Energy saving lightbulb questions

monkeyspank · 11 Apr 2007 at 13:56

they definitely last longer in my experience. Especially if used with timers.

R@tman · 11 Apr 2007 at 13:57

dsb said:
ikea do loads of these, might be worth a look.

yes they do

there is a couple of online ebulb shops as well that do them.

a1ex2001 · 11 Apr 2007 at 14:21

jas72 said:
thing is they say they last for 5 times as long as normal ones but i've been using them for a few years and they don't seem to last any longer at all.

I've been using them for the last three years and have never had a single one die yet so I'm thinking they last a little longer than the standard ones! Most of ours are ikea so it's not even like we got the expensive ones! My parents had one of the very ealry ones and that lasted a good 5 years of being on all night every night when we were little and scarred of the dark!

james.miller · 11 Apr 2007 at 14:23

the energy saver in my hallway has been going for at least 5 years. they do last for a very long time

Whappers · 11 Apr 2007 at 14:24

Try and get them from B&Q if you can. My dad got practically the whole house fitted with low energy light bulbs and I think he got money off too somehow :confused:

Anyway, B&Q it if you can!

Heliospherez · 11 Apr 2007 at 14:27

I find they don't last anywhere near the lifetime quoted though. I also hate the way you can't use them in dimmers - as the actual light is very unnatural off them.

I have about 6 energy saver bulbs around the house. One of them (a 20W in our porch) is on about 6 hours a day - every day / average. I have replaced this 6 times in the last 5 years ??? And its replaced with well respected makes (GE / philips etc)

Might switch this bulb to LED though - as these are quoted at 15years life.

Sleepy · 11 Apr 2007 at 15:34

If you're not getting them to last long then there's a problem with the supply to that light fitting.

HAz · 11 Apr 2007 at 15:55

Do a seach for Megaman, their expensive but the best you can get for size, light output and looks, they can also be dimmed.

gort · 11 Apr 2007 at 17:17

All but 2 lights in my house are energy efficient ones now. My mum has an uplighter floor lamp in her living room that has had 9w CFL in it for a good 6-7 years, used to be a standard 40w bulb. It's on most evenings for at least 3-4 hours and gives out a good ambient light. That's 8000+ hrs of use I'd say.
Maybe saved about £30-40 in leccy on this one light, doesn't sound a great deal but it all adds up.

Some brands are utter carp though, I tend to stick with either Phillips or Osram.

dannyjo22 · 11 Apr 2007 at 17:30

Thanks for the input guys, done some more searching basically I have 10cm clearance on the uplighters to fit a bulb. I've found some of those helix shaped ones at 75w equivalent to fit. Is there any downside to this shape light?

I guess for now on the kitchen halogens I will have to make do, til they come up with decent alternatives that dont involve taking the ceiling down to fit low voltage halogens.

PhillyDee · 11 Apr 2007 at 18:26

The only lights i cant have these bulbs in is my stairs (the mains powered Fire alarm makes them glow when turned off) and my bedroom, because of the dimmer switch.