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Home > Main > Chrome Gnome Cafe > For those who think GREEN when it comes to your house

For those who think GREEN when it comes to your house

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Web
Maryland, US
  • THE SHADOW
 Ok, well, I've been on this trip now about trying to see how much I can overall help my parents save at their house with electricity. I have been turned on to these compact fluorescent bulbs made by N:Vision.


I have replaced about half of the lights in our house with these types of bulbs and amazingly, they are brighter (even if they read the same wattage). The type that I bought were 60w output but only 9 watt usage for the Light White and 60w output but only [b]14 watt usage[/img] for the Bright White.

They have a "Light white," "Bright white," and "Daylight" color scheme depending upon what you would like. For the bedrooms I put the 60w Light White so that it's not overwhelming when you turn the lights on at night. For the computer room, kitchen and bathroom I put the 60w Bright White to have ample lighting and not worry about straining my eyes. I also switched 3 of the outside porch lights to the 60w Bright white lights and they are great at night when the sensor kick on.

I plan on getting a house maybe late summer next year with my gf and am going to go this route to help conserve energy. The lights are bright, more consistent in color (doesn't seem brighter in one spot of the bulb than the other like halogens are), and last....this is the best part....10,000 hours/ 9 years!!!

Hope this gives people ideas of how to help conserve energy simply by changing lights out in your house. Especially the ones you use the most, dropping the wattage a bit (such as 60w to 40w) can help out a bit in the annual picture. Keep an eye out for these and try them out.

I bought them at Home Depot. They had sales on the 4 packs so the 60w Light Whites were $3.87 and the 60w Bright Whites were $5.87. Annual savings projected by Energy Star for these bulbs is: ~$184.00 per set of 4 bulbs. That's a pretty nice chunk to save at the end of the year but you figure...my house has about ~54 light bulbs in it.

54/4 = 13.5..We'll round down just for numbers sake...

13 * 184.00 = $2393.00 SAVINGS per year on average. Not too shabby.

Here's their website:
http://www.nvisioncfl.com/



NOTE: These lights do not work with dimmer switches. They are a constant brightness so either on/off.


Complaining is futile when you supported the victory.
http://clubsciontc.com/fo...-rims--5x100-pattern.html
[#] Sep 23, 2008 11:53am
Vicious
Orlando
Florida, US
  • El Chupacabra
 I had those bulbs back home, good stuff until they start going bad.. They flicker on and off rapidly and turned my room into a silent rave party..





The Thread Killah
[#] Sep 23, 2008 12:01pm
Beckaz_tC
Mesa
Arizona, US
  • Scion Guru
 I have some of those also at my house. I work at an electrical company so we are trying to get ppl into solar power, and conserving energy. My boss said one of these light bulbs if you had it on constantly without turning it off for a whole year, it would probably only be about $10 for the year. Defintly worth it!

[#] Sep 23, 2008 12:14pm
Web
Maryland, US
  • THE SHADOW
 ^Yup...you burn more power by turning the lights in your house on and off as opposed to leaving them on year round. Even halogens work that way .




Complaining is futile when you supported the victory.
http://clubsciontc.com/fo...-rims--5x100-pattern.html
[#] Sep 23, 2008 12:33pm
LiLee
Lowell
Massachusetts, US
  • Scion Guru
 i have some in my house.

Random of the day: i feel sick. :[
[#] Sep 23, 2008 12:35pm
falkore24
New Jersey, US
  • Vehicle Designer
 If you like the CFL lightbulbs, check this out!!!

www.sungrabber.com

[#] Sep 23, 2008 01:14pm
FrAnkRYzzO
Perry Hall
Maryland, US
  • $upervillain
    for Hire
 I swapped all my bulbs out to these at the beginning of the year and have noticed similar savings. One thing to keep in mind is that if they break, they are highly toxic, so be careful.

...............

Search or one of these adorable kittens WILL DIE!
[#] Sep 23, 2008 01:34pm
TheFantasticG
Tomball
Texas, US
  • Scion Guru
 I've been researching a whole range of options to reduce electricity in my house.

But, the cost of solar panels, radiant barriers, solar water heating can taken upwards of 20+ years to justify the cost. Even though the government is rebating upto 30% of the cost (ends at the end of the year and goes down to 10% starting 2009). It's still not economically feasible to run a house on solar power. Not until solar power is atleast 85% efficient will it be a viable energy source for the average American home... not to mention I'll have to fight the H.O.A. to get them installed on my roof.
[#] Sep 23, 2008 01:36pm
falkore24
New Jersey, US
  • Vehicle Designer
 The sungrabber system supplements the heat to an existing hot water heater. You hook up a fitting to the drain on the bottom of the tank and it takes heat from the solar panel via water in a closed loop system. That water transfers heat to the tank via a heat exchanger.

There are 2 pumps and a nighttime storage tank for the working water to drain down to.

The solar panel is corregated plastic.


Even without a government rebate, I'd expect this system to pay itself back very quickly.

[#] Sep 23, 2008 01:43pm
JBiz619
California, US
  • Master Mechanic
 hey i like this thread! great thread web, i recently started making changes around my place, as in trying to reduce use of electricty, water, and many other things, its a hard change, but we gotta do it!

[#] Sep 23, 2008 01:47pm
tC_vixen
New Jersey, US
I bought like 24 of these at home depot.. thats all I use for my house, but they take so long to power up and get brighter! lol



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[#] Sep 23, 2008 01:51pm
Web
Maryland, US
  • THE SHADOW
 I tested all of mine and I counted no longer than 20 seconds to full brightness. Is that about the same for you?


Complaining is futile when you supported the victory.
http://clubsciontc.com/fo...-rims--5x100-pattern.html
[#] Sep 23, 2008 01:53pm
Web
Maryland, US
  • THE SHADOW
FrAnkRYzzO wrote:
I swapped all my bulbs out to these at the beginning of the year and have noticed similar savings. One thing to keep in mind is that if they break, they are highly toxic, so be careful.



Yeah, they are just like the big fluorescent bulbs in my garage. I loved dropping one in there one time....powder everywhere. Luckily, the garage was open so I didn't have to worry about being trapped in a small area with the mercury vapors.


Complaining is futile when you supported the victory.
http://clubsciontc.com/fo...-rims--5x100-pattern.html
[#] Sep 23, 2008 01:56pm
Dr_Isotope
Highland
California, US
  • Chief Mechanic
 I have no incandescent lights in my house above 40w (some must be conventional bulbs as they are in dimmable circuits, and dimmable CFLs are criminally priced-- around $8 for a single candelabra-base bulb). Compact fluorescent in most fixtures, and a smattering of 12v and 120v halogen (spot and task lighting), and 12v LED (undercabinet lighting).

I'm waiting for the next generation of LED fixtures-- the current ones are not very bright, and come in 2 basic color spectrums (6500k "daylight" and a sort of dirty halogen approximation, somewhere in the 4000k area). For undercabinet lighting, they get the job done, and all of the lights in my kitchen combine for less than 10w of consumption. Some of the LED GU10 and bi-pin bulbs are getting there in terms of brightness, but run upwards of $30 a bulb. They need to be as bright or brighter than their halogen counterparts to justify that kind of expenditure, bulb life notwithstanding.

The biggest difference in usage in the whole house was going to tankless hot water. It's certainly not for everyone (we barely have enough flow velocity for the system), but we can wash as many loads of dishes and laundry as we like, take forever showers, and our gas bill is usually $12-15 a month (we also have gas cooktop, oven, and the outdoor BBQ is on the house gas.)

I know it's terrible, but our biggest electricity consumer after climate control is the television. But I stop watching the TV for no one!


Custom parts for your Scion tC: Doctor Isotope dot Com
[#] Sep 23, 2008 02:04pm
JBiz619
California, US
  • Master Mechanic
 has anyone tried using solar energy? ive been thinking about it.

[#] Sep 23, 2008 02:05pm
tC_vixen
New Jersey, US
Web wrote:
I tested all of mine and I counted no longer than 20 seconds to full brightness. Is that about the same for you?


Im going to try counting it. It feels like atleast 1 minute or so.



CLICK TO DONATE & HELP MAKE THIS WONDERFUL SITE OF OURS BETTER!
[#] Sep 23, 2008 02:09pm
krdshrk
New Brunswick
New Jersey, US
  • Godlike Advisor
 I use those bulbs myself in most of the house. Those will burn out though. I've gone through a few. They don't have near as long a life as advertised.


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[#] Sep 23, 2008 02:21pm
Web
Maryland, US
  • THE SHADOW
krdshrk wrote:
I use those bulbs myself in most of the house. Those will burn out though. I've gone through a few. They don't have near as long a life as advertised.


What's the average life you had with them and where were they in the house?...How often were they used and what wattage did you have?

I was just hooked on the fact that a 4 pack cost me 3.87 and each bulb ran off of 9 watts vs. 60 (for the light white).

As Dr. I said though, the LED systems will be nice. I was looking at flood light systems using HID bulbs and may be getting those soon. I figure that if someone is going to creep around my house, they are going to be blind as they run away


Complaining is futile when you supported the victory.
http://clubsciontc.com/fo...-rims--5x100-pattern.html
[#] Sep 23, 2008 02:46pm
Aviator213
Hagerstown
Maryland, US
  • Scion Guru
 We are in the process of using these bulbs in my house, as the incandescents burn out we replace them with the florsants...only thing ive noticed with them, at least in the lamps is that when they first come on they are a bit dull, within a few minutes they are bright as ever though





[#] Sep 23, 2008 03:03pm
FrAnkRYzzO
Perry Hall
Maryland, US
  • $upervillain
    for Hire
 I'm looking forward to the next gen of LED bulbs as well. The ones you can get now that are advertised to be as bright as an incandescent bulb are like 80 bucks, and that's just too much to pay for a light bulb. As for the warm up period, I'd say mine are about 20-30 seconds before they are full brightness.

...............

Search or one of these adorable kittens WILL DIE!
[#] Sep 23, 2008 03:16pm
Web
Maryland, US
  • THE SHADOW
Aviator213 wrote:
We are in the process of using these bulbs in my house, as the incandescents burn out we replace them with the florsants...only thing ive noticed with them, at least in the lamps is that when they first come on they are a bit dull, within a few minutes they are bright as ever though



Yeah, that's what Vixen said too. I noticed it a little bit ago as well. At first, they seemed to only take about 20 seconds to reach full brightness but now, after about 10 more tests in the past hour, they seem to take a constant 45 seconds to reach full brightness after being off for 2 minutes at a time.

I don't mind that as long as it saves money later. I told my gf about all of this and also the tankless water heater Dr. I mentioned and she was very intrigued. She told me that when we get our house, I am in charge of all this . Home Depot...here I come!!!


Complaining is futile when you supported the victory.
http://clubsciontc.com/fo...-rims--5x100-pattern.html
[#] Sep 23, 2008 03:16pm
falkore24
New Jersey, US
  • Vehicle Designer
 Here's a good tip that I found interesting when I first saw it.

Turn off the hot water when you are brushing your teeth!!!

Most of us are right handed, so the toothbrush is in your right hand ..... the hot water is on the left, so a huge percentage of people leave hot water running when brushing.
[#] Sep 23, 2008 03:26pm
Web
Maryland, US
  • THE SHADOW
 I reach across b/c I hate brushing with hot water...haha....Just feels weird.

But, either way, it's water wasted so that's another great way to save in the annual scheme.


Complaining is futile when you supported the victory.
http://clubsciontc.com/fo...-rims--5x100-pattern.html
[#] Sep 23, 2008 03:27pm
tc4metory
Oregon, US
  • Scion Guru
 regardless of what typr of water you use when brushing you should always turn it off.. You can waste up to a gallon or more of water when leaving it on..

Chuck Norris is currently suing myspace for taking the name of what he calls everything around you.
[#] Sep 23, 2008 03:33pm
tc4metory
Oregon, US
  • Scion Guru
 hey web check out this link for green living in your home.. the stuff they have come up with is pretty amazing
clicky

Chuck Norris is currently suing myspace for taking the name of what he calls everything around you.
[#] Sep 23, 2008 03:36pm
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