In article , mm wrote:
On Tue, 25 Aug 2009 18:18:14 -0400, "h"
wrote:

I don't care about efficiency. CFLs are MUCH cheaper in the long run. Mine
have all lasted at least 6 years instead of 6 months for incandescents. Also
cheaper because they provide the same brightness while using less
electricity. But the number one reason I love these bulbs is that they don't
throw off the ridiculous heat generated by incandescents. It's not a big
deal in the winter but for those of use without AC, CFLs can lower the room
temp by 5-10 degrees, at least in my experience.

If you have AC, you pay twice for any waste heat from any light you
use, once to make it, and once to force it out of the house. I'm not
sure, but I think it costs more to remove the heat from the house than
it does to make it in the first place.

It's not that bad - maybe 1/3 of what it costs to produce the heat, give
or take, depending on efficiency of your A/C and how much hotter it is
outside than inside.

By far most of the output of an incandescent bulb is heat, but aiu
things, even the light, from both cfls and incandescent, turns to heat
when it hits soomething and doesn't bounce off. Now white bounces a
lot more light off of it than does black, but if bounced off all the
light, you could turn off the electric lights in an all white room and
it would remain lit forever. Instead it gets dark in a tiny fraction
of a second. Where did all the light energy go? It turned into
heat, afaik.

True, with exception of the amount escaping your house as light (and as
optical band infrared) - normally a very small percentage.

- Don Klipstein )