Energy saver light bulbs

Z

Zapatista

Registered User
Messages
130
Does anyone happen to know a good source for the above? I'm looking to buy, in bulk, replacements for all main tyes of ordinary bulbs, i.e. Fluorescent tubes, standard 40&60W, Halogen spots, etc. I'm willing to buy online if neccesary but this leads me to my next question. Are light bulbs standard in every country, i.e. if I got them from Taiwan, for example, would they comply with the relevant E.U. standards?

One final question. I'm sure I have heard mention of a website that lists average prices for consumables in Ireland. Does anyone know of this site?

All help appreciated as always,

Zapa.
 
Zapatista said:
Does anyone happen to know a good source for the above? I'm looking to buy, in bulk, replacements for all main tyes of ordinary bulbs, i.e. Fluorescent tubes, standard 40&60W, Halogen spots, etc. I'm willing to buy online if neccesary but this leads me to my next question. Are light bulbs standard in every country, i.e. if I got them from Taiwan, for example, would they comply with the relevant E.U. standards?
Click to expand...
are selling CFLs this Thursday in case that's of any use? Bear in mind that lighting costs might only be a fraction of your overall electricity bill so it might make more sense from a cost/benefit point of view to concentrate on other areas (e.g. heating/insulation etc.) first to get the best bang for your buck.

One final question. I'm sure I have heard mention of a website that lists average prices for consumables in Ireland. Does anyone know of this site?
Click to expand...
What sort of consumables?
 
Clubman,

You never cease to amaze me with your speedy replies. You are of course on the money with your suggestion in regards to Heating/Insulation and this is an area I am also looking into. When you say Aldi are selling them this Thursday do you mean it is a one time only event?

By consumables I mean household items. I'm sure I saw reference to it on AAM before. It may be a Government sponsored site.

Zapa.
 
BestValueIreland.com is dead a good while now as far as I know. That link gives me a domain for sale type page right now. I think that the bloke who ran BVI jacked it in to pursue other activities. There's also ShoppingBill.com in case that's of any use?

The Aldi CFL offer is a special offer and not a standard price. For special offers you are as well off getting in as early as possible on the day in question if you want to secure the goods as they can sell out quickly. These offers are often repeated at a later date but you never know when.
 
ClubMan said:
BestValueIreland.com is dead a good while now as far as I know.
Click to expand...
Sorry - pasted the link straight from my 'Favorites' (sic) without checking...

I'll be passing the Ennis branch of Aldi on the way to a match tomorrow evening, and will certainly stop in and (hopefully) pick up twice what I need.
 
Has anybody else found that CFL's take a long time to reach peak light emitting performance, can buzz a lot and also emit a very harsh light compared to standard tungsten (?) bulbs which seem warmer? I used them for a while but eventually switched back to standard bulbs. I'd love to save the environment but I like my comfort too... :eek:
 
Energy saving light bulbs should be installed within 2 years of manufacturing.The manufacturing date must be stated on them, similar to the code on a car tire it would state the month and the year of manufacturing .
The light spectrum they give of is also stated on the package . Some have a more " whitish " and others a more " blueish " spectrum . I don't know the relevant code numbers , check the manufacturers home pages , Osram for example , these numbers are standardised . As far as I know there are 5 different tones of light available.
There is no " one shoe fits all " bulb , the tungstens are wellingtons compared to modern illumination (smiley ) .
 
ClubMan said:
Has anybody else found that CFL's take a long time to reach peak light emitting performance, can buzz a lot and also emit a very harsh light compared to standard tungsten (?) bulbs which seem warmer?
Click to expand...
...Yep. You also can't use them with dimmer switches, and tbh I reckon they only really come into their own when used in the kind of lights that are left switched on for long periods of time - porch/hallway/outdoor lights, or the landing light that gets left on overnight, etc. I think I read somewhere that they use as much energy 'sparking up' each time as they consume in the subsequent hour or two...(?)

They also need judiciously coloured shading. Because they're usually priced the same whatever the voltage, I suppose we tend to stick in 11W (=150W output) CFLs where normally we'd be quite happy with an 40W or 60W tungsten bulb...:eek:
 
DrMoriarty said:
...Yep. You also can't use them with dimmer switches, and tbh I reckon they only really come into their own when used in the kind of lights that are left switched on for long periods of time - porch/hallway/outdoor lights, or the landing light that gets left on overnight, etc. I think I read somewhere that they use as much energy 'sparking up' each time as they consume in the subsequent hour or two...(?)

They also need judiciously coloured shading. Because they're usually priced the same whatever the voltage, I suppose we tend to stick in 11W (=150W output) CFLs where normally we'd be quite happy with an 40W or 60W tungsten bulb...:eek:
Click to expand...

The notion that they use as much energy 'sparking up' as they do in the first couple of hours comes from the older style fluorescent tubes and is not longer true. Actually it is no longer true for fluorescent tubes wither, as the starter design is way more efficient these days.

I have found that the newer CFLs reach full brightess far quicker than the older ones (I have had one of these bulbs for 8 years and it is still going!). I will certainly be buying a few at Aldi.
 
Phillips do a "Softone" bulb.
Doesn`t have the harsh light of most of this type.
 
We use normal tungsten bulbs throughout with "frosted" low wattage bulbs for uplighters just to soften the output.
 
Diziet said:
The notion that they use as much energy 'sparking up' as they do in the first couple of hours comes from the older style fluorescent tubes and is not longer true.
Click to expand...
Thanks for the ...elucidation? :)
 
These ones from Aldi are the old-fashioned long ones though that won't suit every lamp or light fixture.
 
I read recently in this [broken link removed] (subscription required) that Philips are devloping a new type of light bulb. Based on using 1000,s of powerful LED's, the bulb can function perfectly without being changed for up to 20 years , costs just 1/8 to run and will be competitive with current long life bulbs. It's quite amazing, but don't hold off your purchase for this... you never know what snag could hold it up.
 
Shouldn't be too much scope for snags to halt these. The main problem to overcome is that it probably won't be practical to use conventionally packaged LEDs, so they will have to come up with a cluster of diodes packaged in a material that will diffuse the light in a manner similar to that of conventional bulbs. I'd imagine the fact that they are publicising these means they believe they have an answer to this, and have already lodged the patents.
Leo
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top