# Score! Four Dozen Incandescent 60 W! **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [March 23, 2015, 12:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/score-four-dozen-incandescent-60-w/715727 "2015-03-23T00:07:25Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2015, 3:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/score-four-dozen-incandescent-60-w/715727/21 "2015-03-23T15:31:14Z")
I have a bunch of 100 W incandescent bulbs, and nowhere to use them. The fixtures that would normally use them are filled with fluorescents. I bought the 100 W bulbs before fluorescent ones got so cheap. The SO likes three-wattage bulbs in the torchiere next to her chair. The thing is, she only likes the lowest setting (except on the rare occasion she really _needs_ more light). When the lowest wattage burns out, she tosses the bulb in the trash. :smack: Even if _we_ don’t have a use for the now-two-way bulb, someone else could use it. I hate wasting stuff. ('We secretly replaced SO L.A.‘s three-way bulb with a three-way fluorescent one…’ She apparently hasn’t noticed yet. 😛 ) ---
**Author:** ![Novelty\_Bobble](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/a3d4f5/32.png) [@Novelty\_Bobble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Novelty_Bobble)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2015, 3:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/score-four-dozen-incandescent-60-w/715727/22 "2015-03-23T15:31:43Z")
I recently switched all my CF and halogen lights to LED’s. The one-off cost will be offset after 1 year of use and they should still be good for at least another 10 years after that. Plus the light is instantaneous and of the right colour temperature all the time. ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2015, 3:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/score-four-dozen-incandescent-60-w/715727/23 "2015-03-23T15:37:44Z")
60W bulbs are the methadone of incandescence. When I’m jonesing for a real bulb, I need the 100 watter. Can any of you dudes hook me up? ---
**Author:** ![enipla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/54ee81/32.png) [@enipla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/enipla)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2015, 3:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/score-four-dozen-incandescent-60-w/715727/24 "2015-03-23T15:53:10Z")
I have some LED dimmable and I love 'em. They have a ‘sunset’ feature so that when you really turn them down, the cast an orangeish light. Also, the should last much longer. These lights can only be reached by an extension ladder and it’s a pain in the ass to replace them. ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2015, 4:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/score-four-dozen-incandescent-60-w/715727/25 "2015-03-23T16:06:16Z")
> [@beowulff](#): > > LEDs are better in every respect, IMHO. Not in price. ---
**Author:** ![johnpost](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f17d59/32.png) [@johnpost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/johnpost)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2015, 4:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/score-four-dozen-incandescent-60-w/715727/26 "2015-03-23T16:11:16Z")
> [@beowulff](#): > > LEDs are better in every respect, IMHO. > [@Thudlow\_Boink](#): > > Not in price. if you compare the price of a single bulb. if you compare the cost of the light over 25000 hours (the expected lifetime of an LED) then a LED is a massive savings. ---
**Author:** ![jz78817](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jz78817/32/1028_2.png) [@jz78817](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jz78817)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2015, 6:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/score-four-dozen-incandescent-60-w/715727/27 "2015-03-23T18:53:16Z")
> [@Thudlow\_Boink](#): > > Not in price. if they burned out as frequently as incandescents, you’d have a point. ---
**Author:** ![beowulff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beowulff/32/542_2.png) [@beowulff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beowulff)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2015, 7:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/score-four-dozen-incandescent-60-w/715727/28 "2015-03-23T19:05:11Z")
> [@Thudlow\_Boink](#): > > Not in price. You’re right. LEDs are cheaper! ---
**Author:** ![Kenm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/bc79bd/32.png) [@Kenm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kenm)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2015, 7:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/score-four-dozen-incandescent-60-w/715727/29 "2015-03-23T19:29:19Z")
> [@Northern\_Piper](#): > > And, no, I’m not going to tell you where I got them. I’m not going to rat out my “supplier.” Canadjun Tired. ---
**Author:** ![kanicbird](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/5f8ce5/32.png) [@kanicbird](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kanicbird)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2015, 7:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/score-four-dozen-incandescent-60-w/715727/30 "2015-03-23T19:56:16Z")
I still see them pretty commonly in stores, usually in end of row and special boxes. I don’t really pay attention to them. I have a few left and halogen is just as good to equality wise and AFAIK there is no plan to discontinue halogen. I have also a few LED which are OK. (and many CF’s that suck - trying to use them up in places that don’t bother me to use them in). ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2015, 8:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/score-four-dozen-incandescent-60-w/715727/31 "2015-03-23T20:08:58Z")
> [@Chefguy](#): > > Cree LEDs (available at Home Depot) are the best. I’ll never care about incandescents again. Ditto. I didn’t like the first generation of so of CFLs (yes, I know the difference, hold on…), but eventually, they caught up to a quality of light that I liked. Problem is, they were expensive, and they didn’t seem to live up to the life they promised. I’ve had a bunch burn out on me. The current line of LEDs are awesome, great quality of light, and I haven’t had one burn out yet, and as my CFLs and incandescents burn out, I am replacing them with LEDs. I see no reason to go back to incandescents, myself. ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2015, 8:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/score-four-dozen-incandescent-60-w/715727/32 "2015-03-23T20:30:33Z")
> [@johnpost](#): > > if you compare the price of a single bulb. > > if you compare the cost of the light over 25000 hours (the expected lifetime of an LED) then a LED is a massive savings. The problem is, old incandescent light bulbs are/were cheap enough to stock up on. If I can get a package of four for a buck or less, I can buy them without really thinking about it. There are no LED bulbs available at a price that is below the “just to have on hand in case I need it someday” or “let me think about whether it’s really worth spending this money” threshold. Then, when a bulb burns out, it’s easier to reach for a replacement that I have on hand (i.e. one of those incandescent bulbs I’ve stocked up on) than make a trip out to the store to buy one of those new fancy-schmancy bulbs that cost at least twenty times as much. (Which means that, if and when they burn out, they piss me off twenty times as much as a lowly incandescent bulb burning out.) So, they’re _psychologically_ cheaper. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2015, 8:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/score-four-dozen-incandescent-60-w/715727/33 "2015-03-23T20:44:56Z")
> [@Thudlow\_Boink](#): > > There are no LED bulbs available at a price that is below the “just to have on hand in case I need it someday” or “let me think about whether it’s really worth spending this money” threshold. I just had a home energy assessment, which is funded by the state and the power companies here in MA. It was free to me, and they gave me free LED bulbs for any light fixtures that I hadn’t updated to CFLs already and still had incandescent. I think I got 6 LED bulbs, but he was prepared to give me more if I still had any incandescents in the house. See if there’s a program like that near you. [http://www.masssave.com/residential/home-energy-assessments](http://www.masssave.com/residential/home-energy-assessments) ---
**Author:** ![kanicbird](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/5f8ce5/32.png) [@kanicbird](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kanicbird)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2015, 8:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/score-four-dozen-incandescent-60-w/715727/34 "2015-03-23T20:56:19Z")
> [@Thudlow\_Boink](#): > > So, they’re _psychologically_ cheaper. 🙂 Your using them wrong 😉 Buy a LED and replace a working IC. Now you are saving money on energy and have a backup ready to go temporary replacement bulb. But IC still may be _actually_ cheaper. This is because LED pricing is expected to continue to fall and it may be worth it to burn IC till the LED price falls further. ---
**Author:** ![johnpost](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f17d59/32.png) [@johnpost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/johnpost)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2015, 9:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/score-four-dozen-incandescent-60-w/715727/35 "2015-03-23T21:51:53Z")
for example from a website LED 25000 hr lifetime, $10 price per bulb incandescent 1000 hr lifetime, $0.40 price per bulb $0.08/KWh electricity for 25000 hours 25 40W incandescent bulbs will cost $100 to buy and run 1 12W LED bulb will cost $35 to buy and run ---
**Author:** ![beowulff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beowulff/32/542_2.png) [@beowulff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beowulff)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2015, 11:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/score-four-dozen-incandescent-60-w/715727/36 "2015-03-23T23:10:05Z")
> [@johnpost](#): > > for example from a website > > LED 25000 hr lifetime, $10 price per bulb > incandescent 1000 hr lifetime, $0.40 price per bulb > > $0.08/KWh electricity > > for 25000 hours > > 25 40W incandescent bulbs will cost $100 to buy and run > 1 12W LED bulb will cost $35 to buy and run That is incorrect. 25,000hrs \* .1KWH/H = 2,500 KWH at $.08/KWH that is (2,500 \* .08) = 200 Plus 25 lamps at .4ea = $10 for a total of $210 for the incandescent. The LED is: 25,000 \* .012 = 300KWH \* .08 = $24 plus $10 for the lamp = $34. So the LED saves $176 over 25,000 hours of use. ---
**Author:** ![Bill\_Door](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/50afbb/32.png) [@Bill\_Door](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bill_Door)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2015, 11:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/score-four-dozen-incandescent-60-w/715727/37 "2015-03-23T23:49:04Z")
You guys pay a lot of money for light bulbs. I just bought a bunch of 9.5 Watt Feit LED bulbs (810 lumen, 2700K) for $9.99 a three pack at Costco. It’s dimmable, but I don’t even have a dimmer in the house, so I can’t tell you how well it dims. The color is very good, comparable to incandescent, and its got a 25,000 hour life. The CRI is 92+, whatever that means. It’s this [bulb](http://www.conservationmart.com/p-5205-feit-agom800927ledcan-95-watt-a19globe-led-dimmable-omni-directional-60w-eq-2700k-92cri.aspx), but packaged in a three pack and a lot cheaper. ---
**Author:** ![wolfman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/a8b319/32.png) [@wolfman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfman)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2015, 12:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/score-four-dozen-incandescent-60-w/715727/38 "2015-03-24T00:00:57Z")
I accidentally hoarded CFLs. About 4-5 years ago I was waiting for LEDs to get cheaper. But I found a great deal on CFLs. I decided “okay, I’ve heard about the crappy life of CFLs, but these are cheap enough I’ll just buy them with a few backups, and that will tide me over till LEDs are cheap” 4-5 years later and not a single CFL has started to fail, they all still look great. I probably should have taken into account, that since I live alone most of the 18 or so I have installed get less than an hour on a month, and only 3 of them probably get more than 3 hours a week turned on. So I have somewhere north of a dozen extra CFLs of various shapes and wattage waiting in the closet. Which brings up the interesting thought that with 25000 hour life, if I had LEDs in my laundry room, which are only turned on for 3 5 minute trips a week would last 100000 weeks, or 1923 years. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![jz78817](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jz78817/32/1028_2.png) [@jz78817](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jz78817)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2015, 12:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/score-four-dozen-incandescent-60-w/715727/39 "2015-03-24T00:05:09Z")
> [@Thudlow\_Boink](#): > > The problem is, old incandescent light bulbs are/were cheap enough to stock up on. If I can get a package of four for a buck or less, I can buy them without really thinking about it. There are no LED bulbs available at a price that is below the “just to have on hand in case I need it someday” or “let me think about whether it’s really worth spending this money” threshold. > > Then, when a bulb burns out, it’s easier to reach for a replacement that I have on hand (i.e. one of those incandescent bulbs I’ve stocked up on) than make a trip out to the store to buy one of those new fancy-schmancy bulbs that cost at least twenty times as much. (Which means that, if and when they burn out, they piss me off twenty times as much as a lowly incandescent bulb burning out.) > > So, they’re _psychologically_ cheaper. 🙂 put it this way: my folks replaced all of the incandescents in their house with LEDs. Cost about $250 for all of the LED bulbs. The power savings paid for the bulbs within 6 months. ---
**Author:** ![Drunky\_Smurf](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/drunky_smurf/32/449_2.png) [@Drunky\_Smurf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Drunky_Smurf)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2015, 3:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/score-four-dozen-incandescent-60-w/715727/40 "2015-03-24T15:25:42Z")
> [@Amateur\_Barbarian](#): > > Not really. I’ve probably said too much as it is. Ah, so you’re just “telling stories” again, gotcha. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/score-four-dozen-incandescent-60-w/715727.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/score-four-dozen-incandescent-60-w/715727.md?page=3)