Energy-saving bulbs- what am I doing wrong?

[DanieMarie]

Re: Energy-saving bulbs- what am I doing wrong?

I don't have fluorescent light fixtures so that's not an option lol.

I do think they help, because they do last longer (I've never had a regular bulb last longer than a year, no matter how much I use the light...6 months is usually the most I get out of them), and when I switched them I got a 50 Euro refund off my power bill (and another one this year)...If they last 3 years, that's still 150 Euros in savings!

It's not so much because of the money that I want them to last longer, because that's more or less sorted. It's the fact that my ceilings are slightly higher than North American ones (it's a new building so they're not super high, just 'average' for here, I'm guessing because Germans are tall lol...everything in my apartment is made for tall Germans!) and I'd really like to avoid changing light bulbs if I can! Like, if I can get them to last 8 years, that would be fantastic, because then I don't have to make calls to all my friends to come help me

I do have a ladder, and it's great for putting up curtain rods and stuff, but it's -just- too short for me to reach the ceiling. Eeep.

[Ophidia]

Re: Energy-saving bulbs- what am I doing wrong?

IIt's not so much because of the money that I want them to last longer, because that's more or less sorted. It's the fact that my ceilings are slightly higher than North American ones (it's a new building so they're not super high, just 'average' for here, I'm guessing because Germans are tall lol...everything in my apartment is made for tall Germans!) and I'd really like to avoid changing light bulbs if I can! Like, if I can get them to last 8 years, that would be fantastic, because then I don't have to make calls to all my friends to come help me

I do have a ladder, and it's great for putting up curtain rods and stuff, but it's -just- too short for me to reach the ceiling. Eeep.

I feel your pain on that one - we've got vaulted ceilings, so if I had to change lightbulbs up there, they'd stay dark. I'd just get more floor lamps (most new homes, at least here in the SW states, have vaulted ceilings, which make no sense... heat rises & cool air sinks. You air condition your floor, but your house is still freaking hot).

GE's website mentions that recessed, enclosed fixtures may generate too high of heat for optimal bulb performance - our hall lights are enclosed, but not recessed. That may have something to do w/short lives.

[DanieMarie]

Re: Energy-saving bulbs- what am I doing wrong?

I feel your pain on that one - we've got vaulted ceilings, so if I had to change lightbulbs up there, they'd stay dark. I'd just get more floor lamps (most new homes, at least here in the SW states, have vaulted ceilings, which make no sense... heat rises & cool air sinks. You air condition your floor, but your house is still freaking hot).

GE's website mentions that recessed, enclosed fixtures may generate too high of heat for optimal bulb performance - our hall lights are enclosed, but not recessed. That may have something to do w/short lives.

Hmmmm interesting. That describes a fixture where one of the better ones burned out!

[RJN]

Re: Energy-saving bulbs- what am I doing wrong?

These bulbs are electronically ballasted. Its this electronic part that causes the most problems.
To keep the manufactured price down, they are built within a whisker of acceptable tolerance
to mains born electrical spikes. Unfortunately real world conditions prevail and they are
sitting ducks for all the crap that is coming down the mains. Lightning strikes, even quite far
away are especially good for a zap. The really poor bulbs are even prone to blow if turned on
when the ac mains is near or at its positive or negative peak, which happens 100 times a second in the UK, takes a very steady hand on the light switch to get that right!