Another lightbulb thread

[FamilyWiggs]

I've just had a frustrating morning trying to buy lightbulbs. I have big rooms and small windows, so need a fair amount of light to avoid tripping over. We have wall lights with small bayonet fixings. Where we can use CFLs we have - bedrooms, etc.

Call me old-fashioned, but I do like to be able to see what I am doing. I used to be able to buy pearl candle bulbs cheaply and easily for the wall lights in the lounge - and (and you have to say this quietly these days) they gave off a nice warm light that was pleasant. Now that the EU have banned them before the replacement technology is anywhere near decent (either functionally or in terms of production/disposal costs), I'm having a devil of a job getting replacements.

Finally I found one of the sheds that still had a few - but now they seem to be much more expensive than I remember!

Anyone know anywhere decent online to get bulbs (incandescent or CFL)? And has anyone found any decent CFLs that have a warm light and come anyware near the brightness of a real bulb? And has anyone found any decent replacements for something not as straightforward as a clear 60w bayonet?

And Penners - sorry for starting so many of these sentences with a conjunction!

 

[Tom]

Are these any good? 10 x 60w for £5.59 including P+P

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/10-x-B15-PEARL-Candle-Bulbs-SBC-Sml-Bayonet-Cap-60w-NEW_W0QQitemZ270493116194QQcmdZViewItem?rvr_id=&rvr_id=&cguid=e70702d211c0a0aad5a6fd26ffe8c662

 

[Jon Maine]

I just did a google search for "100w bayonet light bulb" and found http://www.energybulbs.co.uk/produc...02&network=s&gclid=CMK-hZLkv54CFSBk4wodCD8nqA

And that was just the first page.

 

[FamilyWiggs]

Thanks Jon - very helpful.

Trouble is that with your average non-standard non-tube-shaped CFL costing about 8 quid, it's quite expensive to try some of these new ones out and find a make/model that is a reasonable replacement.

So far I haven't found an energy-saving light bulb that comes anywhere near the light output or warmth of light of a nice pearl incandescent bulb. Maybe I'm not looking hard enough, but everything I've tried takes a week to warm up, gives a dimmer and harsher light.

Think I need to bite the bullet and buy 100 of each bulb type I currently use, and hope by the time they all run out that either the EU has disappeared, or the earth is not under 100 ft of seawater and energy-efficient bulb technology has matured.

Incidentally are the Americans, Chinese, Brazilians and Indians banning incandescent bulbs too, is it only the red-tape crazy EU which is?

 

[robgil]

you could try halogen lamps? they give off a good light. to be fair i use cfl's and i can see quite well with them , perhaps its your light fittings or placement within the room that's at fault? what colour are your walls? i am not suggesting you re-decorate but you could get a type/colour of light to fit specifically into your situation.
usually its not just down to the bulb type and could be down to other factors that may sort your problem instead of simply getting over powered bulbs to do the same job as an energy efficient one.

 

[Jon Maine]

When I was looking into led lighting I found that to get a good warm white you had to buy one with a value of 2500k or therabouts the ones with 3000k up that give off a progressively harsher white light. I wonder if CFL gets classified in units of warmth too?

 

[biffvernon]

Call me old-fashioned...

...but I'll have nothing to do with this new-fangled electrickery.

 

[robgil]

When I was looking into led lighting I found that to get a good warm white you had to buy one with a value of 2500k or therabouts the ones with 3000k up that give off a progressively harsher white light. I wonder if CFL gets classified in units of warmth too?

thats right , 2400k simulates summer , warm kind of sunset evening light where as 6700k i think , its definitely 6?00k simulates bright daylight.
the lower end of the spectrum is orange/red and the higher end is blue. obviously the lower end (warm/red/orange) will give out a less intense light making the bulb seem dimmer.
so , to find a warm and bright light all at the same time might be quite a quest unless you rely on sheer power as opposed to temperature or specific colours.

 

[FamilyWiggs]

Biff - thanks. It seems that the new packaging for bulbs in B&Q lists lumens and a few had a temp also - eg 2500k.

No idea how to intepret lumens though - a quick google search and I understand you can't relate to watts; but what is the lumen output f your average 60w incandescent pearl bulb?

Also have no idea about colour temps - does lower mean "warmer" then? Again - I wonder what is the temp of your average pearl incandescent bulb? We currently have "soft elegance" white pearl 60W...

At 8 quid a throw it could be an expensive experiment... especially as you can't beleive the claims of equivalence. 9W CFL is not equivalent to a 60W bulb, no matter what the packaging may claim.

This evening we have gone back to loads of candles - and the light they thow on the beams, stonework and bumpy lime plaster is divine.

 

[FamilyWiggs]

so , to find a warm and bright light all at the same time might be quite a quest unless you rely on sheer power as opposed to temperature or specific colours.

Thanks robgil - must be possible to find one though. My current bulbs are both warm and bright!

 

[Penners]

Call me old-fashioned

You're old fashioned.

Penners - sorry for starting so many of these sentences with a conjunction

But of course I forgive you. And with pleasure.

I do like to be able to see what I am doing

There's a solution to every problem:

 

[robgil]

perhaps you should look for bigger bulbs then? the more surface area on the bulb the more light will be emitted?

 

[Flyfisher]

Broadly the higher the colour temp the bluer the light, the lower the colour temp, the redder the light. In photographic terms, daylight is 'blue-ish' ('outdoors') and incandescents are red-ish ('indoors') but I suppose the changeover to CFLs will change this. Traditional fluorescents tended to be midway and often resulted in a green tinge to photographs, although modern digital cameras with dynamic white balancing will cope better than films
More info here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Color_temperature.

Although incandescents are being phased out they are not actually banned until 2016, hence Jon's link, but the main outlets are conspiring to mainly sell CFLs.

This is to help save the planet you understand and is nothing to do with the higher prices and profit margins of the more complex CFLs.

 

[Flyfisher]

perhaps you should look for bigger bulbs then? the more surface area on the bulb the more light will be emitted?

I'm not sure surface area makes much difference to light output; more diffuse light perhaps but not more actual light .

 

[FamilyWiggs]

Although incandescents are being phased out they are not actually banned until 2016, hence Jon's link, but the main outlets are conspiring to mainly sell CFLs.

This is to help save the planet you understand and is nothing to do with the higher prices and profit margins of the more complex CFLs.

I understood that from this September it was illegal to manufacture inside or import into the EU oncandescent bulbs. Will the 2016 ban make it illegal to use them ir just sell them?

 

[Flyfisher]

2016 was the figure given on the website Jon linked to: http://www.energybulbs.co.uk/news/News/2009-04-27/Guide+to+the+Phasing+Out+of+Classic+Incandescent+Light+Bulbs

 

[robgil]

how about using some of these babies?

:shock:

 

[FamilyWiggs]

Switch that baby on and I presume it will beam me into 2016!

 

[MdB]

perhaps you should look for bigger bulbs then? the more surface area on the bulb the more light will be emitted?

I'm not sure surface area makes much difference to light output; more diffuse light perhaps but not more actual light .

The light output is directly proportional to the surface area emitting light. Different technologies produce different amounts per unit area but within the same technology, doubling the surface area will double the light output.

 

[FamilyWiggs]

I presume that is because the CFLs produce light via the phosphor coating inside the glass - hence the brighter bulbs seem to be larger often with more loops to provide more phosphor coated surface area?