Author Topic: 100W bulbs? (Read 7224 times)

Polar Bear · « **Reply #25 on:** 04 August, 2009, 06:28:39 pm »

Wonders of the telegizmotalkything

Polar Bear · « **Reply #26 on:** 04 August, 2009, 06:38:30 pm »

More CFL candle-ickery

Interesting reading too.

rae · « **Reply #27 on:** 05 August, 2009, 07:35:04 am »

Commercial lighting suppliers have them, industrial estate electrical places too. I've used these chaps in the past:

Ordinary Light Bulbs @ Commercial Lamp Supplies Ltd

Biggsy · « **Reply #28 on:** 05 August, 2009, 08:12:34 am »

Loads of online dealers have them, but not at the low prices I was paying at supermarkets and Wilko, and that's even before postage.

I might try industrial estates, and will try some more corner shops! Thanks.

rae · « **Reply #29 on:** 05 August, 2009, 08:40:18 am »

Blimey, I thought 46p a bulb was OK....how much did Wilkos charge?

Biggsy · « **Reply #30 on:** 05 August, 2009, 09:20:49 am »

Quote from: rae on 05 August, 2009, 08:40:18 am

Blimey, I thought 46p a bulb was OK....how much did Wilkos charge?

99p for a pack of several.

CLS charge £7.76 (inc VAT) for postage.

Wombat · « **Reply #31 on:** 05 August, 2009, 01:00:25 pm »

Do not forget the difference between inexpensive and cheap, however.

Cheap often equals expensive in the longer term, as cheap usually equals rubbish which doesn't last 5 minutes. Think Argos 2 wheeled bicycle shaped object, here....

Biggsy · « **Reply #32 on:** 05 August, 2009, 01:23:40 pm »

The cheapest bulbs I used lasted half as long as major-brand ones, but cost less than half as much. So they were inexpensive as well

citoyen · « **Reply #33 on:** 02 September, 2009, 11:28:05 am »

Revolt! Robbed of their right to buy traditional light bulbs, millions are clearing shelves of last supplies | Mail Online

I feel really sorry for all those people who get "ill" from CFLs. What's going to happen when their panic-bought stockpiles of incandescent bulbs finally run out? They'll probably die!!! OMG!!!!!

d.

nuttycyclist · « **Reply #34 on:** 02 September, 2009, 11:55:35 am »

The re-appearance of this thread reminds me that I must go out and stock up on proper bulbs before the manufacturing ban /whatever extends on from the 100W bulbs to the lower rated ones.

Quote from: PhilO on 04 August, 2009, 12:34:48 pm

Quote from: nuttycyclist on 04 August, 2009, 11:54:54 am
As a result I'm now sitting in too much light*

If you want mood lighting, get mood lighting. Put a standard lamp or table lamp in a corner, switch that on and the main lamps out. Simples.

...

Last night I was at my parents, who do have "mood lighting".

At home we have one central ceiling light, which looks great and takes 6 bulbs - we use 25W candle bulbs. This gives us a range of between 0 and 150W. It lights the room perfectly at all brightnesses as the lamp is in the centre of the ceiling.

At my parents they turned out the feeble power saving laugh, and instead put on the table lamps for "mood lighting". Because these are in the corners of the room, and have shades (who wants to look at a naked bulb?) they are quite dim (albeit a pretty colour). As a result the room was very dark, with some bright patches, but the overall power consumption was much higher than our single dimmed light at home.

This is the exact reason we no longer use these standard lamps at home. I worked out once that in order to have a dimly lit room we had over 100W worth of table lamps powered up, and additional candles, all to just supplement the light being thrown out from the telly. Instead it is so much easier to just take the single central light (which in our case is max 150W split across six bulbs) and adjust it down to the brightness required.

Biggsy · « **Reply #35 on:** 02 September, 2009, 11:58:27 am »

I doubt I will die when my stockpile of Osram 100W bulbs* runs out - I'll just have to use crappy bulbs, unless a better alternative has been invented by then.

Actually I do already use several of the crappy bulbs - where I don't need the brightness of a traditional 100W

* Thanks to BHS @ 50p each.

Morrisette · « **Reply #36 on:** 02 September, 2009, 01:49:04 pm »

Are they going to stop making ALL filament bulbs, or just the standard 'light bulb shaped' ones?

I would gladly use energy bulbs in all my light fittings if the companies made them to fit. Our kitchen has one of those spotlight thingumies, and there is ONE shape of bulb that will fit in it. I haven't been able to find an energy bulb in that shape for less than 12 pounds EACH - and it needs 4. How will this save me money again??

Come on Osram, Philips et al. - just make energy bulbs the same shape and physical size as the old-style ones. Can't be that hard, surely???

rogerzilla · « **Reply #37 on:** 03 September, 2009, 06:45:13 am »

You can buy halogen bulbs instead. They're about 40% more efficient and the same size. Osram and Philips make them, and they haven't been banned. They also last a lot longer - we use them on the landing and the hall.

andygates · « **Reply #38 on:** 03 September, 2009, 09:57:10 am »

I love how the Mail makes it a "right" and "traditional" thing to have crappy old wasteful bulbs.

Biggsy · « **Reply #39 on:** 03 September, 2009, 10:37:25 am »

I've only seen clear halogen bulbs, which don't replace pearl bulbs if you want the same appearance and effect.

I hate the Daily Wail and I am in favour of using less wasteful bulbs, but have still yet to find a direct replacement for a bog standard 100W pearl bulb. The ban was premature. Invent a decent replacement THEN ban the old bulbs. That would have been the sensible way round.

nuttycyclist · « **Reply #40 on:** 03 September, 2009, 11:37:41 am »

How long are these CFLs supposed to last?

I'd run out of the 25W candle bulbs so popped in some CFLs less than 2 months ago simply because they were in the cupboard (thanks to the energy company dumping them through the letterbox).

Got home last night, turned on the light, flicker flicker flicker, turned light off again.

I'm glad I didn't pay the outrageous CFL prices in the shop. Proper bulbs last much more than 2 months.

clarion · « **Reply #41 on:** 03 September, 2009, 11:40:04 am »

Dunno what you're doing with them - they usually last for aaaaaages.

mrcharly-YHT · « **Reply #42 on:** 03 September, 2009, 11:43:05 am »

He's nutty. His car uses less fuel when driven fast, cfls burn out faster than tungsten, etc.

How long should they last? If you don't have dodgy fittings and power, years. Years and years and years.

PhilO · « **Reply #43 on:** 03 September, 2009, 11:46:23 am »

Quote from: clarion on 03 September, 2009, 11:40:04 am

Dunno what you're doing with them...

Yes you do. He's said upthread - fitting them to dimmer switches.

I've used CFLs exclusively for... er... about 8 or 9 years now. I've replaced 1 in that time - about 3 months ago.

nuttycyclist · « **Reply #44 on:** 03 September, 2009, 11:58:07 am »

These ones aren't on a dimmer. I had to move bulbs around to get the only proper ones in dimmers and these piles of poo of the non-dimmer lights.

As for dodgy fittings and power - the house was re-wired completely (and not by me

) in the last 10 years. I have the certificate to prove it conforms to the regulations.

Morrisette · « **Reply #45 on:** 03 September, 2009, 12:02:38 pm »

We had 2 free CFL bulbs that blew up - sent them back to the company and they sent us some more which seem fine - maybe a batch of dodgy ones is out there somewhere? BTW when I say blew up I really mean that - big sparky, smoky explosion and the bulb fell out of the fitting....very safe

but like I say I think they were from a dodgy batch.

Bledlow · « **Reply #46 on:** 03 September, 2009, 01:57:38 pm »

Quote from: nuttycyclist on 03 September, 2009, 11:37:41 am

How long are these CFLs supposed to last?

I'd run out of the 25W candle bulbs so popped in some CFLs less than 2 months ago simply because they were in the cupboard (thanks to the energy company dumping them through the letterbox).

Got home last night, turned on the light, flicker flicker flicker, turned light off again.

I'm glad I didn't pay the outrageous CFL prices in the shop. Proper bulbs last much more than 2 months.

I have some which have been in use since a previous millennium. Mine all last for years. What are you doing to them? Is this the Curse of Nutty?

Bledlow · « **Reply #47 on:** 03 September, 2009, 02:02:39 pm »

Quote from: nuttycyclist on 02 September, 2009, 11:55:35 am

At my parents they turned out the feeble power saving laugh, and instead put on the table lamps for "mood lighting". Because these are in the corners of the room, and have shades (who wants to look at a naked bulb?) they are quite dim (albeit a pretty colour). As a result the room was very dark, with some bright patches, but the overall power consumption was much higher than our single dimmed light at home.

This is the exact reason we no longer use these standard lamps at home. I worked out once that in order to have a dimly lit room we had over 100W worth of table lamps powered up, and additional candles, all to just supplement the light being thrown out from the telly. Instead it is so much easier to just take the single central light (which in our case is max 150W split across six bulbs) and adjust it down to the brightness required.

Why don't you & your parents put energy-saving bulbs in the little lamps? Then you'll be using even less power, & get the mood lighting - which, BTW, isn't a matter of dim light from a central fitting, but a function of the distribution of the light sources.

nuttycyclist · « **Reply #48 on:** 03 September, 2009, 02:22:43 pm »

My main reason for wanting to dim just the central light is that it dims the room down to whatever is a comfortable brightness.

Using small lamps throughout the room is a pain as
1) you end up with a lamp on each and every surface available
2) the room is then full of bright and dark patches. It is very tricky to get an even glow throughout the room when using individual lights.

citoyen · « **Reply #49 on:** 03 September, 2009, 02:33:04 pm »

Quote from: nuttycyclist on 03 September, 2009, 02:22:43 pm

It is very tricky to get an even glow throughout the room when using individual lights.

Do you really need to light the whole room like that? I think excessive lighting is one of those things we've all got used to over the years, simply because it's been so easily available. Perhaps we should all just learn to make do with a bit less light, as people before us managed successfully for thousands of years.

You know, in the interests of saving the planet and all that. Notwithstanding that it's probably too little too late anyway.

d.