Not trying to be bossy guys, but wouldn't the car talk be more constructive in that forum?
So you're saying that you don't see a difference between two bulbs that use the same amount of power but put out more light?
No, because:
(1) It doesn't make the dial on the power meter outside my house spin slower. Using CFLs (and my custom LED lamps) does.
(2) A good CFL is still more efficient, brighter, and will last longer.
(3) Using a halogen PAR with a good reflector and projecting the light where it's intended is more efficient than any round globe with an HIR halogen in it.
this also means that you can use a bulb that uses less power to get the same amount of light as a conventional bulb that uses more power.
Maybe...maybe not. Example: if we see 40watt Incan bulbs using the new technology that put out the same lumens and color temp as current 75watt bulbs, then we have something to talk about. I honestly doubt that's what we'll see though.
If as I suspect all we see is brighter conventional bulbs by 10-15%, then nothing has really been accomplished other than re-tool Chinese plants to make the new filaments and jackets. Marketing +1
Basically, if your house has all 55W bulbs, and you switch them to 55W HIR bulbs, your energy bill will be the same but your house will be much brighter.
Be brighter yet if you used a 40 watt 3500k CFL.....Again, I don't see what positive is being accomplished here...other than allow McMansion owners to turn down their dimmers by 10% and make some more heat that the high tech bulbs are more efficiently converting to light. :duh2:
What *I'd* like to see is rather than stupid bans on conventional Incandescent bulbs is put a hefty tax on the darn things because the frosted Incan bulb really needs to die a screaming death. Halogen PARs that use HIR or the new technologies get exempt from the tax.
Or better yet, start pushing modular PAR lights that allow just the bulb to be replaced like all the bi-pin halogens I use in my DJ lights. Basically you buy the reflector casing you want, and never have to change the entire glass and fixture, but just the bi-pin bulb by unplugging it. This will drastically decrease the price of the bulb and save a crap load of mess filling up landfills. Put HIR and all the new tech into just the bi-pin bulbs, and combined you have a pretty radical improvement in light out-put, decreased manufacturing costs, and a huge decrease in what goes into the landfill. We rarely change car headlamps anymore and just change the lamp. It would work even better for fixed lighting.
