Compact flourescent light bulbs
May 21st, 2007 by KenricBut that’s not why I use them. Here in Phoenix, the last thing I need in my house are a bunch of incandescent light bulbs producing more heat when it’s 110 degrees outside. The AC units are working hard enough without you giving your home additional heat sources.
If you have recessed lights you know how the heat from them seem to cast down on you like a McDonald’s french fry heat lamp. I changed out all of mine to CF’s as soon as I moved in. I mention this because the new house is recessed lighting happy and Home Depot has a great sale on compact flourescent bulbs this week.
The ones on sale are the Nvision 14w bulb 4 packs. They are $3.97 each, so each bulb is $1.00. (Disclaimer: I don’t know how long the sale is)
I use the spiral ones even for my recessed lights. It looks a little goofy, but the flood lamp type of CFs are alot more expensive. You also have to remember that these cheap ones don’t work with dimmers, you may getting a buzzing sounds from them if you put them on circuits with dimmers.
| While I’m at it, I might as well recommend the Dynamo LED handcrank flashlight. I got one for Christmas and this thing is great for the car. I also got a handcrank solar powered radio/flashlight and a dog leash/flashlight/radio combo but that’s another story. The heat in Phoenix brings the car insides to over 150 degrees with drains normal batteries on my flashlight real quickly. So this thing is great cause it never runs out of juice! The light you get from a few cranks is bright enough. This is what I’d want if I was stranded somewhere. I bet I could take this apart and rig it to power to my cell phone. Hmmm, interesting thought, I may have to try this on an old phone now. |
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Stumble it!
I’ve found that Ikea carries some smaller-sized CF bulbs that fit in fixtures where the ones I find at Lowe’s and Home Depot don’t.
By Shaun on May 21, 2007
In Northern California, Costco has a great rebate deal on packages of 8 Phillips 60 watt equivalent mini twists (Marathon bulbs). With the manufacturers’s $8.00 rebate, the price is $3.19 for 8 of them. That’s $0.40 each, plus the tax on the additional $8.00 (tax is paid on the pre-rebate price). The price comes to just over $0.48 per bulb.
Can’t find any CF’s with candelabra bases for the fixtures that use them, and the Phillips bulbs don’t work outside unless they are well-protected from the weather.
By Another Investor on May 21, 2007
Ikea has ones with candelabra bases. Look here I especially like theirs because they have a rubber coating over the glass - I don’t worry so much about them breaking when the knock against something.
By Shaun on May 21, 2007
The CF candelbra bulbs are still too expensive to make them cost effective. You actually will lose money on them if you swap out all your incandescents.
The cheapest I saw them was on Ebay for $3 a piece. That’s $30 to replace my living room chandelier and a light I hardly use.
By Kenric on May 21, 2007
I just bought some of those CFL light bulbs and they work great. They are really saving me a lot of money and they last so long. I like how small they are too.
By Rita on Aug 13, 2008