Energy saving light bulb

[caretaker]

In my hall and upstairs landing I have two lights fitted with 60 watt bulbs, well at long last and over many years I have nearly finished decorating this area.
I would like to buy some energy saving bulbs to save on the electric, I have had a look on line but will be going to Sainsbury's tomorrow but don't know what ones to get.
I have both lights on every evening till bed time if that helps, they are bayonet cap fittings.
It is the 60 watt that I am not sure of, would I be looking for the same wattage, I do not wont the ones that are long bulbs as they would look odd in the new lamp shades.

 

[finneyb]

60 watts incandescent = 11w energy saving
if you kept the same wattage you would not be (edit) saving energy (hammer)

HTH

Brian

 

[MARK.B.]

Led's are the way to go,higher initial outlay but the lecky bill will be a lot cheaper.

 

[woodfarmer]

I have not had much luck with LED's lasting very well. and as for high deficiency bulbs, I am seriously thinking of reverting to having gas lighting installed. Only the 250 watt infra red lamp works well and the baby chicks get most use out of that.

 

[DiscoStu]

I love LED bulbs. Last well, come on instantly and you can get dimmable ones now.

 

[Phil Pascoe]

Yup. 100%. Even allowing for a three cfl's my whole house is lit for less than 150W's.

 

[RogerS]

I hate LEDs...too directional and I don't like the colour temperatures available. Also if you have several in a room then when one dies a few years later (and they do) then you will have the Devil's own job to find one that matches the colour temperature of the remaining ones and will stick out like a sore thumb.

LEDs can and do sometimes cause interference on both FM and DAB.

Energy-saving bulbs are ghastly also IMO.

This household has a stack of good old fashioned incandescents. The extra heat they give out goes towards heating the room up!

 

[paulm]

I hate LEDs...too directional and I don't like the colour temperatures available. Also if you have several in a room then when one dies a few years later (and they do) then you will have the Devil's own job to find one that matches the colour temperature of the remaining ones and will stick out like a sore thumb.

LEDs can and do sometimes cause interference on both FM and DAB.

Energy-saving bulbs are ghastly also IMO.

This household has a stack of good old fashioned incandescents. The extra heat they give out goes towards heating the room up!

Agree with all that, including the stockpile of the old ones !

Also worth checking on the price of the appropriate energy saving bulbs, haven't done so recently but they used to be expensive to buy which meant you didn't actually save anything anytime soon, possibly the opposite, although that may have changed now. I guess in any event you can't buy the old type anymore so probably a moot point.

Cheers, Paul

 

[RogerP]

I hate LEDs...too directional and I don't like the colour temperatures available. Also if you have several in a room then when one dies a few years later (and they do) then you will have the Devil's own job to find one that matches the colour temperature of the remaining ones and will stick out like a sore thumb.

LEDs can and do sometimes cause interference on both FM and DAB.

Energy-saving bulbs are ghastly also IMO.

This household has a stack of good old fashioned incandescents. The extra heat they give out goes towards heating the room up!

I bought a couple of LED bulbs but they are a horrible cold blue colour - don't like them at all.
As a Radio Amateur I can confirm they give off spurious interference at multiple frequencies.

I too am sticking with old fashioned incandescents and have a good stock put by.

 

[RogerS]

Also I can confirm that it IS the LEDs themselves that can cause interference although the switched-mode power supplies that they usually come with can ALSO cause interference. We do have some LEDs in the kitchen (the one ...and only...time I let SWMBO have some input into lighting ) and they are fed from pre-existing ferrite core transformers. The LED supplier (TLC Direct) sent me some ferrite beads (they call them 'ferrets' ) and they stopped most, but not all, of the interference.

 

[gregmcateer]

I bought a couple of LED bulbs but they are a horrible cold blue colour - don't like them at all.

You must have bought the early, (or cheaper) white light or cold white.

We made the same mistake to start with, but have moved them into downstairs loo and utility, as want it bright in there.

Now we've got Warm White in the kitchen and extension and although we did have a failure early on, (replaced free), the colour is pretty good, IMHO.

Obviously, warmth of light choice is a very personal and subjective thing, so recognise many may still not be happy with it.

So, to part-answer the OP, if you do go with LEDs, choose ones with the warmest light you can find, otherwise it'll be rather stark.

 

[Phil Pascoe]

With LED's you can get different light colours and beam coverage between iirc 36 degrees and 120 degrees, so if you've not adequate coverage and the wrong colour light, you've probably the wrong bulb.

 

[RogerS]

With LED's you can get different light colours and beam coverage between iirc 36 degrees and 120 degrees, so if you've not adequate coverage and the wrong colour light, you've probably the wrong bulb.

Tell me about it. We went through God knows how many different bulbs !

 

[RobinBHM]

I tend to offer LED downlighters as standard in the orangeries we build. The technology has developed quickly over the last year or so and light output and colour temperature is now very similar to halogen. Technology of the dimmers is still catching up and I know electricians have problems matching dimmer and lights so they work correctly.

Our electrican has sample downlighters on a plug top so customers can get an idea of lighting colour.

Downlighters have become very popular in recent years but the halogen GU10 buld is 50watts and having them in every room in the house would use use a lot of leccie! The equivalent LED downlighter is 9watts so a big saving in theory. In practice it will depend on lifespan, which I think with led technology is somewhat variable at the moment. Doing the sums to calculate payback is good, but the problem with the latest technology is unknown maintenance or lifespan. Central heating boilers are a good example, yes the latest condensing boiler is very efficient but the capital cost wont be repaid quickly if the boiler keeps needing new, pcbs, heat exchangers etc.

 

[Phil Pascoe]

"The equivalent LED downlighter is 9watts" I don't know what the actual (supposed) conversion rate is, but all my 50w halogens were replaced with 3w's or 5w's without noticeable difference. I've had one pair on nearly full time for twelve months - that's over £100 difference on the bill (and they are £6 Chinese bulbs).

 

[Ed Bray]

Funnily enough, I have just bought an LED Bulb to go in my anglepoise light. It is 9W, daylight balanced and has the light output of a 120 watt tungsten bulb. It also has a 270 degree beam angle so works just like a standard bulb, except cooler light, brighter and less expensive to use.

On the other hand, you can still get ordinary light bulbs, you just have to ask for Rough Use ones.

 

[RogerP]

............On the other hand, you can still get ordinary light bulbs, you just have to ask for Rough Use ones.

I've found that from the local Car-Boot I can get Osram incandescent 60w or 100w from for 20p each. I've stashed a supply away.

 

[RogerS]

............On the other hand, you can still get ordinary light bulbs, you just have to ask for Rough Use ones.

I've found that from the local Car-Boot I can get Osram incandescent 60w or 100w from for 20p each. I've stashed a supply away.

Only 20p #-o Damn, there goes the pension.

 

[ClaireW]

The problem with these energy saving "tube" bulbs is they become dimmer over time, so I would go for a slightly brighter one to allow for this. You could move them around the house as they get older (move dimmer ones to a location where it doesn't need to be so bright) but I've found the glass become quite brittle after a few years.

 

[Benchwayze]

Reg...

Have you considered that the hall, stairs and landing lights are not used anywhere near as much as any other lights in a house. Even bedroom lights don't get used that much. One of the reasons they last so long, and when you come to change them, you sometimes have to change the lamp-holder too, because it's been forgotten about and has become 'welded' tight!

I consider hall, stairs and landing as places where good lighting is a must, for safety issues. So, because they aren't used often, I still use tungsten bulbs for that, and yes I bought in a stock of 100 watt pearls! :lol: