Light Bulbs

[GoingDown]

Has anyone noticed how light bulbs that are supposed to last about 4 years are only lasting about 3 months anymore? Granted I'm buying them at Home Depot and they are made in China, but I expect them to last longer than 3 months!

Does anyone know of a particular brand that will actually last as long as it supposed to last?


And, what do you think about the fact that in 2012 we will no longer be allowed to buy incandescent light bulbs? We'll have to start using those funky looking CFL bulbs. Mood lighting will be a thing of the past. Everything will look like an office building from then on.

[kenshirley]

Cheaper light bulbs are only rated for so many hours.
I worked in retirement at an Ace and the cheap bulbs they sold there at the time were only good for 800 hours or so, but they were cheap.
You can pay the price and get long life bulbs if you need them.
It's your choice and most makers tell you right on the package the life expectancy.
And if it's where you turn if off and on frequently or in an exposed WX situation they will have a shorter life for the most part.
I spent the last part of my Civil Service career managing lighting and electrical crews. We changed all kinds of bulbs and fixtures out daily throughout a large industrial complex. It keep lots of people busy every day.
You cannot imagine the different types of bulbs and ballasts we had to order and maintain.
I used to order 4 pallets of 40 watt CW fluorescents monthly just to keep up and sometimes that did not do it.

[BigJohn]

Has anyone noticed how light bulbs that are supposed to last about 4 years are only lasting about 3 months anymore? Granted I'm buying them at Home Depot and they are made in China, but I expect them to last longer than 3 months!

Does anyone know of a particular brand that will actually last as long as it supposed to last?


And, what do you think about the fact that in 2012 we will no longer be allowed to buy incandescent light bulbs? We'll have to start using those funky looking CFL bulbs. Mood lighting will be a thing of the past. Everything will look like an office building from then on.

Buying Chinese lightbulbs at Home Depot is probably he best deal around. When they blow, just take them back and get your money back and then go buy some more.


There best deal is their Annual plants. If they die within a year, you can get your money back.

[justbroke]

Let me tell you about light bulbs. My home has 7 external doors and the window count is somewhere around 50. Anyhow, I also have a lot of flood lighting (6 on front porch and balcony, and 5 on back covered, screen patio).

I started out with PAR60 flood lights. I bought these nice halogen ones, and they were great. I didn't like them because they were bright white and attracted mosquitoes and other critters to my doors. So I changed to PAR60 "yellow" flood lights. Bugs were gone. These bulbs lasted about 6-12 months each. I got tired of replacing them and switched to these CFL Yellow Bulbs. That was 3 years ago. Not one of them have blown out yet. Sure, I paid $8 each, but that's almost what I paid for the PAR60 yellow flood lights!

I love CFL now! Mine are General Electric (GE).

[frogger]

We're using cfl bulbs everywhere we can too. I installed them several years ago and have only had to replace 1 of them.

As to regular light bulbs..... you want to buy "commercial" bulbs, not the cheap ones. The problem with cheap bulbs is that they are 120 volt bulbs. Commercial bulbs are 130 volt.

In most areas, the power coming into your house runs around 124 volts, which is too much for the 120 volt cheap light bulb, thus causing the fast burnout. You can find 130 volt commercial bulbs at HD and Lowes, but if not, most decent size towns have an electrical supply house that will sell them.

They don't cost much more, and they last a lot longer.

[AngelinaCatHub]

The cfl bulbs are good. They do go bad and I've had to replace several. You cannot use them on a dimmer circuit so, no mood lighting. The EPA is going nuts as to if you break one "PANIC". The amount of mercury in them is not measurable. Also no one went ape-shid when a florescent tube bulb was dropped. They have much more mercury. It's just the government justifying their jobs.

The cfL will last a long time and yes turning anything off and on will shorted the life. I NEVER turn off my computers. The hard drives and all electronics last longer. The cooling and heating cause expansion cracks and moisture collection. 'Hub