Would you use an Energy Saving Bulb in your fridge if they where available?

Question

Things to remember

1 Modern energy bulbs DO NOT use more power when first switched on

2 They take less than a second to come to full strenght.

3 They can operate from -10 degrees

As they start off dimmer then they could make a 25-30 watt equivalant bulb maybe ?

Answer 1

Of course.  I switched to CFLs long ago.  Quite aside from the environmental issue, only an idiot wastes money on electricity.  I have better things to spend the money on than on using powr I don't need.

Answer 2

Wouldn't using MORE plastic be a problem when the light hits the landfill?  

I use a regular incandescent bulb.  It's not like I keep the 'fridge open and read by it.  I see no reason to throw out perfectly good bulbs even if they're not in style.  That seems wasteful too.

Answer 3

Dont know where you got Number 2 from - do you have energy bulbs in your house? I do and they take more like a minute to get upto full strength (my bulbs are 18 months old)

Answer 4

The problem with the new bulbs are that when they break, you have to call a chemical clean up team to clean it up because those things have mercury in them.

Answer 5

cindy: I find your $1000 saving hard to believe the normal family fridge only costs around $450 per year to run and given that the usual life of a modern appliance is >10 years.

Avg US power costs are running at 9-10c per kilo watt, even with increased usage I don't see how you could save anything like $1000, You at best might save a 2-3 hundred which is more than offset by the cost of the fridge and the extra power used by the ice unit.

Answer 6

I think I would just get the most energy efficient fridge I could get.

Answer 7

no

Answer 8

John F what you say would be true, if you had the only fridge but allowing that CF lights use about 1/5 of the energy you would be talking about 10s of mega watts less power (in the U.S.) used, if the average fridge is only opened a couple of times a day for 20-30 seconds. The small amount of heat generated by the incandescent would also cause the fridge compressor to kick in sooner to re-cool the fridge, which would use a bit more power, again, times about 80,000,000 (U.S.) homes this adds up.

EDIT: Cindy W As well as the extra cost of your ice and water dispenser fridge to start with, these units typically use about 100-150 kilowatts extra power per year, and unlike kids opening doors, they go 24/7.

Using the above consumption, one of these fridges uses ~11.5-17w more power, more power than having the internal incandescent light on all the time.

Answer 9

I have energy saving bulbs, and they take more than a a few seconds  to come to full light, you would be getting your item  from the fridge in virtual darkness, it wouldn't have time to come to full light as you would have finished getting what you wanted  and have closed the door

Answer 10

LED lights are the way forward for fridges and the like.

Also don't generate heat.

Use very little power, less than 1 watt

Suspect it won't be long before we are replacing the new fluorescent bulbs with LED bulbs in normal lamp holders, they are getting brighter all the time.

Answer 11

I have been running a small Fluro energy saver in my fridge for over a year, with no problems . My fridge uses a standard bayonet fitting, I had a small problem with the plastic ring that covers the power connectors, because of the bulk of the base of the fluro, but with about 1cm cut of the end of this the light would fit, and the whole fitting has a cover to protect the light. While a fluro generates a small amount of warmth it is much less the the original light generates.

Answer 12

sure i would use them i think it would save lot of energy.

Answer 13

No, because psychologically you will think that you can open your refrigerator longer, which will take up FAR more energy than that bulb will save.  Plus, unless your bulb stays on with the door closed, the energy/cost savings would be minimal compared to other things that are easier and more cost effective.

What I did do was to get a refrigerator with an ice and water dispenser in the door.  My children would open the refrigerator and freezer door so many times a day to get bottled water and ice.  So, this 100-200 dollars in additional cost, actually saves me approximately 1000 dollars or more over the life of the refrigerator....  Just something to think about.