Incandescent light bulbs

trumpets3u
trumpets3u Solar Expert Posts: 35 ✭✭✭
With the Incandescent light bulbs not being sold in the USA after 2014 has anyone seen a bulb replacement for refrigerators and stoves? The way Cf starts in the cold I hope there will be a better bulb by then.
Brian

Comments

  • mike95490
    mike95490 Solar Expert Posts: 9,583 ✭✭✭✭✭
    Re: Incandescent light bulbs

    Try the LED bulbs, I went into my fridge with a UV flashlightm and it was very different !
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  • BB.
    BB. Super Moderators, Administrators Posts: 33,431 admin
    Re: Incandescent light bulbs

    I think the Halogen Filament Bulbs (regular lamps with a halogen envelope inside) are still "approved"... You just have to pay a whole bunch more for them. :roll:

    -Bill
    Near San Francisco California: 3.5kWatt Grid Tied Solar power system+small backup genset
  • n3qik
    n3qik Solar Expert Posts: 741 ✭✭
    Re: Incandescent light bulbs

    Well the world is going to end Dec. 2012, so I would not worry about it. But if we are still here in 2014, I think LED is/will be the way to go. 80% of my lights are LED.
  • Cariboocoot
    Cariboocoot Banned Posts: 17,615 ✭✭✭
    Re: Incandescent light bulbs

    One question: how well are LED's going to stand up to being inside an oven heated to 500F?
  • n3qik
    n3qik Solar Expert Posts: 741 ✭✭
    Re: Incandescent light bulbs

    Not well, as most solders melt around 360 deg.
  • blackswan555
    blackswan555 Solar Expert Posts: 246 ✭✭
    Re: Incandescent light bulbs

    I find CFL`s to be a joke, A high % of their light emitting surface is facing itself, And as for energy saving, That depends on which set of numbers you read, try doing Volts x Amps
    If you work in VA as we do, A 20w CFL will actually "pull" 36 VA (translates to watts the way we work) It costs more, has nasty (er) chemicals & is a horrible light to work by, give me 40w incan vs a 20w CFL in 99% of applications.
    Have a good one
    Tim
    PS when the new Smart meters are installed, I wonder what they meter in ? VA by any chance ?:D
  • icarus
    icarus Solar Expert Posts: 5,436 ✭✭✭✭
    Re: Incandescent light bulbs
    I find CFL`s to be a joke, A high % of their light emitting surface is facing itself, And as for energy saving, That depends on which set of numbers you read, try doing Volts x Amps
    If you work in VA as we do, A 20w CFL will actually "pull" 36 VA (translates to watts the way we work) It costs more, has nasty (er) chemicals & is a horrible light to work by, give me 40w incan vs a 20w CFL in 99% of applications.
    Have a good one
    Tim
    PS when the new Smart meters are installed, I wonder what they meter in ? VA by any chance ?:D

    Me thinks you just haven't used good CFLs : http://www.nolico.com/saveenergy/products.htm

    Tony
  • russ
    russ Solar Expert Posts: 593 ✭✭
    Re: Incandescent light bulbs not being sold in the US

    As İ understand, incandescent bulbs will be sold in the US - though they will have to be more efficient and more efficient models are coming on the market.

    Quote from Energy Star, 'It’s not entirely correct to say "CFLs will be required" or “incandescents will be phased out” because the standards set by the bill are technology neutral, and by 2012, a next generation of incandescent bulbs could satisfy the 30% increased efficiency. There are also other lighting technologies, such as halogen and LEDs that will be able to meet the new requirements and are expected to both increase in performance and drop in cost over the next few years.'

    Further, 'There are many types of incandescent bulbs that are exempt from this law:
    --any kind of specialty light (ie. bulb in refrigerator)
    --reflector bulbs
    --3-way bulbs
    --candelabras
    --globes
    --shatter resistant
    --vibration service
    --rough service
    --colored bulbs (i.e. "party bulbs")
    --bug lights
    --plant lights

    The law applies to the sale of bulbs, not the use of existing stock of bulbs.'
  • Kamala
    Kamala Solar Expert Posts: 452 ✭✭
    Re: Incandescent light bulbs

    That's quite a lengthy litany of specialties!
  • russ
    russ Solar Expert Posts: 593 ✭✭
    Re: Incandescent light bulbs

    A lengthy list of exceptions but İ expect those amount to a very small fraction of all incandescent lamps sold.

    The big points are that in the US:

    1) İncandescents are not being outlawed - but being required to be more efficient

    2) The locations where the other types of lamps are not suitable are not being touched.

    Has anyone heard of induction lamps?
  • nvyseal
    nvyseal Solar Expert Posts: 108 ✭✭✭✭
    Re: Incandescent light bulbs

    Has anyone noticed that CFL's lose their brightness after a year or so of usage or is it just me? I swear my lights used to be brighter. I'm not talking about when you just turn them on, but even after an hour of usage they seem to be not as bright :confused:
  • BB.
    BB. Super Moderators, Administrators Posts: 33,431 admin
    Re: Incandescent light bulbs

    Commercial lamps (as I understand) are defined to be "failed" when their output falls to 50% of rated lumen.

    Our eyes perceive light in a "logarithmic" function--so it ends up that a factor of 2 (or 1/2) is barely perceptible by us humans (pretty much you have to do an A/B test to see a 1/2 or 2x difference in light output).

    On the other hand, a factor of 1/10 (or 10x) is a huge difference where the brighter source will overwhelm the dimmer source...

    Set up a light meter (or even a small solar cell connected to an amp meter) and measure the light output (solar cell current is linearly proportional to amount of energy on the face of the cell)... This setup should be accurate enough for you to compare between times of use, lamps, and over a year fairly nicely.
    BB. wrote: »
    Here is a simple build it yourself solar power measurement meter:

    Micro Circuits Labs do-it-yourself solar irradiance meter

    He also sells data loggers and kits to build your own data logger:

    Micro Circuits Labs

    And he has a nice section on how solar panels/power works:

    Solar Power Basics

    -Bill
    Near San Francisco California: 3.5kWatt Grid Tied Solar power system+small backup genset
  • nvyseal
    nvyseal Solar Expert Posts: 108 ✭✭✭✭
    Re: Incandescent light bulbs
    BB. wrote: »
    Commercial lamps (as I understand) are defined to be "failed" when their output falls to 50% of rated lumen.

    Our eyes perceive light in a "logarithmic" function--so it ends up that a factor of 2 (or 1/2) is barely perceptible by us humans (pretty much you have to do an A/B test to see a 1/2 or 2x difference in light output).

    On the other hand, a factor of 1/10 (or 10x) is a huge difference where the brighter source will overwhelm the dimmer source...

    Set up a light meter (or even a small solar cell connected to an amp meter) and measure the light output (solar cell current is linearly proportional to amount of energy on the face of the cell)... This setup should be accurate enough for you to compare between times of use, lamps, and over a year fairly nicely.



    -Bill

    BB, do you work for mythbusters? 8) ;)
  • JESSICA
    JESSICA Solar Expert Posts: 289 ✭✭
    Re: Incandescent light bulbs
    n3qik wrote: »
    Well the world is going to end Dec. 2012, so I would not worry about it. But if we are still here in 2014, I think LED is/will be the way to go. 80% of my lights are LED.

    I have read that LEDs, though relatively expensive, are not long-lasting.
    Is that true?
  • BB.
    BB. Super Moderators, Administrators Posts: 33,431 admin
    Re: Incandescent light bulbs

    The White LEDs are typically made with a Blue LED and some phosphors that supply the Red.

    The problem with simple white LEDs is that the standard LED is encased in plastic with a very light weight lead frame--and they have very little way to dissipate heat.

    After a few hundred hours, most of these less expensive type LED's output drops by 1/2 or more. If you look closely, you can see discoloration in the plastic, around the lead frame, or in the phosphors.

    The more expensive LED's (CREE and such) with big metal heat sinks (or ways to attach to metal heat sinks) are supposed to last longer--But I would only buy one or two of them to test before I laid out a bunch of cash to replace all of the lights in my home.

    I would even recommend building / buying a light meter and setup a standard test where you could measure performance over months/years of use and determine if they are lasting. Failure would be when they lose 1/2 or more of their output.

    -Bill
    Near San Francisco California: 3.5kWatt Grid Tied Solar power system+small backup genset
  • peakbagger
    peakbagger Solar Expert Posts: 341 ✭✭✭
    Re: Incandescent light bulbs

    My experience with LED replacements has been less than great. I got a pile of name brand LED (sylvania) strip lights for some home decor but ended up using them for an under desk light (sort of like a kitched cabinet light. To date, I have six failed units in less than a year. I disected one and determined that they are wired in series so if one LED goes, the whole string goes.
  • niel
    niel Solar Expert Posts: 10,300 ✭✭✭✭
    Re: Incandescent light bulbs

    i too have had white led failures, but it's due to a thermal runaway situation as it gets hotter it draws more current and dissipates more heat and draws more current and this keeps going on a slow scale. if one could hold or regulate the current to be constant then they will last longer. being physically able to dissipate the heat is a problem too as you don't want to encapsulate it that heat can't escape very well.
  • RandomJoe
    RandomJoe Solar Expert Posts: 472 ✭✭✭
    Re: Incandescent light bulbs
    nvyseal wrote: »
    Has anyone noticed that CFL's lose their brightness after a year or so of usage or is it just me? I swear my lights used to be brighter. I'm not talking about when you just turn them on, but even after an hour of usage they seem to be not as bright :confused:

    Most of the CFLs in my house aren't noticeably dimmer after a couple years, but there are a few. I have an admittedly tiny sample set, of course, but the ones that are dimmer fall in two categories:

    1) Lamps that are seldom used, and then only on a short time. These are "somewhat" dimmer - but it is noticeable. It isn't just warmup time, even after being on a while they are still not as bright as others.

    2) Worst are lamps that are in completely enclosed fixtures presumably because they get hotter. Especially bad is one that's in a "bathroom vent" fixture (it's in a closet, not a bathroom) and I assume this one has gotten worst because the fixture is recessed so the bulb probably gets exposed to the heat of the attic during the summer. (The CFLs I bought said they were rated for enclosed fixtures, and none have failed, but they are "dimmer".)

    The "workhorse" CFLs in the living room are in torchiere-style floor lamps - the buibs are completely open to the ceiling, just a diffuser below them. They run continuously many hours every day, and are still going strong although one or two take a little longer to warm up to full brightness.

    These are all 60W-equivalent. I bought four 100W-equiv (25W) CFLs in the beginning, and three of the four died relatively quickly - a couple rather spectacularly! The fourth sees very little use, but is still working. In contrast, some of the smaller ones are now near 4 years old. I had one dead out of the box, and one other (of 25-30 total) that has died since.

    A qualifier, though - I've never had any real trouble with *incandescents* either. I still have some of those in the bathrooms that were there when I bought the house over 6 years ago. Never did get why some people seem to have bulbs (of any type) dying every six months!
  • peterako
    peterako Solar Expert Posts: 144 ✭✭
    Re: Incandescent light bulbs

    I am using 90% LED lights in my house. Most of them are made by Philhps or Osram, using cree led plus heat sink as standard bulb replacement. all running from 230V AC using internal electronic to adjust voltage current.
    I am very happy using these if if theprice is high.

    I am also using light strips ( from ikea - home market) these are china production and there if seen and measured a 15% degrease in light the first month of use there energy use is 0,8W so i do not think it is overheating but more a bad plastic used that colours.

    Greetings from greece8)