Re: CFL Bulbs
Sorry if you know this, but I'm not sure of your level of technical knowledge.
"Watt" is a measurement of electrical power. It measures the amount of power going into the bulb, not what we get out of it. For some odd reason, we've all been conditioned to think of bulb brightness in terms of "watts" and not "lumens" which is the correct way to measure light output.
When you go to the store and see "60W" CFLs, what they are really saying is "This bulb puts out the same amount of light as a 60W incandescent". If you read the smaller print, you'll find the bulb actually draws more like 15W.
And that is the whole magic of CFL - you are replacing 60W bulbs with 15W bulbs and not sacrificing brightness.
The next time you go to buy more CFLs, that might want to compare the lumans with the incandescent bulbs you would have bought rather then taking the "guide" at face value. I haven't looked recently, but I seem to remember a time when the guide was a bit optimistic. Also, CFLs do dim during their life, so you may want to start on the bright side so that it doesn't become too dark as it approaches end of life.
While 3-way CFLs exist, they aren't that easy to find. (Heck, 3-way incandescents are hard to find too.) I'm not sure as I'd put too much trust in all those websites. First of all, they claim "danger" without explaining it. It starts taking on the air of a "old wives tail". As for Craig and myself, we're both technical people and by nature skeptical until the issue is explained.
In my opinion, any CFLs with a base that would cause a problem with a 3-way light, should be removed from store shelfs as a safety hazard. I can think of no good reason why the manufacturer would ignore accepted standards to create something hazardous.
Originally posted by Karen
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"Watt" is a measurement of electrical power. It measures the amount of power going into the bulb, not what we get out of it. For some odd reason, we've all been conditioned to think of bulb brightness in terms of "watts" and not "lumens" which is the correct way to measure light output.
When you go to the store and see "60W" CFLs, what they are really saying is "This bulb puts out the same amount of light as a 60W incandescent". If you read the smaller print, you'll find the bulb actually draws more like 15W.
And that is the whole magic of CFL - you are replacing 60W bulbs with 15W bulbs and not sacrificing brightness.
Originally posted by Karen
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Originally posted by Karen
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In my opinion, any CFLs with a base that would cause a problem with a 3-way light, should be removed from store shelfs as a safety hazard. I can think of no good reason why the manufacturer would ignore accepted standards to create something hazardous.
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