DIYbanter - View Single Post - Compact fluorescents slow to reach full intensity

Paul M. Eldridge

On Mon, 12 Mar 2007 01:03:43 -0500, wrote:

I'll second that. I have one SL18/R40 that sits on my side desk, it
has to be about 1988 vintage. Back around then I was working for a
company that kept an entire string of 15 150 watt downlights in a hall
running 24/7. I convinced them to swap out to the SL18s. The savings
was substantial. I think one had failed after more than a year of
use, and the rest just kept on going. IIRC, I first learned about
them back in 1982 or 1983 and played around with a couple then.

Another pioneer! Take a bow!

To some of us, a few lights in a hallway seems like such a small thing
but it's not. A savings of 1.98 kW times 24 hours a day works out to
be 17,345 kWh/yr, plus perhaps an additional 4,000 to 5,000 kWh/yr in
related a/c savings. That's enough energy to operate my entire home
for TWO YEARS, including heating and cooling. Factor in the
additional savings in lamp replacement costs and labour and you can
see why they make good sense.

Cheers,
Paul