[geeks] CHEAP compact fluorescent bulbs

[Leo Green]

Ah sweet!

I bought about half of my current X10 gear from these guys a few years 
ago, and last I saw, they said that CF bulbs were no good under X10.  

Now if I can just find an app that'll program my radioshack X10 
controller from my new powerbook...



Mike Hebel wrote:

> I've never used X10 but these guys:
>
> http://www.smarthome.com/903220.html
>
> claim to have searched specifically for X10 comaptible bulbs so there 
> must be some sort of difference in how the less expensive bulbs handle 
> the X10 signals.  I would think that unless they were buffered in some 
> manner the ballasts on the bulbs would amplify any small amount of 
> signal into something like a repeated starting arc in the bulb thus 
> wearing it out.  But then I'm not a physics person so I'm probably 
> grasping at straws.  Maybe a filter coil in the ballast circuits for 
> the X10 frequency?
>
> Mike Hebel
>
> Leo Green wrote:
>
>> Anyone ever used these compact fluorescent bulbs with X10?  I tried, and
>> the bulbs kept flickering, and they blew out within a month.
>> That's the only thing keeping me from going to CF's right now.
>>
>> FYI: I was using the X10 appliance modules, but even the lamp module I
>> tried did the same.
>>
>> Chris Hedemark wrote:
>>
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>> > Since we've been talking about this lately I thought it would be of
>> > interest.
>> >
>> > Went to Home Depot today to replace my first CF bulb that blew out.
>> > That bulb cost me about $18 I think and I got it five years ago.  The
>> > last five years has seen a lot of progress in CF bulbs.
>> >
>> > Well Home Depot had them as cheap as $4.97 for a 60 watt replacement
>> > (which burns actually about a fourth of that and is cool enough to
>> > touch while it is burning).  That was with a five year warranty.
>> > Another buck and change for 7 years.  The prices have dropped
>> > aggressively in the last six months, which is the last time I 
>> bought one.
>> >
>> > Keep in mind these ~$5 bulbs are the "warm" ones that Mr Bill and
>> > others don't like (they look kinda yellowish).  IIRC the  year
>> > warranty model for <$2 more is much whiter, or "full spectrum".  They
>> > have them from 9 watts for a 40 watt replacement (compact enough to
>> > fit in some very tight fixtures) on up to a 150w replacement.
>> >
>> > Chris Hedemark
>> > Hillsborough, NC
>> > http://yonderway.com
>> >
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