Lightbulb questions

[PurpleDragon]

I have been replacing burnt out bulbs with the energy savings ones.

Unfortunately a couple of my light fittings aren't just those single ceiling ones.

My kitchen and bathroom lights both have those 40w-60w each x 3 spotlight things - do you know what I mean? - and I was wondering if you can use green bulbs in those. I don't want to burn the house down :)

I'm not bothered about the spotlight effect - not in the bathroom anyway - the kitchen might need a whole new light fitment, and those spotlight bulbs are a menace!

My other question is - if I have a light fitting that normally takes 3 x candle bulbs, can I replace them with eco-bulbs as well? Two of these fittings have dimmer switches, the other two dont

[Annpan]

On the side of your old bulb it will have a code e.g E40, E60. IKEA (and other places I am sure) sell energy saving one with the equivelent code on the side of the box.

Not that I am any kind of expert on the matter but you can now get all shapes and sizes of energy saving bulbs so IMO if you get a bulb that fits and has the appropriate wattage (20w energy saving bulb = 100w standard bulb) You should have no problems.

Also in regards to your house burning down. Your fusebox should sort that out for you. I have twice had light bulb problems (one exploded and one that the fitting melted) both in rented accomodation where the electrics left a lot to be desired and yet both times the fuse went meaning no serious damage done.

HTH

Ann

[Muddypause]

As long as they phisicaly fit there is no reason you can't replace the bulbs with low energy ones. Low energy bulbs give off less heat than filament bulbs, but they do still get fairly warm, so if the longer bulb comes into contact with part of the fitting, it may not be such a good idea.

Also, dimmer switches are not good with them. I did try one to see what happened, and althought the bulb worked OK, the dimmer switch had no effect, and the bulb only lasted a few weeks. Easiest thing may be to replace the dimmer with a conventional switch, which is usually pretty cheap and easy to do.

Some of the spotlights may have an ES (Edison Screw) fitting rather than a bayonet fitting - they screw in rather than do that Push & Quarter Turn thing - more common in other countries, but they are still available here (including on low energy bulbs) if a little harder to find. Check the box - it should have 'ES' on it somewhere.

When you replace the spotlight bulbs (I'm assuing the ones you have now are the part-silvered directional bulbs that fit into a cone shaped holder) you will lose some of the spot light effect, but maybe a slightly brighter bulb would help, since you will be well under the maximum wattage.

[PurpleDragon]

Great replies, thank you both.

I shall see what the fittings are (I think I have both screw and normal fittings) because I only have normal fitting eco-bulbs.

[Wombat]

Onya Stew,

I thought you could't use a fluorescent with a dimmer was because it is not a resistive load, but an inductive load - maybe

Nev

[Muddypause]

I think that's prolly right, Nev, though I struggle a bit here - how does a compact 'low energy' fluorescent light differ from a conventional fluoro? Presumably the ballast (inductive) element is different, and that is what causes a compact bulb to have a slow warm-up period, as opposed to the conventional start of a strip light.

So, in the interests of scientific research and the betterment of all humanity (but mostly because I don't like being told you can't do something without being told why) I just thought I'd try and see what happens when you use a dimmer switch on a low energy bulb.

The dimmer had no effect on the brightness of the bulb at all, but it did induce a flicker at some settings. After a few weeks there was a rather entertaining pfzzz-splut-pfzzz-POP from the bulb, and that was the end of that.

So the dimmer was replaced with a conventional switch at a cost of £1.36.

[juperwort]

I found some direct spot replacements for the old 40W SES bulbs for our kitchen, in, perish the thought, Asda. They start off dim, but brighten up pretty well. We have high ceilings, and have found the spot to be OK

[Dendrobium]

Oh no! I have to put my work hat on and talk about light bulbs!

There is a company called Megaman who make a direct low energy version of R63 and R80 style spot lamps, and also a few others starting to do the same and a little cheaper. If you can find them I have seen a few made with high output LED's which aren't as bright, have no warm up type and use TINY amounts of energy - usually about 1- 1.2w, I think AURORA are making them but not distributed in this country yet. I saw a sample and was really impressed with the light output. If you can't find any of either of these around, then PM me and I can get some for you and we can do some kind of swap or barter.

Dimmable flourescents! Yuk! They are made - loved by architects in expensive delopments, and hated by electricians installing them! The normal control gear in the doesn't like tungstan dimmers, and the 'proper' ones have special (expensive) electronic gear. This runs the tube at a higher than normal frequency and also improves the life of the tube as it often 'soft-starts' the tubes. Dimming is done with a control signal rather than altering how much power goes to it, which again means expensive fancy technology. On a really pro system they can all be digitally linked to provide full building control, dimming office lights when bright outside etc.

[PurpleDragon]

I have to say, Muddy, that these dimmer switches are probably gonna get changed as soon as I remember to buy some replacement switches when I am out. They drive me NUTS! The fitting they supply has 5 bulbs in it, and every time one blows, it also blows the 1AMP fuse and they are like hens teeth around here! Boring!

Thanks Juperwort - I shall keep an eye out for these next time I am in Asda. Our branch doesn't have much of a bulb department though, unfortunately

Dendrobium, I shall keep your offer in mind - if I can't find anything in Asda, I shall be PMing you :) Thanks!

[Muddypause]

PD - 1 amp is marginal for 5 lights, even if they are quite small ones. 3 or 5 amps would be more suitable. Are these 5 lights separately fused somehow? If it is the main fuse for the circuit (at the fusebox) then 5 amps is the usual rating for a lighting circuit.

Dendrobium - LEDs may be the future for lighting. Certainly sitting behind a car which has the new style LED brakelights is a painfully dazzling experience. I've never seen a domestic LED in situe, but someone told me there are still problems with them - LEDs are very directional, so you need a cluster of them to get a spread of light. And I'm not sure the quality of light - the colour - is very comfortable yet. But development seems fast - it only seems a few days ago that someone came up with the first white LED.

[Wombat]

G'Day Den and Muddy,

I was in an alternative energy type shop the other day, they had a halogen style bulb but instead of a halogen light they had a cluster of LEDs. It was new and they didn't even have a price, buggers didn't ring me back with a price either! I will get one as I run a few 20w 12v halogens in my system where point lighting is needed (over sink, stove, dining table and over bed as reading lights) but boy do they suck power!

Nev

[Muddypause]

Let us know how good they are, Nev. I have a feeling Stoney has mentioned using them, too. Wasn't there an exploding LED thread a while back?

[Wombat]

Hmmm, yeah, mate I do vaguely remember something like that...

Yes, will let you know!

Nev

[Dendrobium]

I know what you mean about glare, LED's are a rather nasty, and I'm not suprised about the 'blowing up' bit, as the early ones were rather grim and dark. As you rightly said, most tend to be clusters to produce more light output. They also don't like power surges much, but the newer generations use dedicated contant current transformers. The price and quality a few years ago was terriable, but in the past year as they've gone it more production I've seen the prices being slashed. Give it another twelve months and (hopefully) they'll start getting into the domestic market.

Appart from lower power one of the other good things in their favour is they don't have mercury in them as the cfl types do!

[Martin]

I've got a couple of the halogen replacement led cluster bulbs - the problem is that they emit a tight beam of light, so you have to site them some distance from where you want the pool of light. They are very low consumption - (1.8w) but to be frank, are no substitute for the halogens they replace - add to that the fact that the light is very dim, and a horrible bluish colour, I can't see them being of much practical use at all!
Probably the best bet for replacing halogen spots are the new ones that use a tiny energy saving lightbulb - around 6w, and don't have the tight beam problem of leds, and are a much nicer "colour" of light
I paid a tenner each for the led jobs!