On 12/3/2010 11:16 PM, Gary "Joe" Mayfield wrote:
> I have not had noise issues with the CFLs, just longevity issues. My
> conclusion is my problem stems from the "enclosed nature" of the light
> fixtures in my house. As soon as I get a set that lasts longer than the
> incandescent bulbs I will start buying them for the rest of my house.
>
I've done some rechecking on ours with my wife who has a better memory
than I<:-))
Lifetime wise...and even with 20 installed the results are still
anecdotal with such a small sample.
The house is kept at 70 most of the daytime and drops to 68 at night.
the garage is unheated. The shop is 60-62, but goes tup to 68 or 70
while I'm out there depending on whether I'm parked in front of the rig,
computer, or working.
I was thinking that I hadn't seen any life increase or difference in
orientation, but when I stop to think about it... I don't recall any
being replaced in end table lamps, or the wall mounted behind the couch,
but those are mounted base down in fixtures that give the base maximum
cooling. We used to go through a lot of 60W incandescents in those. I
have lost one 75W (equiv) which replaced 60 W incandescents in the
ceiling fixture in the kitchen which are totally enclosed in small
globes mounted base up which are pretty close to a worst case
installation (totally enclosed and base up). We also lost one 75W
(equiv) over the kitchen sink where they are mounted horizontally under
the valance, but are well cooled. We've lost none in the ceiling
fixtures with fans. Three of those have the lamps mounted in globes,
base up and one has 4 of them, each mounted in an open "flower like"
glass at a 45 degree angle with the base up. These 4 would have good
air flow around the lamp, and poor around the base and they are on a
lot. Of the 200 watters (equiv) mounted base up on the garage ceiling
(well cooled in the ceramic mounts) their lifetime has not been so good,
but Incandescents did really poor out there as well. It may be the
temperature change in the winter and they do get cycled on and off quite
a bit, it may be the vibration from the garage door openers, or
something I've missed. OTOH they are cycled nowhere near as often as
the lights in the kitchen.
So, overall It *appears* that they are lasting substantially longer than
the incandescents did. My "external memory" (wife) says that's about
the way she remembers it as well. So they are lasting longer than the
incandescents, but as we keep no records on lights purchased I can't say
if it's twice or five times longer as the manufacturers claim. Just longer.
Brand? I've really never paid attention. I just grab them off the shelf
at Lowe's
As an added note here in the Northern states our days are much shorter
than those to the South, but nothing on the North side of Lake Superior<:-))
73
Roger (K8RI)
PS The 8' long, 5 year fluorescents in the shop regularly last 14
months.<Sigh> Heat out there is on an automatic/programmable thermostat
so it gets turned down even if I forget.
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