Buy light bulbs in bulk

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Kingy

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#123167 27-Jun-2013 09:04

I've recently moved into a new flat and the light fixtures in the house are those small circles in the ceiling (similar to this).

So as you can imagine there are a large amount of these (4 in each of the bedrooms, 4 in the hallways, 8 in the lounge, and 6 in the dining/kitchen), and with the cheap lightbulbs they put in they are each running 175w. I'm quite scared to do the math to find out how much power they are chewing up each month and have since resorted to taking half of them out in the unnecessary places.

What I would like to do is buy a bulk load of energy efficient lightbulbs to replace them. I figure if I can find a bunch of ~10w bulbs it would work out to power the entire lounge/dining/kitchen for the cost of less than 1 of the current bulbs. Not to mention the entire house for less than 2.

Does anyone have any recommendations on where the most affordable/best place to do this is?

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ubergeeknz

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#845887 27-Jun-2013 09:05

Mitre 10 Mega have very good pricing on CCFL and Halogen bulbs, regular sizes are about $4 and they are good quality GE bulbs. They also have a good range so you should be able to find what you need.

xpd

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#845888 27-Jun-2013 09:13

FYI, some of those fittings dont like (depends on age of light fittings Ive been told) newer "energy" saver bulbs - weve got some in the lounge and we cant use any bulbs except the standard bulbs. Anything else we use in those sockets blows within a couple of days or flickers constantly. Seems crazy really but it happens...

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Kingy

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#845890 27-Jun-2013 09:17

xpd: FYI, some of those fittings dont like (depends on age of light fittings Ive been told) newer "energy" saver bulbs - weve got some in the lounge and we cant use any bulbs except the standard bulbs. Anything else we use in those sockets blows within a couple of days or flickers constantly. Seems crazy really but it happens...

There was one in their already but that has since blown. I'm wondering now if this is the reason or if it was just old. Tbh we've had like 6 bulbs blow since we've moved in (most standard) so we're a bit concerned about the electrics.

I'll probably just purchase a couple to begin with to make sure this isn't the case but thanks for the heads up.

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jevvv

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#845938 27-Jun-2013 10:06

One of the reasons ordinary bulbs blow in those recessed downlight fittings is heat buildup

That can be because the lamp (bulb) is too high a wattage

OR it can be because the insulation in the ceiling is too close to the light fitting.

Either way it is a good idea to check - as both can be fire risks.

Yes the elCheapo lamps do blow more often.

Definitely don't use Softone bulbs - they are more heat affected than most. I think it is partly because of the coating they use for the opacity rather than etched glass

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dolsen

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#845945 27-Jun-2013 10:13

Countdown has some energy saver bulbs twin pack (I think Woolworths essentials or something like that) for $5.60 at the moment, saving $5. I'm a bit annoyed as I just replaced almost all of the bulbs with energy saving ones from Mitre 10 mega where I paid 5.60 per bulb. The Woolworths ones come on quicker (instant) and are brighter immediately instead of warming up.

sittingduckz

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#845947 27-Jun-2013 10:14

175W each???? Are you sure it's not 75W

I'm not a complete idiot, I still have some parts missing.

dolsen

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#845950 27-Jun-2013 10:14

Also - each bulb is 175W? seems a bit high to me.

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Kingy

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#845952 27-Jun-2013 10:17

jevvv: One of the reasons ordinary bulbs blow in those recessed downlight fittings is heat buildup

That can be because the lamp (bulb) is too high a wattage

OR it can be because the insulation in the ceiling is too close to the light fitting.

Either way it is a good idea to check - as both can be fire risks.

Yes the elCheapo lamps do blow more often.

Definitely don't use Softone bulbs - they are more heat affected than most. I think it is partly because of the coating they use for the opacity rather than etched glass

Wow that's kind of scary. I'll definitely ask the landlords to check this out. Thanks for the info.

Also I'm pretty sure they said 175w. I might be lying though. I'll double check tonight when I get home.

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Kingy

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#845960 27-Jun-2013 10:40

Correction: They are only 75w. Even so I'd rather use 5 energy bulbs to the 1 75w bulb that's for sure.

Another potential stupid question. I keep seeing terms like R80, B22, E27 and ES. The bulbs at home have R80 ES written on the box. The ones at Mitre10mega have ES E27 or B22. I'm assuming I go for the ES E27?

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