Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with bulbs

CFL or LED?

drstein — Sun, 26 Oct 2008 11:25:55 -0800

Should we buy CFL or LED bulbs? We're in the process of replacing all of the bulbs in the house with more energy efficient lights and the concept of newer LED units has piqued our interest.

I have 5 can lights (using PAR bulbs) in the kitchen. One is on a separate switch, so I put a CFL in it but we've been less than thrilled with it so far. It's a Phillips bulb and literally takes 2 minutes to reach full brightness, which is annoying. The LED bulbs are bright instantly.

Have any of you folks purchased LED bulbs? Happy with the light output? Noticed any energy savings? There are many to choose from but since they're a bit more expensive, we want to make a decent choice. (The ones we've seen aren't as expensive as the one on ledwaves. Our local Wal-Mart actually has an entire aisle of CFL bulbs and LED bulbs.)

Where can I purchase AC 110V-35W bulbs?

bostonhill — Tue, 19 Aug 2008 21:01:23 -0800

Where can I purchase 6400k AC 110V-35W bulbs? I bought lights+umbrella for my photographing needs and one of the bulbs *AC 110V-35W* that came with it easily broke. I want to buy a replacement but cannot seem to find these bulbs anywhere on the net.

The only info I have on them is 6400k - AC 110V-35W bulb

Coolest burning bulbs?

caveat empress — Sun, 10 Aug 2008 09:56:24 -0800

Help finding the coolest burning bulbs for my bathroom vanity... My upstairs is a pretty dark place, and it is necessary to have lights on anytime I am in the bathroom. Problem is the heat that the bulbs in the vanity gives off is pretty nasty.

What is/are the best option(s) for replacement bulbs (I believe you would call the base size 'Candelabra') that will give off the least amount of heat, yet provide sufficient light for a very small and dark room?

Can I put R40 bulbs in my R30 cans?

bjrubble — Thu, 05 Jun 2008 07:38:00 -0800

Can I put R40 bulbs in my R30 cans? My recessed cans say R30, but I don't really like the way R30s sit in them -- they look too small for the can, and they sit so far down in the can that they just cast a cone of light like a spotlight. (I've adjusted them to not sit so deep, but this required cutting the baffle springs shorter, they look more awkward, and they're still arguably too deep.) R40s look better in the cans (to me, at least), even when adjusted to poke out of the can a bit, where they make a world of difference in the ambient light of the room.

My only worry is that I've never seen anything about using R40 bulbs in R30 fixtures. I've seen it claimed that they physically won't fit (which they do) but nothing about risk of fire or damage. I'm hoping that in our litigious world such a risk would result in some sort of contraindication on the label of the bulb or the can, of which I have found none. But I'd prefer to make sure before starting to migrate my lighting.

(FYI, these are standard Halo IC remodel cans.)

Can I plant these bulbs now?

stormygrey — Thu, 22 May 2008 13:46:02 -0800

Bulbs filter...Can I plant these or should I stick them in the fridge? I've never dealt with any bulb except the standard daffodil. An online nursery had an end of season grabbag marked from almost 200 that I ended up getting for 25 with some fancy online coupon magic. I don't know what do with them.

I just got a shipment of way discount bulbs because apparently these bulbs should be planted more like April for summer blooms. So can I put them in the ground? I live in Georgia and we have a looong summer, so it'll be hot enough to qualify for summer way into September.

It looks like I got some glads, satisfaction lily trees,grand paridoiso lilys, peacock orchids, and shamrock iron cross bulbs, then some dahlia, orange glory flower, lady's mantle, and 4'oclocks root clumbs (rhizomes?).

All of these are supposed to be perinneal in nature. I also have a big bag of daffodil's but I guess I can put those in the fridge and plant them in the fall/winter.

So what should I do with all this bulby mess?

Broken compact fluorescent bulb

LobsterMitten — Wed, 27 Feb 2008 02:07:06 -0800

I broke a compact fluorescent light bulb in my bedroom. Rudimentary cleanup, but I'm must go to bed, and my husband's already asleep in there. I saw the scary "leave the room for 15 minutes" mercury warnings on the government cleanup page. Anybody know the science? How bad is this? Some shards in the carpet. I've cleaned up the shards I could, probably still dust in the carpet; I've opened a window. Suggestions for more cleanup in the morning? Range of "how bad is this"? If it's bad, what will happen (what should we watch for)? No kids or pets involved.

Help with Halogens

RandlePatrickMcMurphy — Tue, 19 Feb 2008 16:00:01 -0800

How do I avoid setting my kitchen on fire with halogen lights? I need new lights in my kitchen and dining room. The obvious choice are halogen pendants, like these.

Of course I can't do anything the obvious way, and I want to use the same pendants covers with halogen in the kitchen and incandescent or CFL in the dining room, but (after bad torchiere experiences in college) I'm a little intimidated by the heat generated by those little halogens.

If I replace the existing clear plastic "can" that surrounds the bulb with something similar, what materials should I avoid? If I use frosted glass, is there a risk that the glass would crack in the heat? Would a regular paper/laminate lamp shade, like these melt or catch on fire?

And ultimately, is there a better way to provide good strong not unnatural lighting to a kitchen at the same or less cost and energy expenditure? LEDs? Xenon? CFL floods? Full-spectrum something?

I'm sure there's a creative answer somewhere and I'm like Alexander the Great standing in the light.

Where did I screw up forcing my tulip bulbs?

catesbie — Thu, 31 Jan 2008 08:23:57 -0800

I have tried to force some tulip bulbs indoors this winter and have failed miserably, but don't know why. I planted some tulip bulbs in October in a shallow container covered in potting soil. Kept the soil moist, and kept it in the fridge until a couple of weeks ago, when I took the container out and moved it to a sunny window. Since then: nothing. Nothing, that is, except white fuzzy mold and fruit flies. Not the vaguest hint of a sprout. What gives? It appears to have been a process of very few steps. Which one of them did I screw up?

Where to find energy efficient GU10 bulbs in Canada?

gfroese — Fri, 09 Feb 2007 12:25:52 -0800

Where can I find GU10 compact fluorescent bulbs in Canada/US? I've found these bulbs overseas at sites like this one but can't find a source for these in Canada/US. I'm located in Winnipeg (central Canada), so any Canadian vendors would be ideal, shipping to Canada from the US would be second best.

How long do the lcd projector bubls last?

aeighty — Sat, 18 Nov 2006 13:58:49 -0800

In LCD Projectors, how accurate are manufacturer's claims as to the lamp life? I have a chance to buy a 3 year old LCD projector. The claimed life on the bulb is 3000 hours. The projector has just over 500 hours on it. Can I expect another year of moderate usage (say another 500 hours)?

Thanks!

Identify blown bulb/fuse from Electro Voice speakers

davey_darling — Fri, 03 Mar 2006 19:08:25 -0800

What exactly is this? It is out of an Electro-Voice Eliminator speaker cabinet (1x15 shown here.) We blew this thing (stupid mistake was made) and now I can't find replacement info for the life of me. It's about an inch and a half long, 3/8's in diameter. It was mounted in a pair on the crossover in the back of the speaker.
I know that it's a light bulb, and I've picked up lookalike bulbs (with a slightly thinner filament) from the local hardware store, but for the life of me I can't google up any specs on the replacement bulbs for this thing.
Will installing the 12v bulbs that I purchased be a problem?
Any sound engineers deal with replacing these things on a regular basis?

Sproutin' Daffodils

Heatwole — Fri, 03 Feb 2006 10:27:53 -0800

A freakishly warm winter and the daffodils are coming up... They are showing about 2" of leaves already. Should I dig them up and continue to force them indoors? Or not worry? Baltimore, MD Zone 8 Coastal.

Pick me a light bulb

Cosine — Tue, 11 Oct 2005 22:43:06 -0800

I would like to replace my light bulbs but am confused... I'd like to replace the old incandescent bulbs in my apartment with something better, less power, less heat, longer lasting. I've looked around online and the LED ones seem like a scam and the flourescent ones have that ugly white light, is there any choice out there that has pretty, soft light like an old style bulb without the heat and power use?

Daffodil die-back?

sagwalla — Thu, 14 Apr 2005 23:01:06 -0800

Daffodils - let them die back or dig out the bulbs?

How to fix the headlights on my '72 Volvo ASAP?

nicwolff — Sat, 28 Aug 2004 14:23:20 -0800

My headlights are out! [M to the Izzo] I have a 1972 Volvo, and as of last night my headlights won't go on. All the other lights work, and none of the fuses I can see are blown. The alternator is working and the battery has a good charge. All the garages around here are closed for the weekend, but I have a multimeter and tools and I want to go to the rock show tonight! Unfortunately I know fuck-all about auto electrics. Can anyone give me a clue where to start checking?

Fluorescent light problem:

cardboard — Fri, 16 Jul 2004 08:16:30 -0800

Fluorescent light problem:

I have a fluorescent light fixture in my bathroom using two, different-sized, doughnut-shaped bulbs. Lately it's been taking a long time to turn on (15-30 minutes) after I throw the switch in the morning. If the fixture has been running for a while, this warm-up time seems to go down. Does this sound like a ballast problem (and thus my landlord's problem), or a light-bulb problem (mine)? I'm leaning to ballast because the lights look fine once they start, but I haven't been able to find the same symptoms on the half dozen fluorescent lighting websites I've looked at so far.