To save or not to save (energy)?
Obviously, everybody will agree that saving energy is good. Everybody will also say that saving energy by using CFL bulbs is a great idea (so much that the Ontario government will ban the sale inefficient light bulbs by 2012 - which is older news now but just relates to my current situation). With a 8 weeks old baby though, there is a clear need to be able to dim lights. As far as I know, you can't dim regular CFLs. So here I am stuck between energy saving on one side and better sleep for the baby on the other side. I wonder if any of you have a good idea on this one? I have heard the same question from many persons...
6 comments:
I use some lower-watt CFLs that are very dim. Maybe try putting them in a lamp that you only use when you need low light.
Also, when I went to Amazon just now to find an example for you, I came across these CFLs that claim to be dimmable:
http://www.amazon.com/DIMMABLE-Compact-Fluorescent-Light-ULAmerica/dp/B000NQ1RR6/ref=pd_bbs_4?ie=UTF8&s=home-garden&qid=1195959158&sr=8-4
Good luck!
Oops, that didn't show up right. Here's the product name: 4 Pack DIMMABLE Compact Fluorescent Light Bulbs! 23w = 100w ULAmerica Model: SDS23P UL Listed 1600Lumens 8000 Hrs Life Energy Star
I had the exact same problem, and came up with a very simple solution: I bought a cheap ($8) lamp, and put a 15W incandescent bulb in it. 15W bulbs are about twice as bright as a nightlight, so they're bright enough to let you seen in a room, but dim enough that you can use them for a late-night feeding. Most large mass-market retailers (i.e. Rona, Home Depot) will stock 15W incandescent bulbs.
As far as energy goes, a 15W incandescent uses roughly the same amount of energy as a typical CFL.
ali c: good to know! I'll try to buy some of those dimmable CFLs and see what happens
george w: good workaround!
talking about dimmable CFLs: a good review I saw on Amazon.com from one of their customer: "Also, at very low power it starts to "flicker" slightly - which you should probably expect with fluorescent. This only happens on the "full slide" dimmers I have, not in the 3 way - you have to get it pretty low before it's a problem.
So long story short, depending on how far away the light is from your ear and the "noise floor" in the room, these may work. For high ceilings in recessed lights it'd be fine - but for close lights where you might be reading or working, you'll probably hear them humming when not at full power."
I have a torchere lamp in my living room which dims the large circular fluorescent bulb that came with the lamp. I got the lamp at Home Depot in Toronto.
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