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I have fitted new light fittings so I can use multi low wattage lamps rather than one large one but I am having large differences in the performance of these lamps.
On buying some three years ago I fitted all Philips 8W globe SES bulbs they started as a dull red and slowly over about 1/2 an hour warmed up. Both advantage in that switching on when my wife was sleeping sitting on couch it did not wake her and disadvantage at other times but all in all I was satisfied.
However the bulb life was short and 1 by 1 they have failed so first was my wife bought some really cheap CFL also 8W and all 6 Philips in one room replaced as the colour temperature was higher on the new bulbs we kept the Philips as replacements for the other room. Non of these cheap bulbs have failed been in 2 years.
As the Philips continued to fail all the spares were used up and I fitted 2 LED candle lamps I had bought for elsewhere only 1.6W and was rather surprised to find they were as bright as the 8W Philips however Lidi has not done them since so can't get more.
Again as a stop gap while looking for cheap replacements I bought 2 coiled CFL from Lidi at 5W each these are brighter than the Philips 8W but not quite as bright as the cheap 8W globes.
To measure brightness I have used my camera light meter so not just the colour temperature making one seem brighter than the other.
Also since some of the Philips were taken out of service for a time they are not all old 3 year use lamps.
I had expected a HF CFL to be brighter than a induction start unit and a LED to be brighter than a CFL however if Lidi still had a stock of the coiled 5W CFL I would change them all to this type.
But the problem is clearly that selecting an 8W lamp is a lottery with some being a lot better than others both in time they last and light output and also clearly buy expensive does not mean they are better the cheap lamps seem to have out performed the expensive in all aspects.
So I now in living room have 2 x 5 lamp units each with 3 Philips 8W, 1 candle 1.6W and 1 coiled 5W and I would like to change them so all bulbs are the same. If Lidi had more bulbs in stock this would cost £20 but in local light shop it would cost £80 and they could all be poor like the original Philips lamps.
So what experience have others had and where do they buy the bulbs from?
On buying some three years ago I fitted all Philips 8W globe SES bulbs they started as a dull red and slowly over about 1/2 an hour warmed up. Both advantage in that switching on when my wife was sleeping sitting on couch it did not wake her and disadvantage at other times but all in all I was satisfied.
However the bulb life was short and 1 by 1 they have failed so first was my wife bought some really cheap CFL also 8W and all 6 Philips in one room replaced as the colour temperature was higher on the new bulbs we kept the Philips as replacements for the other room. Non of these cheap bulbs have failed been in 2 years.
As the Philips continued to fail all the spares were used up and I fitted 2 LED candle lamps I had bought for elsewhere only 1.6W and was rather surprised to find they were as bright as the 8W Philips however Lidi has not done them since so can't get more.
Again as a stop gap while looking for cheap replacements I bought 2 coiled CFL from Lidi at 5W each these are brighter than the Philips 8W but not quite as bright as the cheap 8W globes.
To measure brightness I have used my camera light meter so not just the colour temperature making one seem brighter than the other.
Also since some of the Philips were taken out of service for a time they are not all old 3 year use lamps.
I had expected a HF CFL to be brighter than a induction start unit and a LED to be brighter than a CFL however if Lidi still had a stock of the coiled 5W CFL I would change them all to this type.
But the problem is clearly that selecting an 8W lamp is a lottery with some being a lot better than others both in time they last and light output and also clearly buy expensive does not mean they are better the cheap lamps seem to have out performed the expensive in all aspects.
So I now in living room have 2 x 5 lamp units each with 3 Philips 8W, 1 candle 1.6W and 1 coiled 5W and I would like to change them so all bulbs are the same. If Lidi had more bulbs in stock this would cost £20 but in local light shop it would cost £80 and they could all be poor like the original Philips lamps.
So what experience have others had and where do they buy the bulbs from?