I'm getting into this discussion a bit late but here it goes.
We have had the same problems in our house. We have some
track lighting where the bulbs seem to go out every 45/60
days. Then we have some expensive lights in the kitches with
halogen bulbs that seem to last maybe 60 days. PITA to
change. One lamp in the kitchen has a different bulb and I
think we have changed it ONCE in four years.
We don't know the reason. The heat in the track lighting
is a good guess but does not apply to the kitchen. Our
bath lights last a long time and are likely on as much as the
other lights.
I read something this weekend about exterior low voltage
lights. They where very adament about not having too much
voltage or to little. It needed to be JUUUUUSSSSST RIGHT!
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What we did for at least the track lighting and all the other
lamps using "regular" bulbs was to switch over to Compact
Flourescent Lights. They cost $7 to $15 but I don't have
to change bulbs and they are supposed to last 5/7 years. We
will be long gone from the house before they have to be
replaced. The bulbs for the most part are instant on but as
they have aged they take a while to warm up and get full
light.
I'm not sure but the $7 light seems to take much longer to
light up than the expensive bulbs. I' wont buy the cheap
ones again.
These things use a lot less power and don't have to be change
as often so I'm buying them. For our new house I'm specing
recessed IC lights that will hold CFL.
They also make bulbs designed to run on 240 volts. I have some in my garage from the last owner. The filaments are heavier so running them at 120 volts they should last forever. Only difference I notice is they take a second to come up to full light as the filament at 120 volts takes a hair longer to heat up.
Half the lumen output of what? I'm not sure what the watt rating is on the ones in my garage since I didn't buy them and never really looked at them but they seem to put out like a 100 watt bulb. Certainly don't seem "dim" so I guess I don't see a downside or are you saying you'll get 1/2 the usable light (lumen output) for the same amount of energy usage?
What I meant was...........if you have 100 watt bulb designed for 240V.........you'll get a little less than 50 watts, but use a lot more "juice" since it is trying to heat up the element to produce the light.
What you may have is a 200 watt 240 volt bulb........thats why it looks like a 100 watt bulb......thats what it's "putting out".
If you are handy with wiring and confident you can do this without shorting anything or getting electrocuted, you can make a light bulb last almost forever.
Go to Radio Shack and pick up a few 3 amp 400 volt diodes, part number 276-1144, wire a diode in series with any bulb you want to last. You will only get about 60% of the rated light, but the bulb will last years instead of months. Use 100 watt bulbs in 60 watt fixtures and you won't notice the difference. You can put the diode at the wall switch or in the light fixture depending on which is easier to get to.
All the ones I have done in my house I put at the wall switch. I just pull the switch, disconnected the wire going to the bulb, put one end of the diode under the screw and attach the other end of the diode to the wire taken off the switch. I solder the diode to the wire and put several layers of shrink tubing over the joint and diode leaving just enough bare wire hanging out to go under the screw on the switch. The shrink tubing will insure you won't create a short when you stuff everything back into the electrical box. You can use a meter or test light to find the wire going to the bulb. With the switch off you want the wire that doesn't have juice on it. Put a 100 watt bulb in the socket and you now have a 60 watt bulb that will last almost forever.
Same principle as the button bulb savers you see advertised, the problem with the buttons is they go into the light socket, get hot and fail, the diodes will not fail. I am going on 6 years with 4 bulbs that I was replacing every couple of months. These bulbs are in small enclosed fixtures rated for 60 watt bulbs and the heat was killing them.
Jerry - I have been keeping records and the one above the kitchen sink lasts about 2 months (not 30 days like I was guessing orginally). I've tried 2 different brands. This light is on almost all the time, so maybe that's the reason.
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