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Lightbulbs. Ho do i know which ones to get?
21stCentury
Call me Pixel, or Pix for short![They/Them]Registered User regular
Call me Pixel, or Pix for short![They/Them]Registered User regular
When i moved in to this newly built condo, i already had a bunch of filament lightbulbs installed everywhere.... but that was 3 years ago, so since then many burnt out.
Problem is, since then when i do get replacement lightbulbs, they don't seem to last all that long. I usually get LEDs and I don't understand how wattage works because on the box those say stuff like 60 Watts in big bold print but then they say "8 watts used".
After a few months, some of them just dim out or start flashing instead of giving me light. And they do that after a few months sometimes, I still use the same lightbulb for my standing lamp and i've been turning it on pretty much all my waking time for at least 5 years now. Still going strong.
How do I shop for lightbulbs?
Problem is, since then when i do get replacement lightbulbs, they don't seem to last all that long. I usually get LEDs and I don't understand how wattage works because on the box those say stuff like 60 Watts in big bold print but then they say "8 watts used".
After a few months, some of them just dim out or start flashing instead of giving me light. And they do that after a few months sometimes, I still use the same lightbulb for my standing lamp and i've been turning it on pretty much all my waking time for at least 5 years now. Still going strong.
How do I shop for lightbulbs?
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Most LED bulbs purchased at big box stores are not intended for closed fixtures. They will usually state this in small print somewhere on the back. Even fixtures like vanity lights which may be open at the top are still considered enclosed. These bulbs are fine for lamps, which is why your lamp bulb still works after all this time and the other ones keep failing.
If you want to use bulbs in enclosed fixtures (which is 99% of the use case) you need bulbs rated for enclosed fixtures. You may be able to find some at a big box store, but more than likely you'll need to order them. This is an example of what you are looking for https://www.bulbs.com/LED_A--Style/Yes-For_Enclosed_Fixtures/results.aspx
EDIT:
Also, the wattage rating ("60 W / 8 W used") is simply for comparison between the new bulbs and older incandescent bulbs. They are saying that the LED bulb uses 8W but puts out an amount of light similar to a 60W incandescent bulb.
Oh the lamp lightbulb isn't LED, it's a fluocompact.
So, what about enclosed/open fixtures makes the lightbulb die like that? How do i know if it's an enclosed fixture or not also? You're saying open at the top (which side is the top meant to be?) is fine for enclosed? How do I know what i need?
Please assume i'm an idiot.
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Does the bulb have anything surrounding it (glass/reflector/etc)? If so, its an enclosed fixture. otherwise, its not.
Very very few fixtures are not enclosed fixtures.
Example:
Not enclosed:
https://www.lowes.com/pd/Project-Source-4-Light-24-05-in-Vanity-Light/3621684
It's not enclosed because the bulbs are exposed to free air. I've got something similar to this at home, and the bulbs in it are 5 years old now despite usage for 3-4 hours a day. Not a single one has burned out.
Enclosed:
https://www.lowes.com/pd/Project-Source-Wynfield-3-Light-Nickel-Traditional-Vanity-Light/1000974842
I've had bulbs last 5 minutes to a couple of years in fixtures like these. The base of the bulb (the white part on the lower 1/3 of most LED bulbs) is enclosed, which limits heat dissipation into the environment. This dramatically shortens the lifespan of the bulb. The electronics that drive the actual LEDs are what seem to fail most of the time.
Just get an LED bulb that's the same big number as the bulb you're replacing with the same socket type so it'll fit. If the bulb is on a fixer with a dimmer, make sure you get a a dimmable LED bulb.
Does the number need to match exactly or is it an "up -to" thing?
I think i'll just go back to Fluocompact bulbs, i never had trouble with those.
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LEDs are way more efficient. There’s no reason not to use them.
Not sure why they'd be dying. They should last for years.
Yeah, the fact that they die in months is making my think i'm either doing something really wrong or that they're not for me.
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It's *probably* not that but might be worth checking once you've eliminated other causes.
There may be a problem with the fixtures or power supply in the condo. Are you using non-dimmable bulbs on dimmer switches?
nope, I/O switches only.
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Is there a maintenance person you can call? Or have a friend with a multi meter?
Also, I think it's been covered but there's three main types of bulbs in use in the US. Here's maybe more than you'd like to know: https://blog.constellation.com/2016/03/25/led-vs-cfl-bulbs/
In any case, nothing should be burning out in months.
nope to both.
Also, they don't exactly go out, they start flashing and get dimmer. Flashing erratically but not rapidly, i must specify.
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There's no maintenance for the building? Is it all contracted out for stuff like building repairs? Is there an office you can call to ask about having someone check it out?
It's a new condo building.
I'm on the board and i don't know shit about fuck. that's what i'm working with.
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would that i could.
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Do you know roughly when your condo was built?
What do you mean? You're on the board, do you not have interaction with any other people in the building? What about just knocking on the door of your neighbours?
Not really. it's not even every light of a fixture that are affected. like i'll turn one set of lights with two separate lamps and only one will be fucked up.
But it's happening with two paird of lights now.
My condo was build about 3 years ago now, it's a new condo, i bought it and moved in as soon as it was ready.
I have pretty bad social anxiety. I don't want to discuss this.
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It may be as simple as loose wiring. I noticed one of my Wal-mart brand bulbs was flickering and not always turning on right (I don't know if it is enclosure rated as mentioned above). In my case, unscrewing it a bit and then screwing it all the way in until it was "finger tight" (I couldn't turn it anymore with my hand) seems to have fixed the flickering issues.
I tried a few brands so i unfortunately do not remember what lightbulb is in which fixture at the moment.
As for loose wiring, the first thing i did was try to screw it in tighter but found it was already finger tight.
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That said, the combination of dimming + flickering does seem to indicate that your lights are aging faster than they should. Newer construction may also have mistakes/quality control that needs to get ironed out, but given the age of the condo, it should have been built assuming much more modern building codes and with LED lights in mind.
Would you be comfortable taking and posting pictures of one of the lights you are having this issue with, both turned on and turned off?
not really. Thnks for the link.
I think this might have been defective bulbs considering how many i have installed and how many are flickering. Also i think i'll try CFLs since the CFLs I have have been working much longer.
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If you don't want to talk to the neighbours, perhaps put up a sign in a communal area and ask for tick box if they've also had issues with LED lights.
If it is a power load thing and it's not you, it might well be a communal problem because the electrics in your Condo were set up terribly.
At least if it's a purely a heat issue these ones are a lot better about not frying themselves. Because the LED strips are just floating in the middle of the bulb it's filled with some gas and the whole bulb surface is used to dissipate the heat, as well as the heat generating part (the LEDs) being separated from the sensitive electronics (which are crammed down in the base).
The ones with a opaque plastic bulb the LEDs are usually just sitting at the bottom of the base right on top of all the electronics, and are meant to dissipate their heat through the base, and the surface area of the bulb is wasted.
fuck up once and you break your thumb / if you're happy at all then you're god damn dumb
that's right we're on a fucked up cruise / God is dead but at least we have booze
bad things happen, no one knows why / the sun burns out and everyone dies
Also there might be some information printed on the light sockets and bulbs themselves worth double checking the numbers are ok with each other.
I put the dim bulb in a not-dim-bulb socket and it was still dim. Bright bulbs still bright. I think it's either i got duds or the heat from being in enclosed space caused issues.
The discrepancy between wattage is what made me make this thread because i remember the bulbs had two different wattage numbers on the box.
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Right but the wattage on the fixture is "max actual wattage", right? Not "need to match actual wattage to this", right?
Like if my fixture is for 80W lights, i can screw in an 8W light no problem, right?
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Not necessarily.
Like the wattage listed on the fixture is also thinking about incandescent bulbs. It basically tells you two things:
1. The wiring inside this light fixture will handle at least 80w before it's in danger of catching fire. In this sense your 8w LED bulb is no problem. (In fact the internal wiring will probably handle a lot more if it came to it, but we also have to account for...)
2. This fixture has enough ventilation that an 80w incandescent bulb will not overheat. In general, this means an "80w"/8w LED should be fine, but maybe not, depending on the specifics of that LED... how cheap it is, whether they're playing games with it being rated for enclosed vs open fixtures, etc
fuck up once and you break your thumb / if you're happy at all then you're god damn dumb
that's right we're on a fucked up cruise / God is dead but at least we have booze
bad things happen, no one knows why / the sun burns out and everyone dies
The way electrical systems work, the limiters that control how much wattage a device pulls through the wire are all in the electrical devices you plug in, the lightbulbs or appliances or whatever. The wires don't know or care how much electricity is carried through them, the only part of the building's wiring system that cares is the breaker box, which detects if too much power is going through a circuit for what that circuit's wire is supposed to be rated for (because the devices on that circuit are trying to draw too much power in total), and flips off that breaker to stop the wire from overheating and being a fire hazard.
what's a UPS?
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