CFL lights seem dim at my house?

[Hellbore]

Hi guys, I am hoping to get some suggestions about a strange situation I am experiencing.

In my bedroom I have one of those floor lamps that stands about 6 feet tall and has 2 bulb sockets. I have dismantled it to verify the way it is wired, and the cord is wired to both sockets in parallel. There is no dimmer switch or switch at all on the lamp.

This lamp is plugged into a wall socket which is switched by the room's light switch. The issue I am having is that two 26 watt CFL bulbs, which are rated as equivalent to a 100 watt incan bulb, still seem rather dim and don't seem to light the room very well.

I have measured the voltage at the plugin and it's 120V. The light switch and socket were both replaced a couple months ago. The whole house got new plugins and light switches. There is nothing else on the switched plugin's line.

The only unusual thing I can think of about this house is that it has aluminum wiring. At some point in the past, some electrician attached copper pigtails to all the connections in all the junction boxes, using regular red wire nuts. He did not use the purple wire nuts that are advertised as being for connecting aluminum to copper. However, we checked all the wire nut connections where the aluminum is attached to the copper pigtails, and none showed any sign of melting or burning or getting hot at all.

Any ideas as to whether (and how) this could possibly be part of the problem? Could it be that lighting with floor lamps is just that much less efficient than ceiling fixtures? To give you an idea, at my parents' house, a bedroom the same size that has a ceiling fan, with ONE of the same CFL bulbs in it, seems much brighter lit than my room with 2 of these same CFL bulbs.

 

[ponygt65]

Hi guys, I am hoping to get some suggestions about a strange situation I am experiencing.

In my bedroom I have one of those floor lamps that stands about 6 feet tall and has 2 bulb sockets. I have dismantled it to verify the way it is wired, and the cord is wired to both sockets in parallel. There is no dimmer switch or switch at all on the lamp.

This lamp is plugged into a wall socket which is switched by the room's light switch. The issue I am having is that two 26 watt CFL bulbs, which are rated as equivalent to a 100 watt incan bulb, still seem rather dim and don't seem to light the room very well.

I have measured the voltage at the plugin and it's 120V. The light switch and socket were both replaced a couple months ago. The whole house got new plugins and light switches. There is nothing else on the switched plugin's line.

The only unusual thing I can think of about this house is that it has aluminum wiring. At some point in the past, some electrician attached copper pigtails to all the connections in all the junction boxes, using regular red wire nuts. He did not use the purple wire nuts that are advertised as being for connecting aluminum to copper. However, we checked all the wire nut connections where the aluminum is attached to the copper pigtails, and none showed any sign of melting or burning or getting hot at all.

Any ideas as to whether (and how) this could possibly be part of the problem? Could it be that lighting with floor lamps is just that much less efficient than ceiling fixtures? To give you an idea, at my parents' house, a bedroom the same size that has a ceiling fan, with ONE of the same CFL bulbs in it, seems much brighter lit than my room with 2 of these same CFL bulbs.

As long as you are getting a min. of 108Volts to the ballast you should be ok. If y ou aren't, then you will experience shortened lamp and ballast life. From what you are describing, it sounds like you are a victim of a floor lamp with a poor diffuser. Typically floor lamps are not intended to be 'main' lighting. Rather htey are built as task or small area lighting. Double check they ballast that is installed. Some of the more common ballasts are made to fire 26 - 42 watt lamps. Typically though, those will fire (2) 26W, and only one 32 and 42 watt. The only other options would be to increase the kelvin temp of the lamp to give a 'brighter' look, or to try and change out the diffuser (which would be the hardest thing to do actually).

 

[Ken_McE]

The issue I am having is that two 26 watt CFL bulbs, which are rated as equivalent to a 100 watt incan bulb, still seem rather dim and don't seem to light the room very well.

That's because the manufacturer lied. They are probably equal to two 75 watt incan bulbs, not two 100's. Two 100's would give you ~3,400 lumens. See what the package claims for your cfls.

Could it be that lighting with floor lamps is just that much less efficient than ceiling fixtures?

One thing that might be happening is that the ceiling hung bulb shines down directly on things, lighting them with only modest losses. The torchiere lamp may be bouncing everything off the ceiling. This makes the light more even but you lose power by doing so.



PonyGT65, Hellbore has CFLs, not the tube type fluorescents. The ballasts are built in and cannot be changed out.

 

[ponygt65]

PonyGT65, Hellbore has CFLs, not the tube type fluorescents. The ballasts are built in and cannot be changed out.

Linear fluorescents are not what I was referring too. I am aware he was referring to CFLs. Not all CFL's are self ballasted. When I saw him type 'two bulb sockets' my line of thought automatically went to Plug-in/Pin based CFL's. That was my fault, I should have clarified.

BTW - Typically, yes, a 26W CFL is equivalent to 100 Incandescents. Granted every brand varies, but rule of thumb is CFL consumption = 1/4 of incandescent in terms of Lumen output. (in lower wattages).


OP - what kind of 'sockets' does the floor lamp have? Are they regular screw in, or pin based? If they are screw in, try to find a higher kelvin temp AND a higher wattage if possible.......I'd advise trying to use a different light source if possible though. Floor lamps really aren't supposed to be main lighting.

 

[Hellbore]

Thanks for the advice.

Fortunately I am on friendly terms with my landlord and when I brought up the subject to him, he offered to buy ceiling fans with light fixtures on them, if I would install them! I said sure!

We picked them out today. Found ceiling fans that have 2 normal Edison sockets, not the candelabra ones, so I can use the regular inexpensive CFL bulbs that I have scads of

Problem (soon to be) solved!

 

[broadgage]

I very much doubt that aluminium wiring has anything to do with it.
Aluminium wiring has a poor record of safety and reliability, and is now prohibited for new installations, in the small wire sizes used for house wiring.
If however your light is receiving the correct voltage, then the house wiring is not the problem.
Does your light use the self ballasted bulbs (standard screw base, intended to replace regular incandescent lamps)
Or does it use lamps that require an external ballast that is built into the fixture.

If self ballasted lamps, they may be defective or of inferior make, try new ones from a reputable supplier.

If externally ballasted lamps, are the lamps correct for the ballast? if the ballst is intended for 13 watt lamps then it wont correctly operate larger lamps.

Any type of flourescent lamp is temperature sensitive, and wont give the rated light output in very hot or very cold conditions.