Farewell Incandescents
After much to do and delays, I’ve finally replaced the last of the incandescent fixtures in my studio apartment. Tracking down matching CFL bathroom vanity bulbs proved to be the only challenging part. I think the Target department stores and Home Depots of Atlanta have a rule about only stocking two bulbs of this sort at a time.
In my quest to eliminate incandescents, I’m discovering a number of unholy grails:
1. Dimmable CFLs (I’ve heard they exist, but in several years of searching I haven’t found one)
2. Ceiling fan CFLs that actually fit in ceiling fans (I’ve found one model at Wal-Mart, but they’re incredibly low wattage)
3. Post lights that are bright enough to light up my front porch (most CFL post lights are only 40, and rarely, 60 watts (even a 75-watt incandescent isn’t bright enough)
4. Bathroom bulbs that don’t scream 1982
Until I find these, I’m stuck with Edison’s best.
1) Not sure what the wattage range is but: http://www.thegreenguide.com/blog/freshfinds/340
2) My ceiling fan accommodates standard size/power CFLs. What is the limiting factor on yours? Form factor?
3) The highest rated CFL floods I saw were 90w comparable. Sounds like you are looking for something more potent than that, though.
4) I used the globe/vanity CFLs but I suspect that’s what you mean by 1982. 🙂
Here’s the big list of CFL varieties out there:
http://www.onebillionbulbs.com/Reviews/Vanity/2700
Sortable/searchable by feature, location and shape.
1) Looks like a few of Amazon’s non-Amazon sellers carry dimmable CFLs. I might have to go that route. There are a few things in life that I just think you should buy the old-fashioned brick and mortar way, but I might be willing to try having lightbulbs shipped.
2) The ceiling fan issue is that the light fixture isn’t the kind that has two, three or four exposed bulbs sticking out. It’s a bowl-style that has two bulbs in it. As is, those bulbs nearly touch the glass, so size is the issue. Most CFLs are too long to fit in the fixture. Now, there are a few smaller ones out there, but CFLs get lower in wattage as they get smaller in size. The biggest ones I’ve seen were 40watts. That leaves us with 80 watts lighting the living room. That’s not terrible, but when you consider that some CFLs don’t go full bright until about 5 minutes after being turned on, my living room would be dark ages-y.
3) I don’t need a flood light. I need a post light. The post lights are sorta bullet shaped, covered in a ribbed plastic dome. I’ve only seen as high as 60w (comparable). Like this one: http://www.walmart.com/catalog/product.do?product_id=5984242
4) Yeah, white globe vanity lights always remind me of 1982. I see them and I hear Journey in the back of my mind. “…break those chains that bind you. One night will remind you how we touched and went our separate ways.” Of course, the clear globe lights remind me of 1992, so there’s no winning.
I like your system of chronology based on light bulbs. 🙂
I fully switched over to CFLs about a year ago, and have had nothing but good experiences with them. They provide plenty of light (even for my porch light), and I simply don’t have to worry about them. The main reason I went to CFL’s was the energy savings, if the power goes out and I hook up the generator, the amount of power used by the lights using CFLs is negligible compared to incandescents, I can run 5 CFLs on the same electricity that 1 incandescent would have required.
You know, I hadn’t even considered the generator/emergency power angle. Thanks for bring that up!