Light bulb question..?

Question

We have 100 watt light bulbs in our bathroom. I went to change them out with the energy efficient good for the environment light bulbs that were 60 watt. Within 1 day one of the bulbs went out. It actually smoked. The light fixture is about a year old and I have had no problems before.

My question: Can I switch out a 100 watt for a lower wattage, like 60 and have no problem? Or does it create problems since the outlet was made for the higher wattage?

Answer 1

sounds like a bad bulb to me, how many did you try??           did all of them do the same thing.?

Answer 2

The only thing to watch out for is lamp dimmers.  The flurescent bulbs are not designed to be operated by light swtiches that incorporate dimmer controls.

Answer 3

WHEN A LIGHT BULB LOOSES IT'S VACUUM THE ELEMENT CAN SMOKE DUE TO THE OXYGEN. YOU CAN ALWAYS USE LESSER WATTAGE BULBS BUT NEVER EXCEED THE MAXIMUM WATTAGE OF THE FIXTURE.

Answer 4

they should be interchangeable without causing any problem

Answer 5

You can always use a light bulb with lower wattage. A wattage rating on an outlet will always indicate the maximum wattage permissible. I  can only assume you bought a faulty light bulb.

Answer 6

You just got ahold of a bad bulb.  A 60 watt bulb should work fine.

You could try a CFL bulb to save money on electricity.

Answer 7

In general, there should be no problem in going to a lower wattage bulb. Just because the socket can handle a 100 watt bulb doesnt mean that is what you need to use, just nothing over 100 watts.

As for the bulb smoking. Was this an inexpensive, standard incandescent lamp similar to the one you removed -or- was it a compact fluorescent lamp (that would have cost at least a couple dollars each)?

If it were a standard bulb and it smoked, I would guess that the glass was cracked and air got in (the bulb is mostly a vacuum, if oxygen gets into it the filament will burn up). On rare occasion you will get a bad one.

If it were a compact fluorescent and exposed to high humidity, that could have caused it to fry, most of them are designed for a dry indoor environment like living room or bedroom only.

Answer 8

the outlets are all the same voltage (110) in the US. The watage is basically going represent the intensity of the light (ie. how bright it will be).

The higher the wattage, the higher the amperage and the brighter the bulb. Now the higher the amperage and watage also the higher the cost.

Anyway, to answer your question, no it doesnt matter what watt bulb you get, they will all work.

Answer 9

No it shouldn't make a difference, but you should call the company and report it, you can get your money back or a new light bulb.

Answer 10

Good for the environment? -- lol -- dont buy the hype.  Flourescent  bulbs contain mercury.. Your dead bulb just hurt the environment.

Stick with the regular bulbs.  They are cheaper, use only slightly more electricity and do not put mercury into the environement.

Answer 11

You shouldn't have any problem with a 15watt eco bulb, which gives 75watts power.The outlet doesn't mean you have to use 100watts.It just means you can't exceed that wattage.I haven't had any trouble with mine.But I have read that some of them are faulty.I have noticed they get brighter with use.

Answer 12

it shouldn't matter, if you have a smaller wattage bulb then the fixture was "made" for, if you were going the other way it would and sometimes the energy efficent bulbs have a film on the s***w in part and that can cause the fuse to trip and cause  the bulb to smoke.