I have some fluorescent task lights in the garage that are really efficient. I don’t think it makes sense to trade fluorescents for LEDs because the cost savings are negligible. However, sometimes the lights work, and other times they are temperamental. When I flick on the light switch and the fluorescents pop on in full brightness, I am happy. But sometimes, for whatever reason, I flick on the light switch and nothing happens. Then I play around with the switch hoping that the lights will somehow come back on. Absolutely aggravating.

I would consider switching out the fluorescents for this reason alone, thought the $29.79 price tag for a pair of lights does give me some pause.

I might need to chart how often the lights aggravate me each week, and then decide whether to pony up the 30 bucks.

LEDs keep getting less and less expensive. Cheaper? No. Less expensive? Yes.

With a PG&E instant rebate, Costco was selling PAR30 spot lights for $13.99. I’ve phased in a number of LED lights as some incandescent bulbs faded to black, but I really haven’t seen any dramatic cost savings. The packaging suggests that I may save $165 in energy costs based on 11¢ per kWh compared to using a 75-watt incandescent lamp for 25,000 hours.

25,000 hours at 3 hours/day is 8,333.33 days or 22.8 years. If you divide the $165 in savings over 22.8 years, it comes to 60¢ per month per bulb. That amount of savings is completely masked by seasonal energy usage.

Right now, I’m paying 10.7¢ per kWh so I’m saving even less than the assumptions. The bulb I am replacing is a Sylvania Capsylite PAR30 75W 120V flood. I have to note how much a replacement incandescent will cost me. But at $13.99 a bulb, the break even point will come a lot faster than when expensive LEDs were selling for $40.

Maybe the problem is that I’m switching to LEDs in a haphazard approach. If I commit to switching 20-75 watt incandescent bulbs to 15 watt LED bulbs, that’s 1.2 kW that I will be saving for each hour the lights are on. At 3 hours per day for 30 days, I’m up to 108kWh for the month. The only problem is that I don’t think I have 20 bulbs that are on for 3 hours a day, but I’ll go all in and see if it makes a measurable difference. Stay tune.

I’ve changed out some PAR38 bulbs from incandescent to LED, and the savings have been unnoticeable. Running the air conditioner to battle a hot summer can mask any energy savings that LED bulbs present.

Costco is currently selling 20 watt (90 watt equivalent) PAR38 bulbs for $22.99. I think there was a instant rebate earlier, but I don’t have a reference photo. Two years ago, Costco was selling 18W (75 watt equivalent) PAR38 LEDs for $29.99, after rebate.

However, I did notice that the floor space devoted to CFLs have diminished. Even chandelier bulbs, which Costco previously sold in CFL format have changed over to LED.

I have a Baldwin Oval Bell Button installed by the front door. A few months ago, I noticed that the doorbell was no longer lit. I’m not entirely sure when the lightbulb burnt out, but I finally decided to do something about it.

Unfortunately, the Baldwin website didn’t list any replacement parts for the doorbell. But, after a quick inquiry to support, I received a e-mail notification that a new doorbell was on the way.

Here’s how the replacement doorbell appears:

Even without instructions, the replacement was straightforward and only involved four screws. The most difficult part was inserting the new doorbell back in the bronze finish since it was tight fit.

During the weekly Costco trek, I spotted a Conserv-Energy 18W PAR38 LED Reflector Flood selling for $29.99 after rebate. Of all the light bulbs in the house, the ones in the home office have gone out the most: incandescent and CFL. The bathroom CFL is second.

I haven’t had to replace the living room flood lights yet. However, when that time comes, I’m willing to give LEDs a chance because the flood lights give off a bit too much warmth and really heat up the dimmer switch such that it is hot to the touch. While the package states that the bulbs are dimmable, I think incandescents are the only bulbs that offer a satisfactory performance when dimmed, which leads to two issues.

Dimmers Suck. First, 99% of the time, the dimmer is set to full blast. So, the government is imposing an extra cost without much corresponding benefit to me or anyone else. Second, dimmers work with incandescents, and not so well (or even not at all) with CFLs or LEDs. By mandating the installation of dimmers, I am pretty much locked into using incandescents. So, unless I want to change out the light switches, it’s incandescent from here on out.

4 Pin CFLs Suck. What is even worse than the dimmer debacle is the requirement of high efficacy luminaires. Even if I wanted to switch to mercury-less LED, I cannot unless I also wanted to change the entire light fixture. The twist-on light base ensures compatibility to future lighting innovation. The custom 4-pin interface–not really.

Through a generous discount, I was able to purchase a pair of LED lights from a local hardware store. So, for the past few months, I’ve been waiting for one of my incandescent or compact fluorescent light bulbs to burn out. Tonight, my opportunity finally arrived and the incandescent was the victim. So, in its place, I installed a Pharox LED Light 60 Bulb. Since I have a mix of incandescent, fluorescent and now LED bulbs installed next to each other in my ceiling lights, I can easily compare all of them. The LED light appears dimmer than the other bulbs and has a bit of a blue/green cast. Of course, the warmth of the light is only noticeable when I stare at the ceiling. When I am normally working, the problem is not obvious.

At 6 watts, the LED light should be more energy efficient than a CFL. What remains to be seen is whether it will last the promised “25 years.” My CFLs generally do not last the 10,000 hours promised, so I would be very surprised if the LED bulb lasts until October 2035.

After lunch at The Old Siam, I discovered a light bulb store while walking to my car. Batteries N Bulbs is located at 1111 W El Camino Real, #135, Sunnyvale, California. Although the interior of the store is quite spartan, the store carries an amazing variety of light bulbs. Since I needed a few specialty bulbs, I headed in to take a look.

First, the other 4 Pin Trip Tube Fluorescent Bulb in the bathroom went out. At least, I got 7 more months of use from this one, but no where near the claim 10,000 hour life. For this go around, I picked up an Eiko 26 watt 3500° K Triple Tube FLuorescent Lamp Base GX24q-3 for $15.95.

Compared to a 100 watt incandescent bulb, I should be saving 74 watts per hour. If the light is on for 3 hours a day for the 3 year life of the bulb, that’s 3,285 hours. So, the compact fluorescent saved me 249,600 KWH during its functional life. So, how much does 249 KWH cost? At 9.54 cents per KWH, one bulb saves me $23.76, if I would have installed a 100 watt bulb instead. So, despite the diminished life of the fluorescent bulb, I think I’m still ahead.

Now, for the more difficult task. I was also looking for a 40 watt type t4 e11 base mini candlelabra. I’ve searched in all the major hardware stores but never found a replacement bulb until I found Batteries N Bulbs. I mean this bulb was out for at least a year or more. The replacement bulb, a Bulbrite Industries, Inc. KX40CL/MC cost me $16.75.

So, the first 4-pin triple tube fluorescent bulb goes out. I’ve changed a lot of screw-in incandescent and CFL bulbs, but never a 4-pin bulb before. While high ceilings and recessed lights can result in an uncluttered look, this combination also requires the beckoning of a ladder instead of a standard folding chair to swap light bulbs.

With aforementioned ladder in hand, I climb up to inspect the light fixture. A quick glance shows that the baffle must be removed first. With no obvious ways to remove the baffle, I pull and pray. Fortunately, I guessed right. As it turns out, the baffle is held in place by two metal clips that provide tension against the recessed lighting fixture to hold it in place. Whew! I quickly remove the bulb and search for a replacement.

The defective bulb was a USHIO UFL-CF26TE/835 4-pin triple tube fluorescent bulb. I stopped by Lowe’s and buy a lot of Sylvania 4-pin double tube fluorescent bulbs. The next day, I returned all the Sylvania bulbs because the bulb would not snap in place. 4 pin is 4 pin right? Theoretically, all that should matter is the base and whether I’m using a double tube or a triple tube fluorescent bulb should not matter. Regardless, something was amiss. I’ve never experienced such a problem with a screw-in bulb before, incandescent or otherwise. So, I stopped by a lighting store and picked up a General Electric Biax T/E Eco 26W 4 pin compact fluorescent lamp. Thankfully, that one fit.

Light Bulbs Etc. has a chart with the different halogen, incandescent, and CFL light bulb base types. I just learned that there is more than one type of 4-pin base for CFLs. Who would have guessed? A later trip to OSH showed a surprising selection of pin type FEIT CFLs to choose from. Next time, I’m going there. They had more 4 pin CFLs in stock than the much larger Lowe’s. That surprised me.

In California, the 2005 Building Energy Efficiency Standards require the installation of high-efficacy lighting. And, to prevent you from swapping high cost fluorescents with low cost incandescents, screw-in CFLs do not count. So, 2 1/2 years into this energy saving experiment, our first triple tube 4-pin fluorescent failed. So much for that 10,000 hours average rated lifetime. I guess the plug-in CFLs fail just as well as the screw-in CFLs.

Anyways, our triple tube 4-pin fluorescent was installed in a bathroom. If the bulb stayed lit for 2-3 hours a day for 2 1/2 years, that comes to 1,825-2,737 hours. In reality, our usage is probably far less than that. How weak. 25% of its average rated lifetime. Now I have to hunt for an expensive replacement bulb.