Re: OT: free CFL bulbs (fwd)

----- Original Message -----
From: "Chris Friesen" <cbf123@mail.usask.ca>
To: <linux@slg.org>
Sent: Monday, March 26, 2007 8:34 AM
Subject: Re: OT: free CFL bulbs (fwd)

> However, the number of times they're switched definately affects the
> life of the bulb.

This is exactly the point.

I'll give you a great example of a poor place to put a CFL: my pantry.

My pantry has a normal hollow door. If you open it, there is all the food
on the shelves. However, the pantry is quite deep and dark so there is a
light bulb above that you can turn on. I have a standard 40-watt
incandescent bulb there. This bulb provides bright light for the space
because it's so small and it's so enclosed.

When we use the pantry, we open the door, turn on the light, find the item,
turn off the light, and close the door. Total ontime of the bulb most times
is less than 30 seconds, and the vast majority of times is still under a
minute. Very occasionally (e.g. while preparing a complex dish) the light
might stay on for 20 or 30 minutes for convenience.

For two reasons, this would be a terrible place to put a CFL:
 - the smallest CFL bulbs still provide way too much light for this space
and aren't that much less consumptive of electricity than a 40-watt bulb
(relative to the normal savings one gets)
 - the frequently short on-time of this bulb would result in the relatively
rapid death of a CFL, whereas an incandescent bulb in this application lasts
a very long time.

I have a CFL in my basement laundry area, but I'm not sure I should. It's
an experiment. The light is typically on for a couple of minutes or so at a
time, each time I check the laundry. (Even in the daytime, there is little
natural light down there and it's hard to see.) I'm interested in how long
the bulb lasts, but based on my research, it's a very suboptimal use of a
CFL bulb.

Conversely, the two non-task lights in my living room (general room lighting
only) have had CFL bulbs for over two years and work well. These lights
tend to get turned on when we get home from work, and tend to get left on
until we go to bed. This is a perfect application for a CFL.

Jim

Jim
Received on Mon Mar 26 09:04:59 2007