Now, for something completely different: My Electric Bill is Lower. Lots.

[Tandalayo_Scheisskopf]

Finally, after a long time of planning and procrastinating, I changed the main, most used lights in my apartment over to flourescent lighting instruments. 60 watt equivalent output that use 15 watts each.

I got my electric bill today. In one month, I saved almost $13.00.

Don't do what I did. Don't wait. Do it today. Save money and save a little chunk of the country, its air, its water and the planet.

Change your bulbs.

[gaia_gardener]

1. Congratulations!

The next step is to switch to energy efficient appliances. I managed to save some money and switched to a front loader washer (despite having 2 working washers) and haven't regretted it for one moment. It uses less water, less electricity and less detergent. It's also easier on my clothes and has a larger capacity than either of my previous washers.

Our next step will be to try to afford some solar panels (of course we'll have to buy a house first ...).

[NNN0LHI]

24. Good idea

I did that early last year. My washer went out but the dryer was OK. Dumped them both and got a set of Kenmore HE3t washer and matching dryer. Stacked them. The washer uses 15 gallons of water for a normal load compared to 45 gallons for top loaders. And because the washer spins at 1200 RPM the clothes come out of the washer almost dry. Just need to fluff them in the dryer for a short while to finish drying them and get the wrinkles out. Happy I did it too. Uses about one third of the detergent that a top loader uses. You made a vey smart move.

Don

[babylonsister]

2. Can you use the same lamps w/these bulbs? And what kind of

lighting/fixtures do you have in your kitchen/bathroom? I'm VERY interested in getting that electric bill down.

[gaia_gardener]

3. I've been able to use compact fluorescents in most

lamps. I can't put them in my dining room "chandelier" it uses the bulbs with smaller bases. I've had one light fixture that was too shallow for the bulbs, but that was a while ago and now they make the CF bulbs so much smaller that they'd probably work now.

[Tandalayo_Scheisskopf]

4. As to the first:

Yes. They just screw into the fixtures.

In the bathroom, I do have two rather decorative fixtures over the sink. They are both small incandescents. I did not change them. That said, I did change a lot of the others, the ones I use the most, hence the savings.

The initial cost per unit is higher than incandescents, but as you see, I almost made that back in the first month.

Your mileage may vary, of course. Depends on how many lights you burn in the house, at once. I am pretty anal about that.

[China_cat]

17. And they'll last YEARS longer than your regular bulbs.

We've been using them since they first came out. I think we've replaced 2 in that whole time.

[BrewerJohn]

8. I replaced my kitchen ceiling fixture with a new one

that takes a donut-shaped fluorescent tube. Fits in the same space, and puts out as much light as a 100 watt incandescent for something like 26 watts. They are readily available--I got mine at Lowe's.

Been gradually changing over to CF bulbs in table lamps and other overhead fixtures, too. They are a direct replacement for standard bulbs. It's a great feeling.

[tech3149]

10. You can find a size or shape to fit almost anything now

When they first came out, they didn't fit desk lamps too well. The only place I haven't used them is to replace globes in bathroom fixtures.

[SmokingJacket]

5. Is the quality of the light okay?

I'm damn fussy about lighting. I loathe fluorescent lights. I'd rather go with candles, or bumble around in the dark.

I mean, fluorescent lights make me feel like I'm in prison, or held captive in a WalMart. No way to live!

Have they improved the quality? That's what I'm waiting for.

LED lights are the next big thing, according to my friend who knows about shit like that. They use so little electricity, you could power up a whole traffic light with solar power. No more wires. If I were the investing kind, that's where my dough would go.

[Tandalayo_Scheisskopf]

7. The quality is vastly improved.

They now have more of that "yellow tungsten tinge" we are used to. Rather warm.

I have been a lighting puke for concerts in my checkered past. I know what I am talking about. ;-)

[karlrschneider]

9. They look just like regular incandescent bulb light. We switched out

all but 2 or 3 seldom used lights 2 years ago. The initial investment is a bit high but they have paid for themselves 3 times over (and are rated to be good for 5 more years at least.)

But if you have reservations, just get one and see how you like it. I think you'll be happy.
:D

[SmokingJacket]

13. In that case, I'll try one!

Planned obsolescence of those cheapo bulbs has always pissed me off, anyway. They can make regular bulbs last 50 years, but they don't.

[BrewerJohn]

12. Yes, much better

I also could never stand the tint of the older fluorescents. These are much better. The first one I bought, I put in a desk lamp on my desk just to see if it was tolerable. After it passed that test I started buying them for everywhere.

[LizW]

15. I always hated the fluorescent light too

but they have gotten better than they were five years ago.

There used to be a "warm up" time, when the light would start out at less than max brightness when you first turned the lamp on. I hated that, but it's better in the newer bulbs we've bought.

I had one lamp that killed compact fluorescent bulbs. I put one in it and it stopped working VERY soon. Way too soon. I thought I just got a bad bulb and bought another one and put it in. It ALSO went out before very long. I replaced the lamp and we haven't had any more trouble. Expensive lesson, though.

[NNN0LHI]

30. Just curious. Was it the kind of lamp that comes on when you just touch it?

I had two of those that did the same thing with the electronic type twist bulbs.

Don

[LizW]

38. No, it had a regular switch.

It was a cheap discount store lamp, but so are some of our others that handle the bulbs just fine. :shrug:

[NNN0LHI]

25. See post # 22 if you like bright white natural looking bulbs like I do n/t

[unkachuck]

40. as a LED side note....

....I've been using LED flashlights for a while now and I love the blueish-white light....it makes it easier for me to see things in the dark with greater detail....battery and LED 'bulb' life is unbelievable....(I use about 1/2 dozen little yellow Dorcy 'solid-state' lights that run on 4 AA batteries)....

....and I also use LED tail-light bulbs on my car....regular 1157 bulb elements draw about 1-1/4 amps each, for a total of about 2-1/2 amps when both brake and tail-light are on....the LED 1157 replacement bulb draws under 100 milliamps when both are on, amazing savings....(the LED bulbs won't draw enough current to work your directionals unless you have seperate directionals and use regular 1157s, although I believe somebody makes LED 1157s with a shunt resistor for directionals, but that defeats the energy savings)....

....I'm waiting for them to create omni-directional LEDs to be used in the screw-in fixture in our homes....if everyone went to LED house lighting in the future, the energy savings to our country would be huge....most of the energy used by incandesant bulbs is given off as heat, not light....

[tech3149]

6. Congratulations

I had done it for the last few years. I actually got down to under $9.00 last month. That was a real fluke though, just the computer and desk lamp and no cooking. I wish I could justify replacing the furnace and water heater in the apartment, natural gas is killing me. It cost'sd over $30/mo just to heat the water(and I don't use much).
Reduce,Recycle, and Reuse!

[NNN0LHI]

33. You may want to consider changing out your water heater?

They lose efficiency as they age and the new ones are much more efficient that the ones made even just a few years ago. Also hook a hose to the drain at least twice a year to get the sediment out of the bottom of the thing. I drain mine in the spring and fall. You should see the gunk that comes out of them. Hard to heat water through all that sediment. Water softeners help out a lot too. It is much easier to heat soft water than hard water. Never wait for a water heater to start leaking if it is located where it can ruin your carpet and flooring either. That just compounds the problem. And you don't want to have to replace the heater in a panicked situation. That puts you at the mercy of the plumber. Make the change when you can take your time and get the best price and most efficient heater by shopping around and by getting several estimates for installation.

Don

[n2mark]

11. Don't know where you live

but I just received email stating that our electrical company is increasing their rates up to 4.8 percent per month.

[babylonsister]

14. Thanks to all. I'm convinced and will be

changing bulbs soon!

[PA Democrat]

16. They last a lot longer than conventional light bulbs too! n/t

[dweller]

18. They don't work with dimmers

don't know if that was mentioned, but other than that they are great. I have 8 burning in my house (not all at once of course), even over the stove in the hood. I saw one recently for a fridge. They put out zero heat, so even lower the cooling bills slightly.

One other cost cutter i like to recommend. A water heater timer (elect or gas..i think now) is a great investment. They start at about $20 or did when i put one in 6 years ago, so they may have gone up. But i'm heating water for a total of 6 hours in 2 three hour segments, morning and nite. Wrapped the tank in an insulating blanket, and no-one has had a cold shower. There's an over-ride switch to take it off schedule/back on schedule as needed. It's a money saver for sure.

dp

[NNN0LHI]

28. They have some that can be used with a dimmer now. See post # 22 n/t

[dweller]

31. i checked the link

and don't see the feature for dimmers. Is that a specific feature of Eco-bulbs?
or are you using them with dimmers?

dp

[NNN0LHI]

34. They are on another page of that web site. Here is the direct link below

http://www.feit.com/dimtwist.html

[dweller]

37. super!

i stand corrected. It's one of the things i missed about these bulbs. I love my dimmers, so now have no excuse for standard bulbs.

thanks
dp

[muriel_volestrangler]

19. I can't see how you can save that much from bulbs

Say you left 4 bulbs on for 8 hours a day. That's a saving of 4 * 8 * 45 = 1440 watt hours = 1.44 kWh a day. At, what, 10 cents a kwH? That's 14.4 cents a day, or $4.46 a month.

And 8 hours a day is quite a lot (unless you sleep during the day, and are in the apartment through the night). Are you sure you didn't do something else to save electricity?

[Tandalayo_Scheisskopf]

21. Nope.

I went down that much on my bill. I really changed nothing else, and when I am building computers here, which is often of late, I leave them on all night, to cure the thermal compound. So I have 3-4 computers, a DSL modem, a switch , plus the electric range. And the lights.

I was paying 50 a month. I went down to 38.00. All I know.

[Trillo]

20. We were able to find screw-in fluorescent replacements

in 6500K spectrum. Love them much more than 'warm white', maybe it's my imagination, but I seem to have more energy as a result of the more natural spectrum. Did this about 2 years ago.

The electric bill definitely decreased.

[NNN0LHI]

22. I did the same thing last year

Replaced all my filament bulbs with these:

http://www.feit.com/twist3.html

I purchased the natural light models at Lowe's which are really white and bright compared to the yellowish looking ones. Best thing I ever did. Turned a normally $80+ dollar electric bill into roughly a $60 dollar electric bill every month. The electric company came out and changed my meter thinking (hoping?) my meter went bad. Heh, heh. My bill stayed at the same lower amount after the meter switch. These bulbs are worth their weight in gold. I leave 6 outdoor security lights on all the time now too. Never did that before either. The bright white color of the natural light was noticed by my neighbors too. Had a bunch of them wanting to know where I got them. They all have them now too. I have a set of twist bug light bulb's to replace them all when the bug's begin soon too.

Don

[Tandalayo_Scheisskopf]

23. Yup.

They really do drop your bills.

[NNN0LHI]

26. Look at this post from last year

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=105&topic_id=2373306

Follow-up. The gas company did come out and replace my gas meter in January. My usage stayed the same with the new meter. My bill never has went over $80 bucks a month this winter. I got em. Bwaaaaaaaaaa.

Don

[LeftyMom]

27. I love mine

They were cheap, too. Most of them only cost me $1 but I paid more for the 150 watt equivalent in a floor lamp.

I have them in every fixture they fit and work (one of my floor lamps gets a flicker with the CF bulbs.)

No idea how much money I'm saving, I just prefer them for ecological reasons. Not having to change blubs so often is a nice bonus.

I'll look into those CF applicance bulbs mentioned upthread, I've never seen those.

[napi21]

29. I have a question for all of you. I tried these for my reading lights.

About 3 years ago, I bought 2 different kind. Ond had 3 oval/u-shaped verticle tubes, and the other was the tube in a spiral twist. I had to switch back to regular 3 way's because I couldn't read with those flourescent ones. My eyes got very tired very quickly, because I was really straining to see the words on each page.

Did I buy the wrong ones, or what?

[NNN0LHI]

36. Go to Lowe's. They have a great display in the ones I have been in

I prefer the "natural" light model which is very close to a sunlight produced type light. My elderly parents did the same and said it helped them out to read a lot.

Don

[Straight Shooter]

32. My electric bill went way down, but it's been a mild winter.

Very hard to make a month-to-month comparison when the weather is so weird.

Thanks for the info, though. I've always hated flourescent lighting. It's nice to know that they now have "warm light" fluourescent lights because I work all day on a computer, and lighting is critical.

Save on electricity, put it in the gas tank x(

[Redstone]

35. Look around; sometimes you can find

compact fluorescents for as little as a buck each.

If you live in New England, the Bennies store chain has them cheap most of the time.

Redstone

[BiggJawn]

39. First month i went from $37 to $27.

Then I started other little tricks, like putting the porch light on a photocell, so it would stay off all day, but turn on at dark to welcome me home...

Timers on other interior lights.

Don't leave the computer on all day of you're not there to play with it.

My electric bill last month was $23.

The Compact Flourescent Bulb is one of the greatest inventions of the 20th Century!

[NNN0LHI]

41. For anyone follow my posts in this thread it was Menard's, not Lowe's...

...that had the excellent display of Feit twist bulbs that were always turned on to help people decide which ones they may prefer. At the price of gas, I didn't want to see anyone driving around needlessly. Sorry for my error. I don't think Lowe's even carrys the Feit line of twist bulbs.

Don