Since it has been so quiet, thought I'd share something I recently learned.
I have several overhead light fixtures in my home, with multiple
incandescent bulbs and a dimmer. Most CFLs (compact fluorescent lamps) say
in the fine print not to use them with dimmers; and don't work well at all
if you ignore the warning. Until very recently, all the dimmable CFLs I've
seen were more expensive than I was willing to pay, like $12 each.
But the local Home Depot has just started carrying them at $7.50 for a
2-pack, so I picked up a couple of packs.
They seem to work very well, dim quite nicely, and track the brightness of
the remaining incandescents reasonably well, except at very low light levels
where the incandescents have gone yellow. Light output at full power looks
to my eye to actually be a bit more than the 100w incandescents, with a bit
higher color temperature too.
My only complaint so far is that they are a bit longer than standard bulbs,
which means they stick out of my glass shades by an inch or so. But at 23
watts instead of 100 (per bulb), I think I'm going to start loading all of
my dimmable fixtures with them. Given my family's tendency to leave the big
lights on when not in use, I expect that to knock at least 10% off my
monthly electric bill.
They are from FEIT Electric (which is a CA company, tho the bulbs are made
in China) and the box says the price includes a discount from my local
electric company; so they may not be found in all stores. But it might be
worth a look, if you need them.
Not really shop talk, since my shop already has all fluorescent (except the
spot lighting on the drill press & mill); but we've discussed (and recussed)
them before.
Randall
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