Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with compactfluorescent

My air conditioner causes my room to have brown-outs. Can I fix this?

SuperNova — Wed, 19 Aug 2009 12:30:07 -0800

When my window-unit air conditioner revs its motor, my overhead light dims... then seriously brightens up when the AC slows down. It's annoying. Is there anything I can do? I just moved into an older (1950s-era, I think) house. My room is cooled by a window-unit AC, which has been running close to full blast all the time lately (it's hot as hell right now). Intermittently, the lights in my room will dim as I hear the AC crank up, only to blink back to full brightness when the AC slows down a few minutes later.

I've thought about replacing the incandescent bulbs with CFLs, which would at least reduce the power load, but since I know CFLs aren't supposed to be great at handling irregular voltage, I'm not sure that wouldn't make things worse. (I did read this potentially-relevant question, but I don't think it helps me in my situation.)

Right now, I think of this mainly as an annoyance... BUT, I'm also worried about other issues down the line. I have my laptop plugged into a power strip ("surge protector" of unknown efficacy) but a desk fan I just plugged into the same strip seemed to slow down when the AC cranked up, which makes me think my computer (and, when I hook it up, my year-old TV) is being subjected to the same kind of local brownout... and that can't be good, right?

Worth noting, perhaps, is that the AC looks pretty old, so maybe I could convince the landlord to replace it with a more efficient (?) modern unit. But the landlord had to be essentially forced into doing basic maintenance, so I don't see him doing anything about the AC unless it dies (and AC murder isn't an option since, again, it's hot).

What can I do?

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.

Will energy saving light bulbs burn my house down?

Shoeburyness — Tue, 27 Mar 2007 14:37:29 -0800

What is normal when a compact flourescent bulb burns out? Today I noticed that one of my CF's had burnt out, when it had been working yesterday. I didn't have another at hand to replace it with, so I didn't immediately remove it. My stepdaughter commented that she smelled burning rubber, but I didn't smell anything myself, and didn't connect it to the bulb. Several hours later, I had a nagging feeling that I should take out the bulb, although I didn't know why. When I went to remove the bulb, I smelled the burnt rubber my stepdaughter had been talking about, and realized that the bulb was oddly warm. (The light switch was on because it powered other lights in the room that still worked.) When I removed it, it looked like this. I've been using these type of bulbs for several years and have never seen one do this before. Is it a fault in the bulb itself, or could it be my wiring? Now I'm scared that if I hadn't just suddenly got a wild hair to remove the bulb, there could have been a fire, and I wonder if any of the many other CF's I have in the house could do the same thing.

Sources for small dimmable Compact Fluorescents in Vancouver, BC?

pascal — Tue, 13 Feb 2007 20:16:37 -0800

I have been switching over to CFL bulbs, but have many lights on dimmers. Dimmable CFLs exist, and they exist in the sizes I need too, but I would like to find a supplier in Vancouver or at least within Canada, as paying customs charges on freaking light bulbs would be a real kick in the pants. Specifically, I am looking for bulbs like these models listed on the US site 1000Bulbs...

Small Dimmable Fluorescents
Decorative Torpedo Dimmable

These seem to be a bit too "cutting edge" to have made it to the regular places - Canadian Tire, Ikea, Rona - who otherwise seem to have most CFL needs covered. I'm not picky about manufacturers and models, just shapes and sizes.

Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with compactfluorescent

My air conditioner causes my room to have brown-outs. Can I fix this?

Broken compact fluorescent bulb

Will energy saving light bulbs burn my house down?

Sources for *small* dimmable Compact Fluorescents in Vancouver, BC?

Sources for small dimmable Compact Fluorescents in Vancouver, BC?