What do I need to know about changing my incandescents out for fluorescents?
I am changing the lights in my house from incandescents to fluorescents, and even after doing some research I am confused about limitations on wattage, voltage, etc., especially because of the “watt equivalent” number given on fluorescents.
So, what do I actually have to pay attention to when I change the lights? How different can the watts listed on the fixture be from the [fluorescent] bulb I put in?
Does voltage matter?
What if they are flood lights- would that be any different?
Any answers given in lay terms would be greatly appreciated!
Voltage does matter, but only in the sense “Is it around 120V or around 230V?”. Downlights are usually 12V.
The wattage, go for all 100 W equivalents, which is an 18 W fluoro from memory, unless it won’t fit in physically.
The fixtures are rated for maximum number of real watts, so they don’t get too hot. Fluoros are about 1/5 of incandescents in heating, so are very unlikely to be a problem.
Consider the colour. Some tend to be very bluish, and most people prefer warm, which is a little more orange/red.
Consider the connector type. There are usually bayonet or edison screw in this country.
You may replace flood lights with compact fluoros if you consider the connector, for example for an automatic security light. Up to you. Floodlights for effect? Usually these are PAR lamps. There are LED type replacements on the internet that are more or less equivalent. There are also fluoro replacements (see link below)
If you have a dimmer it will not work properly with the fluoros. They are just full on or off. Just leave it full on or replace the dimmer with a switch. You can get dimming for mood-lighting by turning lights on or off.
If you have downlights they probably have an MR16 or MR11 base. There are LED equivalents. Normally downlights are 12 V lamps, so a transformer is used. The LED replacements should just plug in, but I have not tried these. LED lamps are of similar efficiency to compact fluoros, so a 10 W LED downlight lamp is the equivalent of a 50W downlight. LEDs may or may not work with a normal dimmer. They can be dimmed with an appropriate dimmer, certainly.
Rickets Reef – HowTo Flood the Basement.
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