Do you use energy saving light bulbs?
By bananamanuk
@bananamanuk (835)
March 10, 2007 1:28pm CST
In the EU yesterday there was an agreement to phase out the traditional light bulb in favour of the new energy efficient ones. However, whilst being energy efficient, these do cost more to buy initially. Personally i am in favour of going green and doing my bit, and I do have a few of these bulbs myslef but they don't dim when using our dimmer switch on the light which I find odd, maybe it's just the batch I bought.
Are you in favour of this type of policy? Do you use energy efficient bulbs?
I saw a programme on Discovery Channel that said european standard bulbs are manufactured to withstand 220 volts of electricity and US bulbts 110 volts, therefore if an EU bulb is used in place of a US bulb it would last much longer, burning at a lower voltage. Would this be a cheaper alternative?
1 person likes this
5 responses
@ScotsFerret (375)
•
14 Mar 07
We use the energy saving light bulbs all over the house as although they may be more expensive to buy it works out better for us in the long run.
Our hall and stairs alone need 7 light bulbs, which when you have kids that seem to forget that the switch turns them off as well as on, normal bulbs don't seem to last very long in the hall and stairs but the energy savers do. We did get some energy savers bulbs from the local Poundland but they seemed to give out a very blueish light and my fiancé didn't like it so we ended up only using them in the kitchen, the difference in the light it gave off was so much so that people actually thought I had changed the colour of my curtains in the kitchen.
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@ScotsFerret (375)
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17 Mar 07
Lol yeah it was rather funny when my sis-in-law said she liked the new blue nets in the kitchen I just started laughing and told her to have a closer look when she was leaving.
@bluewings (3857)
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11 Mar 07
Yes,I do use a few of them , but as you rightly pointed out ,I don't think these can be regulated.I am not sure if it's just that batch you bought or all of them.Our's is also made to withstand a higher voltage.Inspite of the popularity of energy saving bulbs,I think the other kind is still going to stay for a while before they can come up with another cheaper alternative for the low wattage ones.Mine have been around for 2 years.So,I would say that they are more durable and that way reasonably priced,but a lower price should help them almost monopolize the market.
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@dana234 (2114)
• Spain
11 Mar 07
I´m in favour of saving energy. The problem is that the energy efficient bulbs are far more expensive then the traditional ones. That´s one of the reasons why people here in Southern Europe don´t buy them that much.
I´ve tried them, they do last a lot longer, but they don´t work with a dimmer switch. They are not available in different colours either.
In my opinion it is a bit cheaper in the long run, but the difference is hardly worth mentioning.
@lightlysalted (183)
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17 Mar 07
yeah I love energy saving light blubs as they run forever. I usually get about 10 times the amount of life out of them than a standard one. Some people complain that they are not as bright as normal bulbs which is true, but I've used them for years and the difference is minimal, the best way to resolve it is to by a lightshade that isn't too dark so that more light gets through. They reckon that by changing over to energy saving light bulbs it would be the equivilent in carbon emissions to taking 200,000 cars of the roads. Not bad
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