"N. Thornton" wrote in message
om...
"Richard Blackwood" wrote in message
...

All a bulbs power input becomes heat: about 98% of it becomes heat
directly, the rest becomes light, which turns to heat less than a
microsecond later as its absorbed. The power input always equals the
heat output.

CFLs are the solution, but dont be caught out by the one issue: the
stated equivalent powers are unrealistic, as they are comparisons with
a different type of bulb than everyone expects. The real efficiency
improvement is about 3.5x - 4x, so to replace a 60w bulb you need a
15-17 watts.

If you trust the box's equivalency claims, its dimmer and doesnt look
right.


I must agree that the equivalencies do seem rather on the optimistic side,
to put it kindly.

Rick