Light bulbs lasting a long time

[djkyle65]

So i have this question that has been bugging me

In our kitchen we have some incandescent lights that have been burning 7 years without replacement sense we purchased the house. These bulbs in our kitchen are used every day and turned on and off relatively often. What i dont get is im sure the builder didnt purchase some high dollar bulbs and
In the same fixture 1 bulb burns out all the time the rest going 7 years strong


Thoughts?

 

[Charles (in GA)]

Light bulbs manufactured in Easter Europe (Hungary for instance) have always seemed to last a long time, as opposed to bulbs manufactured in Asia.

Possibly your voltage runs on the low side, not enough to notice but enough to make the bulbs last longer.

Charles

 

[DanCo]

I saw this thing on discover or TLC that there was a firehouse in boston I think that has a light bulb that is still going after 80 plus years

 

[MattT]

Light bulbs manufactured in Easter Europe (Hungary for instance) have always seemed to last a long time, as opposed to bulbs manufactured in Asia.

Possibly your voltage runs on the low side, not enough to notice but enough to make the bulbs last longer.

Is anyone besides GE importing from the combloc? I know they bought Tungsram in the early '90's.

Agreed low voltage is a definite possibility. Doesn't take much variance from rated voltage to make a big difference to the life of hot wire lamps.

 

[Random Guy]

The lights in your kitchen may be rated at 130 volts.

 

[Stuart in MN]

I saw this thing on discover or TLC that there was a firehouse in boston I think that has a light bulb that is still going after 80 plus years

Probably the fire house in Livermore, CA...it's been on for 109 years, so far. http://www.centennialbulb.org/index.htm

 

[BioHazard]

The lights in your kitchen may be rated at 130 volts.

That's what I was going to say. A lot of them are. Add low voltage (110) to that, and they'll last a lot longer than usual.

Also, if someone bought special bulbs, they do make extremely long life/rough service type bulbs that last forever - for a price.

 

[Norcal]

That's what I was going to say. A lot of them are. Add low voltage (110) to that, and they'll last a lot longer than usual.

Also, if someone bought special bulbs, they do make extremely long life/rough service type bulbs that last forever - for a price.

A 130 volt lamp has a lower light output when operated @ 120V, if someone had a excessive voltage drop where the voltage was reading 110V they have a big problem.
Used to use some 130V lamps made in Poland, they were cheap & lasted a long time.

 

[Falcon67]

I remember the Palace Theater bulb from when I lived in Fort Worth. They too pretty good care to get it out, probably the only thing left from that building.
http://cbs4denver.com/technology/century.old.bulb.2.1619463.html

We had a cheap 20w Circuline florescent that was on the front of our garage at the old house in Fort Worth. It was on all the time and had a tin pan as a rain shield. It lasted 4 years and only died when a bad storm with very high wind forced water up under the eve and caused the little ballast in the light to break.

 

[benjamming]

Aero-Tech Light Bulbs offer 20,000 hr bulbs that are still made in USA. They are $2.18/bulb online.

 

[mmhouse]

Are long-life bulbs as energy efficient? Since there are always trade-offs I'd guess "no."

 

[BioHazard]

Are long-life bulbs as energy efficient? Since there are always trade-offs I'd guess "no."

With incandescent bulbs I doubt there is any difference. Watts are watts, one might be brighter than another, but if it's labeled "60w", then that's how much it uses.

If it's a "130v" 60w bulb, then likely it will be dimmer and use less than 60w, if it's ran from 120v. (so you might compensate by using a 75w, for example) "Efficiency" should be about the same though.

Another thing you can do is install normal light bulbs that are brighter than you need (say 100w) and a dimmer switch - never run them at full brightness and they will last a very long time.

 

[benjamming]

Another thing you can do is install normal light bulbs that are brighter than you need (say 100w) and a dimmer switch - never run them at full brightness and they will last a very long time.

But they will still use the 100W of power, right?

 

[Random Guy]

OK, I am going to sort out some misconceptions now. Generally, when people talk about how efficient a lamp is, the term used is efficacy, usually expressed in lumens per watt. The primary issue being discussed here seems to be life of an incandescent lamp versus its efficacy. There is a direct relationship between how hot the filament in the lamp is versus how long it lasts and how efficacious it is. Hotter->shorter life->higher efficacy. Colder->longer life->lower efficacy.

Now, during its lifetime, the cost of electricity an incandescent lamp consumes will far exceed the purchase cost. Therefore, assuming you light the space to the same light level, it will actually cost you more to use 100W lamps dimmed to put out the same amount of light as a 75W lamp, despite the fact that you would almost never have to replace a lamp.

On the issue of 120V vs. 130V lamps (both being run off of 120V), the 130 volt lamp will consume than its rated amount if run off of 120 volts, last far longer, but produce significantly less light.

 

[burleymike]

This is great news for me. I have been stocking up on incandescent lamps for the phaseout. These 20k hour lamps will be a good alternative.

I put a 130v lamp in one of the bathroom fixtures and it sure is not as bright. My wife asked me why I had to put the 20watt lamp in the fixture over her sink. I had to show her the print on the lamp itself that it is 60 watts.

On a side note I have a CFL that is in the porch light that I bought in 2001, aside from a slow warm up and some serious lumen deprecation it is still going strong. They really last a long time when they don't get cycled on and off 10 times a day.

 

[BioHazard]

But they will still use the 100W of power, right?

No, a dimmer is a simple resistor, it just lowers the voltage to the bulb. Lower voltage = lower wattage. The energy nuts used to love dimmers before CFLs came out.

Therefore, assuming you light the space to the same light level, it will actually cost you more to use 100W lamps dimmed to put out the same amount of light as a 75W lamp

I don't see how you could possibly come up with this. Add a 100w bulb to a dimmer switch, and adjust it to 60 watts. Now you've got a 60w bulb that lasts forever. It won't cost any more to run, 60 watts is always going to cost the same.

This is likely how they make those 20,000hr life bulbs, they take a 100w filiment at more than 120v and call it 60 watts@120v.

Efficiency (in terms of lumens/watt) of the filiment might change slightly at different voltage levels, but it is going to be a miniscule change. Only a handfull of watts here or there. The biggest factor for lumen/watt efficiency of incandescent lights is the type of filiment, and the type of gas filling the bulb. (or vacuum)

 

[ddawg16]

Most dimmers are NOT a resistor....instead the use a chopper circuit.....using a resistor would make it get hot....think of it this way....say you took 2 60W bulbs and put them in series....it would still use 60W....but each bulb would be putting out the equiv of 30W of light....

So....if a dimmer was just a resistor....it would have to disipate 30W of energy when at half brightness...

The chopper is real simple....the variable resistor (part you turn) just changes the on time going to the SCR....basically, it's a solid state switch that is on for part of the AC cycle....basically, it's turning your bulb on and off real fast....that is why they don't work with CFL's.

One other variation....2 Position switch that uses a standard bulb (not 3 way). I haven't pulled on apart...but I am willing to bet that in the low output position, it's nothing more than a capacitor....an old trick in elctronics to limit current is to use a cap in series....the larger the f, the more current....a common use was to put a 5 uf cap in series with a nicad battery and it would charge it at about 50ma....works great as long as the battery is in position....but if the ckt opens up....you have full voltage (120 Vac)...not exactly safe.....

Regarding the original post.....I would be willing to bet that the bulb is a low watage...say 40W....and might even be an appliance type bulb....they tend to have heavier tungston elements.

 

[BioHazard]

Most dimmers are NOT a resistor....

The standard knob on the wall we're all familar with is in fact nothing more than a resistor. Yes, modern dimmers have multiple different ways of dimming without a resistor, and they are more efficient.

If you buy a cheap dimmer, or your house is a few years old, it's a resistor. And yes, they do get warm. Just like the headlight switch on an old car.

 

[Random Guy]

No, a dimmer is a simple resistor, it just lowers the voltage to the bulb. Lower voltage = lower wattage. The energy nuts used to love dimmers before CFLs came out.


I don't see how you could possibly come up with this. Add a 100w bulb to a dimmer switch, and adjust it to 60 watts. Now you've got a 60w bulb that lasts forever. It won't cost any more to run, 60 watts is always going to cost the same.

This is likely how they make those 20,000hr life bulbs, they take a 100w filiment at more than 120v and call it 60 watts@120v.

Efficiency (in terms of lumens/watt) of the filiment might change slightly at different voltage levels, but it is going to be a miniscule change. Only a handfull of watts here or there. The biggest factor for lumen/watt efficiency of incandescent lights is the type of filiment, and the type of gas filling the bulb. (or vacuum)

For this example, let's compare a 75 watt lamp run at full power, and a 100W lamp dimmed to a level where it is consuming 75W. Yes, they will both consume 75W. However, the dimmed 100W lamp will be making a good bit less light than the 75W lamp, hence the statement I made. Assuming you lit a space to, say, 20 footcandles, the dimmed 100W watt bulbs would cost more to run because you would need more of them to achieve the 20 fc than you would with the 75W lamps at full power.

 

[benjamming]

The standard knob on the wall we're all familar with is in fact nothing more than a resistor. Yes, modern dimmers have multiple different ways of dimming without a resistor, and they are more efficient.

If you buy a cheap dimmer, or your house is a few years old, it's a resistor. And yes, they do get warm. Just like the headlight switch on an old car.

The reason they get warm is b/c they are shedding heat (energy, wattage) that is not going to the bulb. So, you are consuming more than the equivalent wattage light w/o a dimmer.

 

[Costner]

To the OP - I'm in agreement with some others that the bulbs are likely rated for 130V. Those are fairly common and are readily available at Menards and Lowes in my area. The drawback is when you run them at the standard 120V the light output is lower than the rated value.

Another option might be that they were simply high quality bulbs or extended service bulbs and the other bulbs you are using to replace them are from a bargain bin. There is a huge difference between that 4-pack of lightbulbs you pick up at the dollar store or the no-names from Walmart versus some extended life or long life GE, Sylvania, or Phillips bulbs.

That said, I haven't purchased an incandescent bulb in at least 18 months. I've slowly been replacing all the bulbs in my house with CLFs (as the old ones burn out) and couldn't be happier. In many fixtures and in all of my recessed lights I have used 100W equivalent CFLs which only use 23W of power. The Sylvania variety I have been using (purchased on clearance from Lowes for under a buck per bulb) put out 1600 lumens per bulb which was about twice what the old incadescents were putting out. And because they put out less heat than the old 60W or 65W incadescents they are replacing, I can use them in standard fixtures with no concerns that they will overheat.

The end result is lower electrical bills and more light. They also seem to last for years and thus far I have only had one failure (which failed within the first two days of installation so it was likely a dud). The one and only negative I have found is these particular bulbs take about 20 or 30 seconds to reach full brightness, but if I'm only in a room for 30 seconds or less, I most likely don't need full illumination anyway, so it hasn't been an issue for me.

 

[BioHazard]

The reason they get warm is b/c they are shedding heat (energy, wattage) that is not going to the bulb. So, you are consuming more than the equivalent wattage light w/o a dimmer.

If you're using incandescents of any kind, you shouldn't be worrying about a few watts here or there. It's like ordering a triple cheeseburger with fries and a diet coke.

 

[benjamming]

I'm not worrying one bit. I'm trying to determine what is correct.

 

[BetterDays]

I always thought that it was turning them on and off that killed them, not the extended leaving them on time...

 

[Keith_MN]

One more possibility that has not been mentioned is vibration. Could the fixture that is going through bulbs be affected by vibration caused by a door slamming or someone walking on the floor above?