In article Ibhoe.3219$zT2.1802@trndny04, "Eric and Megan Swope" wrote:
Hi everyone. In my basement, I have a drop ceiling. In the spot where I
have the 2 clear tiles for lighting, instead of fluorescent lights, the
original homeowner pout in light housing for normal screw in light bulbs
that are nailed to the floor joists. The maximum watt light bulb I can put
in these housing is 150 watt. So in my basement now I have 2x150 watt light
bulb illuminating my area. My question is this, what will give me an
overall brighter basement, 2x150 watt light bulbs, or if I buy two
fluorescent worklights, each one holding 2x40 watt fluorescent tubes for a
total of 4x40 watts (I believe the brightest fluorescent tubes are only 40
watts?). I know simple math seems to say the 300 watt total from the light
bulbs would do it, but I would say every 2 months or so one of the 150
watters blows out (we use our basement a lot, so the lights can be on for
hours at a time). Cost of these bulbs isn't a major issue however, the
lighting is more so. Any advice is appreciated.

Fluorescent lights are much more efficient, and emit a *lot* more light per
watt consumed, than incandescents. You'll probably get about twice as much
light from 160 watts of fluorescent tubes as from two 150-watt incandescent
bulbs.

Compare the rated lumens output on the packages, not the wattages, when
comparing fluorescents to incandescents - that's a measure of the actual light
output.

Bottom line: incandescent bulbs emit most of the energy they consume as heat,
while fluorescents emit most of it as light. If your objective is to heat your
basement, use incandescents. If you want to illuminate it, use fluorescents.

And if you prefer the yellow, "warm" glow of incandescent bulbs to the stark
white "cool" light of fluorescent tubes... get compact-fluorescent bulbs that
screw into a standard incandescent socket. Best of both worlds: warm glow, and
energy efficiency.



--
Regards,
Doug Miller (alphageek at milmac dot com)

Nobody ever left footprints in the sands of time by sitting on his butt.
And who wants to leave buttprints in the sands of time?