How many here use energy saver light bulbs.

[texanwitch]

I have been using them for over a year, the bulbs do last longer and do not create heat.

The rooms feel a lot cooler using them.

[dubeskin]

1. I don't have the slightest

I just get the cheapest stuff. But if it is cooler, I am sure as hell getting some.

[texanwitch]

2. The room temp will drop,

Target as a box of 4 or $15.

Don't let the price scare you, the bulbs last a long time and use less energy.

[HarukaTheTrophyWife]

3. I use them.

I haven't noticed a temperature difference (I have heat lamps everywhere due to the reptiles), but they do last forever. I've actually had the same light bulbs for about three years.

[texanwitch]

6. The energy saver bulbs really are cheaper, they cost more up

front but you get it back in savings.

I finally talked my parents into using them, their house is a lot cooler. The regular lights create a lot of heat, which heats up the room. My father has a problem cutting off lights.

How many reptiles do you have.

[HarukaTheTrophyWife]

35. Five, but it may be six shortly.

Two bearded dragons, three leopard geckos and possibly rescuing a corn snake.

[RevCheesehead]

4. I use them in the hallway....

since yhose lights are on more than any other.

[Oeditpus Rex]

5. Yo!

Especially now that they're finally making the fluorescent "ice cream swirlie" bulbs in sizes that'll actually fit most lamps. :thumbsup:

[TheFriendlyAnarchist]

26. That's what we use

[NMMNG]

7. I use them

I love them.

[texanwitch]

8. I found this interesting article.

See ‘An Inconvenient Truth’
Diane C. Kennedy


7/20/2006 3:22:23 PM

If you have not seen the movie “An Inconvenient Truth,” which is about global warming, please do so, whether you like Al Gore or not. The film is not about him, it’s about saving the world as we know it, and not one word of it is conjecture. I have always been environmentally aware, but after seeing this film I am horrified about the crisis that is already upon us. Greenland is beginning to melt, as are the polar caps. If the people of the United States, the world’s largest producer of greenhouse gasses, do not take action within our own homes and businesses immediately, the world’s oceans will raise an estimated 20 feet during the next 50 years. To imagine this, picture New York’s Twin Towers Memorial, much of the Netherlands, most islands and parts of Asia under water. Visit www.climatecrisis.org or www.energystar.gov for the facts.

How can each of us help? Start off by changing all your light bulbs to compact fluorescent bulbs, which look like swirled ice cream cones. Not only do they save you money annually, are brighter than incandescent bulbs and last for many years, but… “If every American home changed out just five high-use light fixtures or the bulbs in them with ones that have earned the Energy Star, each family would save more than $60 every year in energy costs, and together we’d keep more than one trillion pounds of greenhouse gases out of our air — equal to the emissions of eight million cars. That’s a $6 billion energy savings for Americans, equivalent to the annual output of more than 21 power plants.” (EnergyStar.gov)

San Diego Gas and Electric offers many incentives to purchase Energy Star brands, including giving a deal to small business owners so that they may sell the items at a far lower cost. Wal-Mart sells the bulbs in two-packs for about $8, and Hank’s Hardware sells them in four-packs for $2.99. I’ve changed all mine and all those in my mother’s house and am urging all my friends and family to do the same.

If you are driving a large vehicle and don’t need to be (and so many people are!), please trade it in for a hybrid vehicle. You will save money as well as the environment.

Change your car’s air filter monthly. Recycle and compost. Take a few minutes to visit the above Web sites and become informed. Be aware and spread the word.

Environmental disaster is not for alarmists, nor is it a question for debate. It is upon us.

Comments or Questions about this piece?

[RazzleCat]

37. Everywhere except the bathroom

Which have these weird large vanity globe type lights. I started replacing all my incandescent bulbs as the burt out with the compacts about 3 years ago.

[Random_Australian]

9. I use them, and they are in the apartments one of which I use when

attending university. :)

[WCGreen]

10. We have been using them for about 3 years now.....

Get a pack of eight at Costco for around 12 bucs...

[NewJeffCT]

11. I only see them in the pretzel-like shapes

while some of them are smaller, they look a bit odd if you put them in a light fixture that is fairly open when it was previously a regular rounded bulb.

[LSK]

30. i have found some round ones for my bathroom vanity lights

They were at Mejeirs. I had 4 40 watt bulbs burning everytime I was in the bathroom, now I have 4 11 watt bulbs. thats gotta be a big savings.

[tjwmason]

12. Yes, I do.

I believe that there will be many changes which we will have to make to our lifestyles to diminish our impact on the environment - but before we reach those there are many changes we can make which do not impact our lifestyles...such as energy saving bulbs.

[NNadir]

13. I wrote some time ago on how much money and carbon dioxide these save.

The post and discussion, which is also found in my journal, can be found here:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=115x34359

[Bzzzz]

14. Yep...We Use Them...

and love them.

[Squeech]

15. Yup

Although I have had one burn out. I have a weird archaic three-way lamp that, instead of having one of those three-way bulbs, has sockets for three ordinary bulbs. I replaced all three bulbs with the new fluorescents, and the one that switched on and off with every turn of the switch failed within six months. So that's now back to an old-fashioned filament type, like Edison would recognize. I try to keep that one shut off as much as possible. And every other fixture that's used only briefly-- like the one over the washing machine, that I turn on only when I'm loading or unloading (the white zone)-- is a filament bulb.

[Fox Mulder]

16. I do.

I also have low-flow fixtures around the house. :)

[arwalden]

17. I Do. But Not Everywhere. -- My Biggest Complaint About Them Is...

... that it takes about 60 seconds before they warm-up and achieve their FULL brightness. Even though when I flip on the light switch, they DO light-up right away... it's kind of a dull light about 40% dimmer than when the bulb has been burning for a minute or two.

(The only place that this is beneficial is in the bathroom... first thing in the morning when one's eyes are still getting used to the light.)

[sendero]

18. Yes..

.... compact flourescents work great and use 25% the energy of incandescent bulbs.

My house is about 95% covered now.

[Blue Diadem]

19. We use them too

It took us a while to switch over all the bulbs in the house but we finally completed it last fall.

[windlight]

20. I have

Been using them for many many years.... Since i bought my house i have had to change two (5 years) one burnt out and the other i broke (shattered) with my hand/blanket placing it on the bed..(ouch :) )...

[txwhitedove]

21. Off and on.........

Yes, in kitchen and bathroom.
:thumbsup:

[ProfessorGAC]

22. I Use The Compact Fluorescents

Is that what you mean? I like them because they last practically forever. I don't use the 3 ways because the only 3 way bulbs i have are for reading. I don't like the color of those bulbs for reading. One lamp in my rec room has a three way compact, because that is strictly for lighting not reading. But, virtually every 1 way bulb in the whole house is a compact fluorescent.
The Professor

[patricia92243]

23. Cool, makes colors "true," last hours and hours longer - Love them.

[ThomCat]

24. I've been using them for years.

The wiring in my building is old. For some reason, regular bulbs burn out in only 2 months. That was incentive to buy better bulbs even when I was a dirt-poor grad student. The energy-saver florescent bulbs last forever. :)

[Deep13]

25. Yuppers. Compact flourescents...

...in fixures that support the extra weight.

[crim son]

27. I use them where I can.

We have about ten of them in the house. I don't like the color they give off so I won't read by them, but do light the hallways, pantry, kids rooms etc. plus anywhere that it's hard to change a lightbulb.

[necso]

28. I use fluorescent lighting exclusively,

except for the back porch (deck) light, which is too exposed as-built (it's an old shack), and not worth the trouble/cost of replacing, considering how little I use it (maybe half-a-dozen times a year for a few minutes).

I've never paid more than a dollar a "bulb" (I shop carefully) in recent years (someone posted recently about great prices at Costco, I believe (don't have a membership?; maybe a friend does) -- but this may vary), and there was a noticeable decrease in my electrical bill when I switched over (years ago). The bulbs last for years (although I've had a few "lemons"), so you can save on bulb costs as well as on electricity, if you get a good-enough price.

Generally, people don't have a problem with "flash" from compact fluorescents, although I replaced the old bulbs in an SO's house, and she complained that the CFLs were making her irritable. (But, um, that wasn't it.)

Something as simple as opening/closing drapes/windows (think of sunscreens for cars) can help with regulating lighting and with lowering heating and cooling costs. (Although the desired ends can conflict, as when there's direct sunlight on a window and it's hot outside. And the sun can damage things it shines on too much, even through a window.)

...

With regular fluorescents (long bulbs), there are various light-spectrums available, including something like sunlight, and other options, which make these more attractive to some.

[LSK]

29. i switched to them about a month ago after I saw An Inconvienent Truth

My brother in law says my electric bills will come down a lot. Its hard to judge so far as its summer and the A/C has been on more.

[LostinVA]

31. IKEA has them at a VERY good price, if you live near one

By far the best price I've seen anywhere.

[calico1]

32. I bought a bunch of them when a local

store had them on sale for just over one dollar each. As the regular bulbs burn out they get replaced with these. Also bought outdoor floodlights when they blew out. The only kind of energy saver bulb I can't find is a 3-way one for a lamp I have in the living room. Does anyone know if there is such a thing?

[LeftyMom]

34. Yep, there is.

I seem to recall that Home Depot has them. They're a bit spendy.

[calico1]

36. Thank you. I will look next time I am there. n/t

[ileus]

33. I switched over in most overhead and closet areas.

A few places like the dressing room mirror and living room "natural" light is still my favorite. Closets, hallways and other places where "just give me some light" is the main goal I've switched over.