"Craig" wrote in message
...

wrote...


WDS wrote:
v wrote:
... A CFL bulb (any FL light) takes an
initial surge of power to start, plus it only has so many starts in it
from the day it is built. They only save on longer duty cycles.

The initial surge thing using a "lot" of electricity is somewhat of a
myth. Work it out and there's just no way that a fraction of a second
surge can use all that much electricity. If it did the wires would
melt and the circuit breakers blow.


Exactly. This myth was busted on Mythbusters on TV. They tested a
variety of bulbs ie, regular filament, halogen, metal vapor, etc
against FL and compact FLs. They measured the power used. The
conclusion was, while they did use more energy during a fraction of a
sec during start up, it only took at most a few more secs for the FLs
to come out ahead. And after that, they used a small fraction of the
energy of the other bulbs. The only bulbs that were even better were
LED type.

You may not like the light you get from CFL for all applications. And
they do take maybe 20 secs to reach full brightness when they are used
in cold areas, like an unheated garage in winter. (At least all the
ones I've tried so far have had this problem) But, they do exactly
what is claimed, which is to save a lot of energy cost.

From what's available in my area, there are pretty much three "colors" of
CFLs. One is quite warm and nice and a great substitute for incadescents
in most living areas. If in your neck of the woods, Home Depot tends to
stock all three "flavors."

Another advantage to CFLs that I haven't seen discussed is their use in
many new light fixtures. So often, I see stand-alone or wall/ceiling
mounted fixtures with a 60-watt maximum warning label, probably due to
worries about heat. Many times, 60 watts of incandescent light just
doesn't offer what the room needs. But with a larger-than-the-tiniest CFL,
you still can meet the wattage warning while offering much more light than
a 60-w incandescent can do.

Craig

The above is correct. Any power surge with any light source at turn-on is
brief (milliseconds) and, as far as CFLs are concerned, the surge is tiny
compared to what is drawn by incandescent and incandescent/halogen sources.
You'll have to be counting fractions of a penny to see any of those surges
on your monthly electric bill.

All fluorescent lamps are sensitive to on/off switching, however. The
reason is that starting a fluorescent lamp sputters off a bit of the
material coating the cathodes inside the tube. When that material is gone,
the lamp flickers or doesn't start and that's end of life for the lamp.
Newer lamps, including CFLs, are less sensitive to starts than older lamps;
but there is still some reduction in lamp life when lamps are switched.

CFLs that are Energy Star listed have to pass a "Rapid Cycle Stress Test"
(5 minutes on, 5 minutes off once every two hours of rated lamp life) and
they have to have a rated life of 6,000 hours or more (50% failures of a
group of lamps = time of rated life). Energy Star says that 6,000 hours is
about 5 years of residential use.

See:
http://www.energystar.gov/ia/partner...s_prog_req.pdf

So, if your CFLs are Energy Star listed and not performing up to Energy Star
standards, you should ask for a refund or replacement lamps from the
manufacturer and Energy Star will be interested in knowing as well.

But screwing a CFL into a socket designed for incandescent lamps, while
convenient, is a compromise. Fluorescent lamps work best in dedicated
sockets where the ballast is separated from the heat of the lamp. The
number of fluorescent lighting fixtures designed for residential use is
growing (see www.lightingfortomorrow.com for award-winning examples) and
companies such as Lithonia and Sea Gull Lighting have extensive lines. Too
bad that fixtures stores and home centers don't stock more of the good ones.

TKM