Light Bulbs

So the next thing was that we were always replacing light bulbs, so I started looking into the spiral kind as I called them LOL. They are really called Compact Fluorescent Bulbs, they are to last up to 9 or so years depending on the brand that you buy. The package I have in front of me now are the Great Value brand from Wal-Mart. They are energy star compliant and I chose the 60 watt equivalent, these only use a whopping 13 watts. The light output is 900 lumens/energy used 13watts/bulb life 10,000 hours. I did notice a different right off the bat they take a few seconds to light up completely, its kinda of like they go from dim to bright as they warm up. These lamps do contain a bit of mercury and should be disposed of properly. If you have these and need information on how to dispose of them please visit www.lamprecycle.org or call 1-800-378-6998.

I started buying these and putting them everywhere in our house that they could be put. A little side note tho DO NOT replace them in dimmer switch lights. There are warning labels on the packaging saying Do Not use with emergency exit fixtures,or lights; electronic timers, photocells, or dimmers. Yes I will admit it I did just that with a dimmer found out that it would not work by watching the light (it does some pretty funky things and makes some interesting sounds), take my mistake and do not do it lol. I really wanted to find them for our bathroom vanity lights, then one day I was picking up a normal package for the dimmer lights and lo and behold guess what jumped off the shelf at me. Yes you guessed it lights just for vanity's I was thrilled and bought a package. So over the next few weeks a light here and there went out in the bathroom and I slowly replaced them all, 6 to be exact. I immediately noticed a huge difference, before our bathroom always got really, really hot now it only gets warm if the shower or hot water is running, WOOOOOOO WHOOOOOOOOO. So right then I knew these lights would be the only ones I would buy from now on.

Now I have heard that the company's have been working on lights that will work with the dimmer switch lights. I haven't had to buy light bulbs for a while so I haven't looked, as soon as I find out I will post a comment to this post with an update as to what I found. If you would like just go to your local hardware store Lowe's, Home Depot, or Menard's (Menard's is my favorite) and go to the lighting section they usually have the best selection to choose from and you can just pa ruse the isle to see what they have and what might be best for you. Please feel free to post a comment here what you find, I know I would love it but you may also help someone else in their search. If you have used any other kinds that are energy saving that I have not mentioned please feel free to list those as well, to let us know what else is out there.

So in a nut shell you can save quite a bit of energy and money per bulb you replace with these types of bulbs. Please remember that only you know what is best for you I can only suggest you use this type it is solely up to you what lights you use.