• Compact Fluorescent Light – Buying The Correct Size

  Filed under Saving Energy
  Jan 2
  

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  What The Numbers Mean

  Switching to compact fluorescent light (CFL) bulbs is not difficult, but there are some things you need to know. When looking through your lighting catalog you will see a bewildering set of numbers with different bases, volts, watts, and (k) numbers, but don’t panic, this is not hard to understand.

  The Different Bases

  A 120 volt, medium screw (E26) base is the same as the standard incandescent bulb you are using throughout your home. There are different types of bases of course, and on a good suppliers website there will be a chart so you can  get the correct one, but for replacing your standard everyday bulb you will want an E26 base.

  120Volt vs. 130 Volts

  The voltage used in the U.S. is 120 volts, your standard incandescent bulbs are 120 volts, but a CFL is often offered at either120 or130 volts. You may use a 130 volt lamp in a 120-volt socket without issue, you will have less light output but it will last longer and give some protection against power surges.

  A good rule of thumb is a 130-volt bulb will last longer but will be up to 15% dimmer than a 120-volt bulb.

  The Correct Number Of Watts

  Watts are a measurement of power, CFLS use 75% less power than incandescent bulbs, this is where your savings come from, plus the fact that they last 8-10 times longer. When switching to energy saving lights, just use 1/4 of the watts, for example for a

  * 40watt bulb, use a 10w cfl
  * 60watt bulb, use a 15w cfl
  *100watt bulb, use a 25w cfl

  Simply divide by four, for odd numbers like 75 watts just use the closest approximate number, it does not have to be exact.

  For instance to replace a 60 watt incandescent bulb, you can use a 13-15 watt compact fluorescent bulb. If you use the 13w bulb you will use slightly less energy, the 15w will be slightly brighter, but there is not enough of a difference to stress over.

  The Kelvin(K) Rating Is The Difference

  The coloration of your bulbs is much more important, color temperature is measured by the term kelvin, which is expressed as a number with a k on the end. Here are kelvin ratings as they apply to compact fluorescent lights:

  * Candlelight and firelight = approx. 1800 K
  * Typical household incandescent bulbs = approx. 2700-3000K
  * Daylight/sunlight = approx. 5600 K
  * Sunlight at Noon = approx. 6700K

  To replace your existing incandescent lights, simply buy lights in the 2700-3000K range, and use the higher kelvin number bulbs in areas where you do close-up work such as reading, cooking and other similar projects, and the lower kelvin numbers for your dimmer lighting needs.

  To see how this actually looks go to eLightBulbs.com scroll to the bottom of the page in the gray area, look under customer service and click on the color temperature selector link  for a visual demonstration.

  Buying Your Bulbs

  You see a listing for a 15 watt, 120 volt, E26 Base, 2,700k compact fluorescent light.

  You can now interpret this as a 60 watt incandescent replacement, 15w is 25% of 60w, a 120v medium screw E26 base is just your standard home lamp, and 2700k is the kelvin equivalent of a regular incandescent bulb, so this is used as a standard replacement for your 60w light.

  You also have a choice of many different shapes of bulbs, but that is more of a personal choice, look around see what you like, it is not that difficult finding the right light if you know the numbers.

  If you are buying online our top recommendation is eLightBulbs.com

  

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  Tagged as: 120 vs 130 volt, cfl, Color temperature, Compact fluorescent bulb, Compact fluorescent lamp, Compact fluorescent light, E26 base, Energy conservation, energy saving lights, Incandescent light bulb, k rating, kelvin ratings, Light, light bulb bases, light bulb color, replace incandescent bulb, replace incandescent light, replace light bulb, switch light
  
  3 Comments

3 Responses to “Compact Fluorescent Light – Buying The Correct Size”

1. 

   Korey Jin said on January 18th, 2010 at 9:21 pm

   Nice opinion. I got to your site

2. 

   Luis A. Schmidt said on January 20th, 2010 at 12:16 am

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3. 

   compact fluorescent light said on January 20th, 2010 at 6:37 am

   compact fluorescent light will be more and more popular in the future.

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