Sainsburys turned me green... ish

[miniman]

Usually I won't buy those "green" lightbulbs (you know, the ones that take 20 minutes to warm up and then don't give out any light). The Philips ones, though, start up instantly and are really good. But I still won't buy them on principle because green is bad.

Until today, when Sainsburys are selling them for 10p each. That's right, 10p each. How can they make a profit on that? Bizarre. So I bought a stload. Maybe I will knock them out on eBay. I certainly don't plan on using the damn things.

[andy-xr]

I put a load of carrier bags in the boot of the car, thinking I'd wipe that smug look off the till tarts face when I went shopping. Only I forgot to take them out of the boot, so binned them on the way out of the car park out of spite

Those energy saving lightbulbs, it's like waiting for the sun to rise while the kettle boils

[NiceCupOfTea]

Decided to fit a few the other day. Utter crap. I can put up with the "5 mins to warm up", but it's the fact that 2 out of the 3 I put in flicker on and off like crazy and buzz loudly like they're going to explode for the first 30 seconds. Then there's the fact that the light source itself isn't always in the same place as they are with traditional incandescent lamps, so they make some shades look odd, or don't fit. And of course they can trigger migraines in some, and if you break one you are supposed to evacuate the room for several hours due to the mercury vapour!

Hooray for progress!

[dilbert]

Use em, but don't switch them off!

[V8A*ndy]

Must say wife got a couple of these from Tescos and are rubbish, however mum and dad got some and they are really good. switch on right away, no noise nothing.

Seems there are a lot of crap ones about.

Ohh many moons ago I bought two energy saving bulbs for work cos I couldn't be arsed changing them as it involved ladders and dangling from a ledge. Really dangerous to get at. Bulbs would go every couple months. Called round the other day and they are still going. Must be at least ten years.

Mind you they cost a small fortune back then.

[mouk786]

all of ours are fine and have replaced the normal ones

wether or not they save energy is oen thing, but they certainly last longer, make no noise, and can be much brighter.

[BigLepton]

Wait until this type of bulb is mandatory on cars and you have to wait five minutes for your brake lights to warm up before they work. . . . . .

[topless_mx5]

I certainly have no problem with them, apart from the 2 minutes to get fully bright.

Only concern is, are they actually energy saving if you constantly switch them on and off. Do they use more energy than a normal bulb when warming up?

[Balmoral Green]

I like them, because I hate bright light, and that massive hit you get when you turn on a light. I prefer the slow start and the weak output.

[Mars]

Balmoral Green said:

I like them, because I hate bright light, and that massive hit you get when you turn on a light. I prefer the slow start and the weak output.

Thank God it's not just me then.

I recently bought one for our dining room tiffany light and I reckon it ends up brighter than our previous 100watter. Over the dining table I'm happy with bright light especially as my Dad has poor eyesight and needs it to be as bright as possible. I do wish they could be dimmed though.

Wifey likes bright lights everywhere. We constantly switch different lights on and off to achieve soft lighting (me) and bright lighting (her). We have those golf-ball bulbs in our lounge. Some are 25W and some 40W depending on the particular light fitting. They won't take the energy efficient ones as they poke out too far so we've acknowledged we'll have to go for energy efficient fitting eventually. I'm not bothered though because the bloody golf-ball bulbs fail so frequently I reckon the energy efficient ones AND the new light fittings will pay for themselves inside a year.

Wish they'd dim though.

[becksW]

We have energy bulbs all round the house, have done for a few years, no issues with any of them. The landing one started to take a bit longer to brighten up recently but it was 2.5 years old. It is actually quite nice not to have an instant bright light first thing in the morning.

People moan so much about energy bulbs yet I really don't see the problem with them esp now they are such good value.

[robinhood21]

Balmoral Green said:

I like them, because I hate bright light, and that massive hit you get when you turn on a light. I prefer the slow start and the weak output.

I never thought I'd say this, but, + another!

[Monkey boy 1]

topless_mx5 said:

I certainly have no problem with them, apart from the 2 minutes to get fully bright.

Only concern is, are they actually energy saving if you constantly switch them on and off. Do they use more energy than a normal bulb when warming up?

I'm sure that they cost more to produce & manufacture than a normal bulb

[bga]

miniman said:

But I still won't buy them on principle because green is bad.

That attidude is just as bad as those preaching that everything "green" is good.

[bga]

robinhood21 said:

Balmoral Green said:

I like them, because I hate bright light, and that massive hit you get when you turn on a light. I prefer the slow start and the weak output.

I never thought I'd say this, but, + another!

Likewise. I thought I would give some a go & they are perfectly fine.

[chris1roll]

Monkey boy 1 said:

topless_mx5 said:

I certainly have no problem with them, apart from the 2 minutes to get fully bright.

Only concern is, are they actually energy saving if you constantly switch them on and off. Do they use more energy than a normal bulb when warming up?

I'm sure that they cost more to produce & manufacture than a normal bulb

And more to dispose of because of the mercury vapour in them - isn't there a mountain of them somewhere that "they" don't know what to do with?

Not much toxic or hard to dispose of about some glass, some tungsten and some argon....

Edited by chris1roll on Saturday 17th January 18:13

[mrmr96]

Cheers for the heads up. I just went and bought 10, however they made a c0ck up of the VAT and it only cost me 78p for ten.

(Basically they used to be 99p each, so 10 making £10. The drop in VAT rate is equivalent to 2.1% off the old gross price. When they discounted them to 10p each at the till, so 10 at 10p being £1, they gave me the VAT off the old gross price, so a further 22p off.)

I was tempted to go back and buy about 150 of them (would only cost about £12) and then ebay them. But that's not really the point. Plus I CBA.

[miniman]

bga said:

miniman said:

But I still won't buy them on principle because green is bad.

That attidude is just as bad as those preaching that everything "green" is good.

Yes, I realise that. My tongue was kind of in my cheek...

[Mikey G]

I have a couple of energy savers around the house, apart from the first couple of seconds i have no problem with the light they produce. But i have used them mostly in light stands and other covered fittings so the difference in light effect gets distorted through the shade anyway.

[Simpo Two]

miniman said:

bga said:

miniman said:

But I still won't buy them on principle because green is bad.

That attidude is just as bad as those preaching that everything "green" is good.

Yes, I realise that. My tongue was kind of in my cheek...

I think what you mean is that because it's 'green' it's compromised - ie it's not actually the best solution for the task, simply the one with the lowest emissions etc.