Don't confuse light output with power consumption.

Post #352,418 by Another Scott 12/26/11 1:36:49 PM Reply	Don't confuse light output with power consumption. Incandescent lamps are terribly inefficient. Most of the electricity they consume goes into heat, not light. Incandescent bulbs aren't being banned. They just have to be more efficient. http://www.energysav...cfm/mytopic=11977 Beginning in 2012, common light bulbs sold in the U.S. will typically use about 25% to 80% less energy. Many bulbs meet these new standards, including incandescents, CFLs, and LEDs, and are already available for purchase today. The newer bulbs provide a wide range of choices in color and brightness, and many of them will last much longer than traditional light bulbs. The lighting standards, which phase in from 2012-2014, do not ban incandescent or any specific bulb type; they say that bulbs need to use about 25% less energy. The bipartisan Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 (EISA 2007) established these efficiency standards. [...] More traditional inefficient 100 watt (W) bulbsÂtypically incandescent bulbsÂwill give way to choicesÂincluding newer incandescent bulbsÂthat use only 72 watts or less to provide you a comparable amount of light (lumens). If you are replacing a 100W bulb, a good rule of thumb is to look for a bulb that gives you about 1600 lumens. Your new bulb should provide that level of brightness for no more than 72W, cutting your energy bill. [...] 1600/100 = 16 lumens per watt. Some LED lamps have been at over 160 lumens per watt for a while now. Amazon has a 2 pack of Halogenas that consume 72 W and produce 1490 lumens for around $3.50 per bulb - http://www.amazon.co...ck/dp/B00361IPPM/ Yes, Halogens don't last as long as traditional incandescents. But the life increases dramatically if they're dimmed even slightly. http://www.gelightin...ncandescent.htm#3 LEDs will continue to get cheaper. I expect that incandescents will gradually disappear for home lighting because LEDs are much more flexible in fixture design, mercury concerns in fluorescents will become more important, etc. Don't expect lots of investment in high-efficiency incandescents (HEI). GE dropped their HEI initiative years ago - http://www.treehugge...incandescent.html Your electric bill will thank you as you gradually replace your lighting with LEDs. Cheers, Scott. (Who is using lots of CFLs at the moment, waiting for the LED prices to fall further.)
Post #352,434 by Andrew Grygus 12/26/11 3:53:54 PM Reply	Some producers of LED bulbs have already been sued . . . . . due to rapid decrease of light output with use. That certainly needs to be corrected (I see that with LED flashlights too). In my experience, the tubular halogens, whether pin base or mini-candelabra, outlast regular incandescents by at least 2 to one. The one I use to light the pigeon feeding area is undimmed and bulbs last more than a year there. My bathroom light fixture has needed all three of its 100-Watt halogens replaced (with 75-Watts - more than enough for my small bathroom) but that was over a 5 year period. The blue tinted halogen bulbs sold at the home improvement stores as "plug compatible" replacements for regular screw in bulbs lasted about half as long as a normal incandescent, and cost many times as much. Another thing I require, not mentioned above, is a stable color temperature because photographs are taken here under various conditions by various people. Incandescents are not an ideal light source, but one cameras know about. My curly tube photo-fluorescents are an excellent light source for photos, but harsh and not dimmable. Other light sources are often erratic with color temperatures that are not compensatable, change as they warm up or change with time. I do use a number of curly fluorescents, but only in areas where the light will always be wanted full up and never dimmed. Over time I'll replace them all with the photo variety which I like better. An 85-Watt curly photo bulb produces as much light as a 300-Watt incandescent and provides a daylight color temperature.
Post #352,501 by rcsteiner 12/28/11 2:44:41 AM Reply	Re: Don't confuse light output with power consumption. In colder climates, the heat generated by incandescent bulbs is not wasted in the wintertime. That's actually an advantage. -- -Rich Steiner >>>---> Mableton, GA USA The Theorem Theorem: If If, Then Then.
Post #352,504 by lincoln 12/28/11 8:30:54 AM Reply	That's why I'm glad that I still have my halogen torchiere lamp. 300W in the home office helps keep it nice during the winter (but is shut off the other 9 months of the year). "Chicago to my mind was the only place to be. ... I above all liked the city because it was filled with people all a-bustle, and the clatter of hooves and carriages, and with delivery wagons and drays and peddlers and the boom and clank of freight trains. And when those black clouds came sailing in from the west, pouring thunderstorms upon us so that you couldn't hear the cries or curses of humankind, I liked that best of all. Chicago could stand up to the worst God had to offer. I understood why it was built--a place for trade, of course, with railroads and ships and so on, but mostly to give all of us a magnitude of defiance that is not provided by one house on the plains. And the plains is where those storms come from." -- E.L. Doctorow

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