Lainey

Have you folks switched over to energy saving light bulbs? Do they give you the light you want? Do you have them all over the house, or just select lamps? What about in recessed lighting? I see they are available. Do you use them?

And one more question that may make you

I was looking at them the other night. A 75 Watt bulb only used 18W.

So, if you have a lamp that says Max watt bulb 60, can you put a 75 watt energy saver into that lamp, thus getting more light?

Wildncrazy

Yes, I've got them all over my new house and love them.

One caveat, you will need to upsize one size to get the same feel of light. If you used a 60 watt incandescent then a 75 watt CF will work.

A really cool thing is the availability of different colors. I HATE soft white it is so yellow, but the daylight is too harsh. They've got a 4300-5000 degree CF that is great. Many brands call it the Bright White.

Much cooler running, much longer lasting and of course they save electricity, not that the lights are your biggest electricity waster in the house.

Lainey

OK, but what if the lamp says MAX 60 watt bulb? Can you safely use a 75 Watt bulb in the energy saving ones?

I like LOTS of light in a room, especially if I'm reading.

martha

We have them, but I've had the opposite results. They seem to burn out much faster -- and for some reason the ones that are "guaranteed" 5 yr or 7 yr or whatever seem to really burn out quickly. Maybe we're just jinxed. The worst however are the little halogen ones for the kitchen pendants. Those things burn out incredibly fast!

Lainey

Supposedly, those lights have traces of mercury in them. I just read proper procedure if they break. LEAVE the room for 15 minutes. Then scoop up the glass, wearing gloves, and bag the glass, to be disposed of in a proper locale. They should not just be thrown into the trash.

I wonder how may folks will comply with that? Sounds like a bit much.

On another topic. Ever break a thermometer that had mercury in it as a kid? Until my mother tired of us messing with it, we'd chase the mercury around in little balls with our hands....Wonder why we don't glow in the dark....??

WhiteS2k

We are slowly switching over as the old bulbs need replacing. The real problem is the disposl of the CFL bulbs when they burn out. Please do not throw them in the trash as they contain mercury. At 25-cents per bulb (18-watt), they are not too expensive to replace even if they do burn out.

DrCloud

We have rheostats (dimmers) on a lot of our circuits, so we can't use the low-consumption fluorscent bulbs (grump, grump).

And, um...

...mercury is toxic as a mobile heavy metal, not a radioactive substance. Lead is toxic in the same way, though not as mobile. HPH

Lainey

Good to know, they can't be used with dimmers. That removes most of our kitchen lights from this equation.

So I won't glow from playing with mercury as a child. Dare I ask what I might expect?

Emil St-Hilaire

I like them.
But,one thing,though;they don't resist outside,in cold wheather,(-20,or so...)

PanteraKitty

That 60W limit is because of heat generated by the incandescent bulbs. In an enclosed fixture, the heat would cause the bulb to fail sooner than normal. In a small lamp with a shade, the heat could discolor the shade or start a fire.

With the flourescent replacements, look at the actual power draw (18W?). That is the number that you should be concerned with. That 75W rating us just the manufacturer claiming that his bulb will provide as much light as a 75w incandescent. The real units of measurment to compare amount of light would be lumens.