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Saving Money On Lighting |
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Most people think if you put a Compact Fluorescent Light (CFL) into a light fixture, you will automatically save money. This is not true! And I'm here to tell you why.
CFLs are the screw-in fluorescent lights. They can screw into a regular lightbulb base, and they work just like a fluorescent light. That is, they use a burst of energy when you first turn them on, so you don't start saving money until they have been on for 15 minutes. But after they are turned on, they start daintily sipping electricity. What this means is you should only use CFLs (or any fluorescent) in an area where the lights are on for 15 minutes or more. Good places for CFLs are: living rooms, kitchens, porch lights, yard lights. Bad places, where lights are turned on for a short time then turned off are: bathrooms, bedrooms and halls. Know where CFLs work best is the key to saving money.
By Chuck R. from Grand Rapids, MI
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RE: Saving Money On Lighting
"This isn't printed on the packaging or part of their 'advertisements'."
Of course it isn't. If it was, it would cause a few people to be confused and not buy the bulb. The CFL companies want to milk the "green cow" for all it's worth. But you have to know how CFL's work to get the most from them.
"When I was in school a teacher said it was cheaper to leave the classroom lights on all day than to turn them off between classes."
Your teacher was correct. Even though we have CFLs that are "instant start" (they have electronic ballasts) they still use a large amount of energy to start up.
Just remember this: "In 15 minutes honey, we'll start saving money."
Posted on 04/29/2008 | Report Spam or Abuse
RE: Saving Money On Lighting
this isn't true according to 'a popular science based show on the discovery channel'. when tested they found that to reach its max wattage and then level off was barely a blink of an eye.
Incandescent: 0.36 seconds
CFL: 0.015 seconds
Halogen: .51 seconds
LED: 1.28 seconds
Fluorescent: 23.3 seconds
so in otherwords, it only takes 0.015 seconds for a cfl to max out its startup energy.
Posted on 01/24/2007 | Report Spam or Abuse
RE: Saving Money On Lighting
This is common knowledge among good electricans but hardly anyone else knows it. I will look for a website which talks about this though.
Don Klipstein is the lighting guru. He knows very much about many types of lights. His web page is: http://members.misty.com/don//light.html
Flourescent lamps are here: http://members.misty.com/don//f-lamp.html
A quote from the above page:
"When the lamp is off, the mercury/gas mixture is non-conductive. When power is first applied, a high voltage (several hundred volts) is needed to initiate the discharge. However, once this takes place, a much lower voltage - usually under 100 V for tubes under 30 watts, 100 to 175 volts for 30 watts or more - is needed to maintain it."
What this means: a lot of energy is required to start the light, but very little is required to keep it lit.
Posted on 01/24/2007 | Report Spam or Abuse
RE: Saving Money On Lighting
Great tip. Thanks for the info.
Anna, NYC
Posted on 01/23/2007 | Report Spam or Abuse
RE: Saving Money On Lighting
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By Lisa from WI (Guest Post)
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When I was in school a teacher said it was cheaper to leave the classroom lights on all day than to turn them off between classes. It is good to know the 'why' behind this. Thank you.
Posted on 01/23/2007 | Report Spam or Abuse
RE: Saving Money On Lighting
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By pam2cats. (Guest Post)
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Ive never heard that either and I would like to know where you got the information. (I double check everything before I "use" it)
Posted on 01/23/2007 | Report Spam or Abuse
RE: Saving Money On Lighting
Thanks Chuck!
I didn't know that!
Joseph
Posted on 01/22/2007 | Report Spam or Abuse
RE: Saving Money On Lighting
This isn't printed on the packaging or part of their 'advertisements'. Ummm. :)
Thank you for the tip Chuck.
Posted on 01/22/2007 | Report Spam or Abuse
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