I'm trying to save some money here and there and am looking into replacing all my high-use light bulbs with the EnergyStar versions.

How does the brightness of these bulbs compare? What is the equivalent EnergyStar bulb of a standard 60watt bulb? Or is it the same?

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i have some of the spiral 60 watt ones. they do last a long time, i've had 4 for 2 yrs now. the lighting has something to be desired. they put out a dim, yellowish light. good for a hall way or maybe a bedroom but not a good light to work under or read with.

of course they may have improved in the last couple of yrs.

I have some 15w twisty bulbs that are realy good for anything but task lighting. I'm not sure how much they save in juice but they last a looooooooooong time and I replaced all my incandesant bulbs save my chandleer. I need a dimmer switch for that. Honestly I can't think of a good reason not to use them.

quote Originally posted by Phranc: Honestly I can't think of a good reason not to use them.

They do not work well in the 'fridge .

We use them everywhere. They really do help reduce electric bills and last from 3 to 5 years.

The ones in the last year or so seem brighter than the earlier versions bought 3 to 5 years ago. We are just starting to replace the ones from 5 years ago now. There are different wattages. 15 watts is equivalent to a 60 watt regular bulb. 25 watts is like a 75 watt and 35 watts is like a 100 watt (I think that's how it works out, don't have them in front of me).

They are expensive up front (less so now than in years past though).

[This message has been edited by tutnkmn (edited 12-02-2006).]

well worth the extra expense, even a couple of them in high-use areas will noticeably improve your electric bill. i'm typing by one now.

humm, maybe i'll give them another chance. the one i originally put in my kitchen, right above the sink, was so dim that i couldn't use it to cut by. ended up putting it out as a porch light. of course i like well lite areas.

I picked up a bunch of them at Building 19 (local discount/closeout store) for 50 cents each. "GREENLITE" brand. Theyre great.

I especially like them for places where replacing a bulb is a PITA cuz they last much longer. Right now I'm typing under four of them.

[This message has been edited by cccharlie (edited 12-02-2006).]

i have 7 100 watt ones and 3 150 watt ones in my garage, its lit up like a gas station at midnite
and only uses like 125 watts total i belive there dim untill they get warmed up but there awsome, gotta love more light for less energy

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please post what brands other than Greenlight you guys are using. i think i have GE but i'm not sure. i could use to save some money since i got the x-mas lights running at full tilt.

Are you talking about the flourescent replacement light bulbs? I use those in most of my house. I really like them.
I even use one for the trouble light when working on my car. More light, and I don't burn myself if I bump into the metal shield around it.

I replaced all the bulbs in my house with these and noticed a drop in my electric bill. Really they do save money. At first when you turn them on they take a while to warm up, about a minute or two then they reach full brightness. But, I actually run a bright light since they are so energy efficient. Here in the north, with winter time, brighter lights help, since winter can be long and dark.

They are worth the investment.

For many uses the screw in flourecent lamps work just fine. Same light and less watts. I have these and others in use in several fixtures.

You can't use them in a fixture with a dimmer control. The means all the "standard" full range dimmers, "touch" or other dimmers with several fixed points, and the ones that just offer a single fixed dim choice.

Do note that you want a good brand for this... The off brand ones work, but the light output can be very odd shades off white. Philips GE and others all work and give very good color range.

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i was looking at http://www.energystar.gov/index.cfm?c=cfls.pr_cfls

the ones i have that are a few yrs old are the spiral CFL's. now in one pic they show a sort of regular looking bulb that's a CFL. is this what most of you are using?

quote Originally posted by sostock: i was looking at http://www.energystar.gov/index.cfm?c=cfls.pr_cfls the ones i have that are a few yrs old are the spiral CFL's. now in one pic they show a sort of regular looking bulb that's a CFL. is this what most of you are using?

I haven't even seen that style, I'd thought they were all the twisty style.

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I've replaced every light in my house that stays on for any length of time with the spiral GE CFLs- about 30 of them. Standard bulbs would last 3 months, so it is nice to have not replaced a light bulb in a year, even though I have not seen any savings in my power bill.

quote Originally posted by Xanth: I haven't even seen that style, I'd thought they were all the twisty style.

The screw in ones are all twisty style. The globes are just glued over the plastic housing to cover up the twisty. I just purchased some twistys from Home Depot and are the NuVision brand. They stock 3 different color temperatures and the 2700K one is close to an incandescent bulb. None of the twistys that I have purchased have ever had light output that is as soft as an incandescent bulb.

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I use all flourescent bulbs in my room and bathroom. The bathroom used to have something like six 35 watt bulbs in them, but they now have 10-12 watt bulbs that are the sunlight version which is labeled 6500K I believe. My room used to have four 60 watt bulbs but I use the 15-18 watt ones that are also the 6500K version.

At first I didn't like it as it seemed extremely blue in my room, but after a day or two it was much nicer and now I wont go back in regular incandescents or the low K bulbs either.

Converted completely over to mini-twists last year, one of the reasons my electric bill last month was $12.96. They are starting to offer different color temperatures and CRI variations in the mini-twists now, I've got a 90 CRI 5,000k 15W minitwist in the magnifying work light over my hobby bench.

I think most of mine were Lights of America brand, came in an 8-pack from CostCo.

James

Walmart sells them 12 for about $5. I replaced all the lights in my home with them (except the fridge.) In my kitchen, I went from using 300 watts every time I turned on the light to using about 50. Light is just as good, tho it takes a minute for them to warm up and put out full power. In the bathroom, went from 300 watts to about 40.

I even have some outside to light the sidewalks to my front door--and they are much brighter than incandescent.

They make pretty good replacement bulbs for the hand held work lite out in the garage--they put out a whole lot less heat than and incandescent.

yes, I am slowly converting all my bulbs to the flouresecents.
they are not as bright. you cannot use dimmers. and, some types dont light up as quickly as others.
but they last a LONG time. the use sometimes 400% less electricty.

I use the bulbs in areas that need/use constant lighting. The thing is, they use more energy to start up, than to actually put out light for a few minutes. It is not cost effective to say, use them in a closet or any other area where the light isn't on for more than a few minutes. Also, my wife doesn't like them in the bathroom because it throws the color spectrum off and makes it difficult to do the makeup.

quote Originally posted by cjgable: I use the bulbs in areas that need/use constant lighting. The thing is, they use more energy to start up, than to actually put out light for a few minutes. It is not cost effective to say, use them in a closet or any other area where the light isn't on for more than a few minutes. Also, my wife doesn't like them in the bathroom because it throws the color spectrum off and makes it difficult to do the makeup.

How long does it take for them to warm up? Just a matter of seconds? Or is it more of an inconvenience?

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quote Originally posted by Xanth: How long does it take for them to warm up? Just a matter of seconds? Or is it more of an inconvenience?

they do not make a good quick closet light.

quote Originally posted by Xanth: How long does it take for them to warm up? Just a matter of seconds? Or is it more of an inconvenience?

I have them in my main room. I have the 3 way type in there so i can go dim, medium, or bright. They are fully bright almost immediately, but I suspect that depends on the brand and whether it is an electronic vs. magnetic ballast that is built in. My dad has some that seem to take about 20 seconds to get to fully bright.

The only reason I'd use them in the closet is my wife likes to keep the closet lit when no ones home all day.

[This message has been edited by cjgable (edited 12-04-2006).]