CFL Rant

[LD1]

I have some 4' Fluorescent fixtures in my garage, don't like them, especially when it gets cold. What would be an inexpensive LED replacement? i.e. a single 100watt equivalent LED per 2 tube F40 fixtures?

The 100w are lots more expensive. Partly because the electric utilities havent started subsidizing them yet. (at least in my area.) Heck, a 60w is ~$5 but to go to a 75w the price doubles. So it makes more sense to just go with more 60w bulbs.

IF it was mine though, I'd go with 2 60w cree LEDS in place of each fixture. Again, round workbox....30 cents, round porcelain light holder...$1.40, LED $5.

 

[buckeyefarmer]

I think $39 for a 2 tube led. i like them so far.

 

[KubotainNH]

I have some 4' Fluorescent fixtures in my garage, don't like them, especially when it gets cold. What would be an inexpensive LED replacement? i.e. a single 100watt equivalent LED per 2 tube F40 fixtures?

Maybe make your own for cheap? I have a set similar to this one in my kitchen for under top cabinet lighting. One strip and it's good light for the counter. A few strips stuck to the old fluorescent fixture may be quite bright. These guys run on a 12v power supply. I may have to try this myself in my basement. :-D
Amazon.com: TaoTronics® TT-SL001 Waterproof RGB LED Strip Light Kit (16.4ft, 150 LEDs, Color Changing RGB SMD 5050, Dimmable,24K remote & 60w Power Supply): Automotive

 

[dodge man]

I have a couple of comments. I'm going by memory here so it isn't fact. I don't think the government ever banned the old fashioned light bulbs. What they did was ban the old style 100 watt, 75 watt etc. They can make the same old style light bulb a little more efficient, so the wattage is less but it puts out the same light as the older bulbs.

I have a lot of CFL's and I think they last longer and save a lot of power. My complaint is more the warm up time and the color. I like the more yellow color of the older bulbs. You can get this in CFL's but you have to get the correct style and I can never remember what they are called. As far as warm up time, they seem to vary by brand and the color of light.

I also read a study about turning lights off and on, might of even been on myth busters? As I recall, turning lights off and on a lot didn't really affect bulb light that much. It also doesn't take that much more power to start up the CFL's, so if you leave the room for more than a minute, turn the lights off.

 

[bumperm]

Maybe make your own for cheap? I have a set similar to this one in my kitchen for under top cabinet lighting. One strip and it's good light for the counter. A few strips stuck to the old fluorescent fixture may be quite bright. These guys run on a 12v power supply. I may have to try this myself in my basement. :-D
Amazon.com: TaoTronics® TT-SL001 Waterproof RGB LED Strip Light Kit (16.4ft, 150 LEDs, Color Changing RGB SMD 5050, Dimmable,24K remote & 60w Power Supply): Automotive

I buy a lot of stuff on Amazon, but in this case you can do a lot better on eBay. Don't get the RGB (multi color) strip lights, they won't be as bright as the white ones (and you probably don't need party lights in your shop or garage. Do a search on eBay using the words <strip, LED, 5050> (5050 bring the brightest of the commonly available strip or roll LED lights. I've used these to replace the fluorescent lights in my motorhome and they work well for that. In your application, you won't need the waterproof version.

Keep in mind most of these are 12 volt light strips, so if not included you'll need an LED 12 volt DC driver (also inexpensive). You can also get the LED strip lights in 110 volt version, just not sure if that's such a good deal, depending on how the LEDs are wired (whether they are using enough of the LEDs wired in series - efficient, or if they are using larger series current limiting resistors - not so efficient). Best to get the separate LED driver, search <12V DC LED driver> and get the size you need for the amount of wattage the LEDs will dissipate.

 

[KubotainNH]

I buy a lot of stuff on Amazon, but in this case you can do a lot better on eBay. Don't get the RGB (multi color) strip lights, they won't be as bright as the white ones (and you probably don't need party lights in your shop or garage. Do a search on eBay using the words <strip, LED, 5050> (5050 bring the brightest of the commonly available strip or roll LED lights. I've used these to replace the fluorescent lights in my motorhome and they work well for that. In your application, you won't need the waterproof version.

Keep in mind most of these are 12 volt light strips, so if not included you'll need an LED 12 volt DC driver (also inexpensive). You can also get the LED strip lights in 110 volt version, just not sure if that's such a good deal, depending on how the LEDs are wired (whether they are using enough of the LEDs wired in series - efficient, or if they are using larger series current limiting resistors - not so efficient). Best to get the separate LED driver, search <12V DC LED driver> and get the size you need for the amount of wattage the LEDs will dissipate.

Yep, that was the quickest and easiest link I could find. The last set I bought had a dimmer and only one light output. I didn't even realize these do multi-color, that's kinda funny. I like the ones that put out light like incandescent bulbs, I think those are labeled warm white. These are closer to what I bought.

Amazon.com: SUPERNIGHT (TM) Warm White LED Strip Light Ribbon Plug-To-Use Kit, 5M or 16.4ft, SMD 5050, Waterproof 300 LEDs, With 12V 5A Transformer/Power Supply and Dimmer: Home Improvement

5 Meter Reel Warm White 3100k Flexible LED Ribbon 300 Leds 16 Ft with Inline Dimmer and Plu-In Transformer By Ledwholesalers, 2026WW-Kit - Led Household Light Bulbs - Amazon.com

Hitlights SMD3528 LED Light Strip Kit Includes Dimmer Power Adapter | eBay

 

[Bird]

I noticed that the LED bulbs at Walmart have some labelled as "dimmable" and some labelled "non-dimmable". I bought a $15.88 75 watt that was labelled as dimmable to try in a 3-way lamp. My wife does like the amount of light it puts out, but in that 3-way lamp, one click does nothing, second and third click turn on the light, but I can't tell there's any difference, and of course the fourth click turns it off.

 

[bcp]

A 3-way socket does not dim the light, but is a selector switch. It selects either or both of two elements in the bulb, and requires two center electrical contacts, besides the threads.

The bulb may have a 40 watt element and a 60 watt element, allowing you to select 40, 60, or 100 watts of light.

Bruce

 

[Bird]

Thanks, Bruce, I guess I always just thought the switch changed the voltage allowed through instead of the bulb itself, and of course that wasn't very smart thinking since there are 3-way bulbs and non-3-way so it has to be the bulb. Now the bulb I just replaced in that lamp is a 3-way CFL. Do they have different elements also?

 

[aczlan]

Thanks, Bruce, I guess I always just thought the switch changed the voltage allowed through instead of the bulb itself, and of course that wasn't very smart thinking since there are 3-way bulbs and non-3-way so it has to be the bulb. Now the bulb I just replaced in that lamp is a 3-way CFL. Do they have different elements also?

Yes.

Aaron Z

 

[timswi]

I loathe CFL's due to the warm up...Finishing my 2nd floor and bought dimmable LED's..Painfully expensive but worth it so far.

I have the CFL 100 watt equivalent on my out door lights, I just have to turn them on before dark..They are holding up after 3 years..Just don't expect to see anything for 10 or so minutes.

 

[Looking4new]

I have 4 LED spot lights for outside lights, they are on their second winter and so far no problems. As soon as hydro hits them they are on and are aimed in such a way that you are blinded when you approach the house at night.

 

[Sodo]

Some folks are just discovering CFLs? I thought they were on their way out. Costco is already dumping them; sometimes 4 for a dollar.

This has been difficult for the incandescents mfrs as they've done a LOT of work over the years to reduce the lifetime of the product and squash competition leaving US consumers with no alternatives but to buy bulbs and climb ladders. It was not so long ago that bulbs would last 2,000 hours, and in recent years down to 1,000 hours. Which is disheartening when an incandescent can run 14,000 hours, the only problem is business is organized such that you can't get them.

I can imagine the gov'mt probably couldn't get that CFL bizness passed until the Incandescents lobby got their CFL production up and running.

FWIW I hate CFLs too, especially the ones that are slow starting.

 

[davesl708]

I have had good luck with CFL bulbs in the LR, DR, Kt and BR. Have had the same bulbs for seven years now.
However, in the bathroom they emit a high pitch whine. Had to use incandescent there. Also, hate the fact that they have to warm up when the temp is below 65 degrees. I use the large 46 watt bulbs in the garage and it takes 5 minutes to get bright. Sucks in the winter.

 

[Bird]

Yep, my only complaint with the CFLs is coming on dim and taking so long to warm up and get bright.

 

[MikePA]

I'm glad I mostly skipped the 'CFL phase' of bulbs. I tried one in the light on the end table next to the chair where my wife usually reads. Just over Christmas, she asked me if we had any other bulbs, the one in 'her reading light' wasn't bright enough. No idea what triggered this comment, after all these years, but i replaced it with a 60w Cree LED. She's a happy camper. I also replaced the lights in the hay loft and horse stalls with LEDs, since they're hard to get to. Sobering to think they will probably still be working after I am gone.

 

[Bird]

Mike, that's just what I did yesterday, replaced the 3-way CFL in the end table lamp with a 75 watt "Great Value" LED bulb because my wife said she wished that light was brighter, and she spends a lot of time on that end of the sofa reading. 3-way lights have always been a waste anyway since they've never been used except on the brightest one. This new LED bulb claims a life span of 22.5 years, but that's based on 3 hours a day usage. This particular lamp is usually on at least 16 hours a day.

 

[MikePA]

Sounds like our house...My end of the sofa, reading TBN, her end of the sofa, reading a book. :laughing:

 

[KubotainNH]

As mentioned, that switch just sends voltage to different contacts on the bulb or all of them. That's why you eventually lose a setting or 2 before the bulb totally burns out. Dimmable means it will work with a wall switch that is like a potentiometer. They do make LED 3ways, a bit pricey but should actually last awhile. I stopped buying regular 3ways many moons ago because they seem to burn out quickly, I assumed because of the extra heat when on high.

https://www.1000bulbs.com/category/cree-3-way-led-light-bulbs/?gclid=CKyV2_yX9sICFUsR7AodknAAnQ

 

[Bird]

As mentioned, that switch just sends voltage to different contacts on the bulb or all of them. That's why you eventually lose a setting or 2 before the bulb totally burns out. Dimmable means it will work with a wall switch that is like a potentiometer. They do make LED 3ways, a bit pricey but should actually last awhile. I stopped buying regular 3ways many moons ago because they seem to burn out quickly, I assumed because of the extra heat when on high.

https://www.1000bulbs.com/category/cree-3-way-led-light-bulbs/?gclid=CKyV2_yX9sICFUsR7AodknAAnQ

I understand now, but didn't know they even made 3-way LED bulbs. That would be nice, but one problem is that it would ONLY be used on the brightest setting.