A light bulb question

[Bob_VT]

I have been on a mission to save energy.

I have purchased the new cfl light bulbs and installed them in various fixtures around the home. I know they take some time to reach full brightness (which is tolerable)however here is the question.

I installed three above my bathroom mirror and when I flip the switch it takes a few seconds for ANY light to appear.

I have used the same exact bulbs in other multi bulbed fixtures and it is not the case elsewhere...... only in the bathroom??? WHY??

BTW I installed 2 daylight 6500K bulbs in my mud/room and they take about a minute to reach full brightness but, wow is the light nice.

I do know that there are different bulbs designed for cold weather and instant starting but I am frugal (cheap) and bought the GE three packs for about .97 cents a bulb

 

[Bondo]

Re: A light bulb question

I installed three above my bathroom mirror and when I flip the switch it takes a few seconds for ANY light to appear.

Ayuh,... I too have been buyin', 'n installing cfls around the house for a few years,...
As the incandescents burn out, I pop in a cfl,...
The last 1 I switched is at the top of the stairs, it to does exactly as you say, it takes what seems like seconds to light...
Donno why, but it does...

Over the last year or so, I've been moving to Leds I get at Sam's Club,...
They use darn near no power, 'n are brighter, cleaner light...
Only problem is, so far, they're somewhat directional...
Most of their light goes in a cone pattern from the bulb, rather than All-round light...
But, even at that, they work Great in most applications, so far...

 

[JustJason]

Re: A light bulb question

Any chance the voltage is a little low in the socket, for instance, say 100v instead of 120v? It is a bathroom socket so the potential is there for corrosion in the wires/sockets. I don't know the answer, but if you checked it and found the voltage to be down a little bit that may explain it.
At home depot they have those adaptors that screw into light sockets and convert it to a normal plug, makes testing easier.

 

[MTboatguy]

Re: A light bulb question

I installed two can lights in my hall where my washer and dryer is, and installed CFL floods, and they do the same thing, in talking to the manufacture, they stated that some of the lights have a balancing feature in them, that does not allow them to start right away when there is more than one bulb inline, something to do with the equalization of the electricity to the bulbs. Perhaps the bulbs you purchased have the same feature and the other ones don't.

 

[rbh]

Re: A light bulb question

line load????

 

[Bob_VT]

Re: A light bulb question

I installed two can lights in my hall where my washer and dryer is, and installed CFL floods, and they do the same thing, in talking to the manufacture, they stated that some of the lights have a balancing feature in them, that does not allow them to start right away when there is more than one bulb inline, something to do with the equalization of the electricity to the bulbs. Perhaps the bulbs you purchased have the same feature and the other ones don't.

Same exact package (type)http://genet.gelighting.com/LightProducts/Dispatcher?REQUEST=CONSUMERSPECPAGE&PRODUCTCODE=97689&TABID=2&BreadCrumbValues=&ModelSelectionFilter=FT0001:Energy%20Smart%C3%82%C2%AE^FT0025:General%20Purpose

I guess what is strange is that in my dining room I have a fixture that has 5 bulbs, a fixture in the kitchen with 3 and the bathroom with 3 but, only the bathroom seems to be the absolute slowest. The 5 light fixture is a touch slow compared to the kitchen 3 ........

I have read all of the CFL FAQ's on the GE web site........ maybe a call is in order.

 

[Tim Frank]

Re: A light bulb question

I have found that horizontal orientation seems to work differently from vertical.
Makes no sense to me, but over my bathroom mirror they do come on more slowly. (horiz.)
The ceiling one is fine.(vert.)

 

[Boomyal]

Re: A light bulb question

Everywhere I've used them, they take a second to come on. The ones out in my colder garage are the slowest.

 

[i386]

Re: A light bulb question

We've been doing like Bond-O over the past few years. I have three lights over my bathroom mirror. The left one is a CFL and the right 2 are incandescent. They all come on at the same time. As a matter of fact, I don't recall any of mine the have a delay in coming or or making full brightness except the round ring tubes. Now the 2 36" tubes in the garage drive me crazy because they won't even come on if it's around 40 degrees or below. I can't say I've noticed that I'm saving any electricity, but I do changes bulbs a lot less frequently. When they do go bad I just chuck 'em in the recycle box at the big orange store.

 

[dolluper]

Re: A light bulb question

just like a florisent light ...in fact they are the coil type have starters,,,why they work poorly in the cold.....I have to turn the outside light on 3 minutes before I want light to see when its in the minus cold range outside.....wish they made cold start ones

 

[CheapboatKev]

Re: A light bulb question

I have found that horizontal orientation seems to work differently from vertical.
Makes no sense to me, but over my bathroom mirror they do come on more slowly. (horiz.)
The ceiling one is fine.(vert.)

Winner Winner Chicken Dinner!!! Base up or base down is the recomendend burning position.

 

[CheapboatKev]

Re: A light bulb question

just like a florisent light ...in fact they are the coil type have starters,,,why they work poorly in the cold.....I have to turn the outside light on 3 minutes before I want light to see when its in the minus cold range outside.....wish they made cold start ones

They make cold start CFL's...look for lamps with Amalgam added.

 

[dolluper]

Re: A light bulb question

Ok send me a box eh

 

[Bob_VT]

Re: A light bulb question

Well the lights in my kitchen, dining and bathroom all have the vertical orientation ............. all the room are "room temperature" so being a cold start cfl makes no difference here!

Hey dolluper does a "florisent light" in Canada do the same thing as a fluorescent light here in the USA eh!!! Had to pick on ya!!

 

[Fireman431]

Re: A light bulb question

Only problem is, so far, they're somewhat directional...
Most of their light goes in a cone pattern from the bulb, rather than All-round light...

You can get past that if you have the 'diffuser' type globe or lens on the fixture.

Where I can, I switched to the soft glow, low wattage bulbs. I can't say I've seen a difference on my bills, but at least I can try to convince myself that I'm trying!

 

[levittownnick]

Re: A light bulb question

Florescent bulbs are great where they are left on for long periods of time. They don't last long where they are switched on & off frequently, and they operate poorly when dimmed. The more expensive dimmable type don't work well when dimmed either.

 

[CheapboatKev]

Re: A light bulb question

Florescent bulbs are great where they are left on for long periods of time. They don't last long where they are switched on & off frequently, and they operate poorly when dimmed. The more expensive dimmable type don't work well when dimmed either.

The CFL's made to dim are in fact expensive, and some dont dim very well it's true. However many homeowners have a standard incandescent dimmer, and dont realize they neeed an electronic dimmer, made specifically for CFL such as the new Diva system from Lutron.

Honestly...private residences will never see a signifigant reduction in their electric bill by going 100% CFL.

The focus really needs to be on large industrial and business offices...One large office building can have 10,000 plus linear T8's or T5's plus thousands of CFL lamps in the restrooms, hallways ectera. THOSE CFL's however will not be screw based, but 2 pin or 4 pin CFL that run off a remote ballast.

Not what you would see in a typical home, with maybe 30 sockets to fill.

 

[mscher]

Re: A light bulb question

Honestly...private residences will never see a signifigant reduction in their electric bill by going 100% CFL.

I have almost all CFLs and my electricty bill was $143. Assuming I didn't use any.

If lighting averages 20% of home electricity usage and if CFLs cost 75% less to operate (with "equivelent" light), mean I would have saved around $21 on this bill, by switching to CFLs. That would be a signifigant savings annually, especially since CFL bulbs now cost only slightly more than incandecents.

 

[mscher]

Re: A light bulb question

I do know that there are different bulbs designed for cold weather and instant starting but I am frugal (cheap) and bought the GE three packs for about .97 cents a bulb

I just use the cheapies in the barn. Even at zero degrees, they are bright enough to see instantly and come up to full brightness, in well under 30 seconds.

 

[Bob_VT]

Re: A light bulb question

I have almost all CFLs and my electricty bill was $143. Assuming I didn't use any.

If lighting averages 20% of home electricity usage and if CFLs cost 75% less to operate (with "equivelent" light), mean I would have saved around $21 on this bill, by switching to CFLs. That would be a signifigant savings annually, especially since CFL bulbs now cost only slightly more than incandecents.

Well...... read the fine print. I was reading on the GE web site and the "cost savings" takes into account the regular light bulb replacement costs http://www.gelighting.com/na/home_lighting/products/energy_smart.htm and it is over a period of time. I know it is not an instant savings and not as effective as other measures.