Much of the snow we got 36 hours ago melted yesterday afternoon, but ain’t no snow melting today. Haven’t seen the sun at all, and we’ve gotten some new inches in the past few hours. Not quite knee-high drifts (and fortunately there’s no wind) but walking anywhere is becoming rather more like wading than usual.
Good news is that the snowfall has brought the temperature up to something less unpleasant. Also, since the solar panels are all covered and may remain so until sometime Sunday, let me just type a sentence I never thought I’d use…
I just paid $30 for two lightbulbs.
The reading lamp above the Lair’s comfy chair is the only two-bulb light fixture to actually contain two bulbs, because that’s my reading lamp. But during times like these when electricity use becomes problematic, using it starts to feel sinful. On the theory that one sin cancels another, I spent a prodigious amount of money (on sale, $30 would buy 75 pounds of flour) to save 50% of the power use from my reading lamp. Given that the electricity costs me nothing per amp, that doesn’t make a lot of financial sense. But this is one of those rare times when I’ve got more dollars than amps, and it seemed like the thing to do at the time.
Anyway it wasn’t actually snowing hard when I made that decision, and now that it’s clear the solar panels will not charge the batteries a bit more today the timing turned out serendipitous. I’ve considered doing it for months.
Decisions, decisions… I’ve got a reading lamp that clamps to the window frame above my bed, and I really like it there. Problem is that I can’t put more than a 60 watt bulb in it – gets too hot – and I can’t see well enough with that bulb, so I’ve had to rig another lamp on the bedside table to boost it a bit… but the combination is still not satisfactory. I’ve tried the CFL bulbs that promise to give the light of 100 Watts, but I can’t see it as any brighter than the 60 watt I’ve used for years. I’ve got plenty of electricity, and not too expensive, but I guess I need a bigger lamp to hold a bigger bulb.
Do those come in 100 Watt? I’ll be interested to learn if they really give that much light.
According to the packages, they do come in 100 watt-equivalent.
MamaLiberty, you can get 100W and other size LED bulbs that are daylight spectrum and dimmable so you can have the light level you need at any time. I’m thinking that if you use daylight spectrum bulbs you’ll be more satisfied with the light. Before you buy, check out all the options. The other really good light is an Ott light. I just bought my second one, on sale. An Ott light is ideal for reading, computer use, sewing. I think you can do much better than the setup you have now, and you may want to replace a lot of your bulbs with daylight spectrum incandescent, CFL or LED once you see the difference.
Have you looked into LED strip lights? Basically a strip of tape with a white LED every inch or so, can be cut every 3 LED’s runs off 12 volts, dimmable. I use them as closet lights, over my desk as general purpose lights, and a 1 foot strip dimmed as low as possible on the top of the doorway woodwork as indirect nightlights. Tons of options for color and brightness, waterproof available, and many are under $10 for a 5 meter roll.
“Given that the electricity costs me nothing per amp, that doesn’t make a lot of financial sense.”
I’m sure that was said with tongue in cheek! Spending a bit to become more efficient, to make your energy budget fit within the capabilities of your solar system, is far cheaper than growing the system.
Zelda, all of my regular light bulbs were replaced with the curly CFL bulbs a long time ago. 🙂 And I did have a “daylight spectrum” CFL bulb in that reading lamp for a long time. But when it burned out, I could not find another one like it. Every one I’ve tried is not as bright, whatever the wattage claimed, and none have that comforting light either. The 100 watt equivalent bulbs I tried in that lamp also were a little hot, so I was afraid to use them. I’m thinking the lamp is just too small for what I want it to do, but maybe the LED bulbs run cooler and that would be wonderful.
My bedroom is in the basement, and there il little natural light down there as the windows are very small. I have not looked at the LED lights yet, since they were so expensive, but I guess it is time to do so.
ML, However hot that reading lamp gets with a CFL in it, it’s probably not as hot as it would get with any reasonable sized incandescent lamp. Still, LED bulbs give you more light for your fewer watts. (Those “fewer watts” mean less heat for a given amount of light.)
Light color is a whole different subject: In the old days we really didn’t have much choice. You bought an incandescent lamp and they were all about the same. Today it’s up to all of us to figure out what we like and buy the right color output lamp.
We find that we don’t like super-white light. Like artificially-whitened teeth, it just looks harsh and unnatural to us. So we buy “warm-white” bulbs. Our grandchildren, who never knew the light from incandescent lights, will probably have an entirely different idea of what “natural” is. So I suspect that as us old farts die off, warm-white bulbs will become hard to find.
Of course, naming colors is always problematic. Different names mean different things to different people. Fortunately, you can actually put a number on light color. Most packages these days have that information. See Here: http://www.westinghouselighting.com/color-temperature.aspx From what you are saying you probably want the highest color temperature number you can find, something over 5000K.
Thanks, Ben. I’ve been doing some looking and it would seem that choosing a lightbulb is now loosely equivalent to choosing a computer… More choices than we have reasonable information to understand… jargon and mostly obscure comparisons to the options we used to have and understand. I don’t need remote control or endless color changes. sigh
I can’t find any actual “daylight spectrum” bulbs that will screw into a standard lamp, so I guess that’s out. Most bulbs available go no higher than equivalent to the old 75 watt bulbs, but that might do it. I found this one: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00GS2QPKI?psc=1
The halogen bulbs scare me. Unless things have changed, they run far too hot. Darn near burned down my house with one of those halogen “torch” lamps. Torch indeed!!! Not compatible with curtains and open windows….
So, where did you get your bulbs, Joel? Have a link to them? That might make a fair starting point. 🙂
ML: I don’t know that company, but going to this page gives you more choices from them. http://g7power.com/br-recessed-lighting/
I see one that’s 5000K and I see another that’s 4000K but 100-watt equiv.
(Check dimensions. Will they fit your lamp?)
ML, here’s a link to information that will explain a bit more http://homeguides.sfgate.com/sunshine-cfl-vs-daylight-cfl-78892.html
Some CF bulbs are large, but you can also get larger/wider harps or bend the one on your lamp to fit the bulb you buy.
If you have 3 way bulbs and need an easier to turn switch, check these Home Helpers – Knob Extension, Light Switch Extension
My Lowe’s and Home Depot have a light bulb display with the bulbs on so you can see the color and intensity of the light before you buy the bulb.
I believe you can find daylight and sunshine CF standard socket bulbs, saw some on the Internet but as Ben said, check the K rating. Don’t give up, all of my CFs are daylight and varying intensities, but they may not be what you are looking for.
Thanks, Zelda. No “harps” on my lamp… it’s a gooseneck clamp type with a sort of bell shaped metal shade. There is no way to adapt it to the larger bulbs and it’s not very big. I did look for a larger lamp as well, but don’t see any yet… at least in my price range.
I’m 90 miles from the nearest city with a Lowes or Home Depot, so will have to depend on Amazon or some other outfit on line. I’ll keep looking. 🙂
Speaking of replacement bulbs . . .
I was in a Large Box Store of Lumber and Miscellaneous Hardware Trinkets the other day, and happened to walk down the “lighting” aisle. There, proudly displayed, was an entire shelf full of regular incandescent light bulbs labeled “100 Watt” in huge red letters. I was getting ready to fill a shopping cart with this bonanza when I noticed the tiny, faint, sub-label reading “replacement 75-watt”.
Ya gotta watch ’em every minute.
Shift of topic here.
I find it amusing that you are getting the snow out there, and we are getting little flash floods here. I recall as a kid in the A Z that winter meant flashfloods and when the O H it meant snow up to your eyeballs and sledding.
Funny how things change.
Assuming that you still have a CFL or two lighting up the Lair, it seems that you are now rendered ineligible to be employed by the Glenn Beck empire. http://grist.org/list/glenn-beck-will-fire-any-employee-caught-using-cfls/?utm_source=outbrain&utm_medium=web&utm_campaign=paid-distribution
Heh – well fortunately I don’t get a paycheck from Beck, but according to the article I’d still be cool if I did. I have CFLs – and I’m even transitioning to LEDs – but emphatically not because ‘global warming.’
That’s also not the reason I use solar rather than fossil fuel to make my ‘tricity. So he might choose to punish me for what I do, but not for why.