms, kitchen, daughter's bedroom etc. etc.

Nor can they be used in conjunction with dimmer switches or PIRs

More or less the only place we can use them is in our 2 outside lights.

EXCEPT on reading the box, these bulbs are not suitable for use in enclosed fittings!
As our outside lights are, well, outside, they are enclosed fittings.

I'd throw the bloody things away were they not extremely toxic. 

[Chris S]

Indeed.

And you forgot to mention another of their unique properties whereupon first switching them on, they actually make a room go darker for a few minutes.

[clarion]

I like them.

I am a fan of the simplicity of the BC base.

I don't like buying light fittings that have other stuff than BC.

Aaaaand...that's it.

I like them.

[Greenbank]

You can buy adapters from one type of fitting to another, i.e. small bayonet -> large bayonet, etc.

[Woofage]

I like them.

I am a fan of the simplicity of the BC base.

I don't like buying light fittings that have other stuff than BC.

Aaaaand...that's it.

I like them.

What he wrote.

Why not offer them for free here?

[clarion]

You can buy adapters from one type of fitting to another, i.e. small bayonet -> large bayonet, etc.

OK.  You can.

Thing is that they can often be not very good contacts, and can be a bit poor if the bulb is other than vertical, cause a lateral/rotational force can reduce the contact area, and could cause problems (I have seen this).

The other problem is that they will move a lamp outwards, and this may take them away from the ideal point in the luminaire (eg projecting out of the shade, too close to a cover, not in the right point of a reflector etc etc)

But that shouldn't necessarily put you off...

[FatBloke]

Why not offer them for free here?

Postage/packing costs are greater than the value of bulbs.   

[Polar Bear]

What have you got?   I might be tempted to send you enough to cover PP and a pint for yourself... 

[rae]

IMO CFL is history. 

They're actually very consumptive, and the quality often poor - particularly the cheap junk that the power companies send out for free.   Decent quality spirals can actually be quite good. 

Per the LED thread in OT, I've seen the future and it is indeed LED.  GU10s that are indistinguishable from conventional halogen.  GX53s that are better than halogen.   Funky strip lights that are features, not something to be hidden.   All consuming about 30% of the equivalent (but crap) CFL. 

The kitchen is about to go from 600W for ceiling illumination to about 38 - and the lighting quality will be better because I'm going to pack a few more in.   Oh, and the power cut standby device will run the kitchen lights at full chat for about 4 hours when the juice goes off. 

[delthebike]

Lidl have some LEDs coming up next week. Various fittings available. Clicky

[rae]

Lidl have some LEDs coming up next week. Various fittings available. Clicky 

They are the crap ones - not worth the money at all.

[rogerzilla]

Hmmm.

The decent 3W LED GU10s are £30 each, so we'd need four for the kitchen.  Let's say the lights are on for 2 hours a day in there (allowing for summer) and electricity is 12p a unit.

Saving per year compared to halogens = 188W x 2 x 7 x 52 = 137 units = £16.

So it will take 8 years to get your money back (OK, electricity costs will go up, but you have the opportunity cost of the purchase too), and I'd wager the LEDs will fail before that.  GU10 halogens can be had for 99p each if you avoid B&Q, who have funny ideas about their value.

With the 10 MR16s in the bathroom (which would also need new transformers), I might not live to see them pay back.

Even GU10 CFLs at about £10 each have a colossal payback period; the only ones that really save money quickly are ones that cost £2 each and are on for hours and hours each day.

When LEDs are a couple of quid each, they're worth it.

[rae]

Tests have shown that the £22 ones are identical.    You've also said that you don't like the light from the CFLs, but you put up with it for the energy saving.     So you're not comparing like with like.  My working assumption is that the lights are on for 4 hours a day - in the winter it will be far more, in the summer it will drop to two hours.   

So by my calculation they're on for 1460 hours a year - so each bulb saves £8.20 a year, or a scratch under a three year payback if you assume that a cheap GU10 lasts about a year.   

I'm also willing to pay a small risk premium for the ability to cut consumption now without adjusting my lifestyle in the slightest.

[rogerzilla]

The CFL GU10s should go a lot longer than that - well, ours have been in for two years, anyway.

[Mr Larrington]

Wot Fatters said.  I think there's only one bayonet fitting left in Larrington Towers, and that's in the spare bedroom.

Where the ceiling light is switched on about three times a year.

[rafletcher]

  My working assumption is that the lights are on for 4 hours a day - in the winter it will be far more, in the summer it will drop to two hours.   

In a kitchen?? You must live in there I guess.

[rae]

It's a big room, and generally someone is in there - cooking, eating or working.

[cc93]

Getting closer

Just don't ask the price!

[CAMRAMan]

I bought some Lidl LED GU10s a few weeks back and am very disappointed at the performance. The 50W halogens were put back in in seconds.

[rogerzilla]

There are some marginal 3W GU10s available, but they're about £20 each.  A big problem with lamps at this price is that, if one prematurely fails (and they're probably crappily made in China, so they will), any expected savings are wiped out.  Even if a decent CFL (in the £3 price range) gets broken it pains me, because it has a payback period of 5 years or more in some rooms.