Light fixture

Thread Starter

Dr.killjoy

Joined Apr 28, 2013
1,196
I wasn't sure where this should be place ..
I live in a small apartment and I have a couple lights that I would like to changed to higher wattage CF bulbs .. Right now I am using 13watt CF which is equal to 60watt standard incandescent.. The plan is too switch a couple to 75w equal CF and 100w equal CF but I am trying to make sure I won't burn the place to the ground ..
So is this safe ??


Thanks
Jay
 

bertus

Joined Apr 5, 2008
22,270
Hello,

Why not use a 9 Watt (806 lumens) led bulb?
I have used them here at home.
I also have several 6 Watt (470 lumens) led bulbs in use.

Bertus
 

wayneh

Joined Sep 9, 2010
17,496
I wasn't sure where this should be place ..
I live in a small apartment and I have a couple lights that I would like to changed to higher wattage CF bulbs .. Right now I am using 13watt CF which is equal to 60watt standard incandescent.. The plan is too switch a couple to 75w equal CF and 100w equal CF but I am trying to make sure I won't burn the place to the ground ..
So is this safe ??


Thanks
Jay
There is no answer to your question beyond reading the wattage limit off the socket, and then not exceeding that. As long as the CFL has an acceptable wattage, it's fine. The fact that it makes more light is not relevant. Most times, older sockets were designed for incandescent bulbs and therefore can tolerate even the brightest CFL you can find.
 

Thread Starter

Dr.killjoy

Joined Apr 28, 2013
1,196
The 14w CF are rated for 800 lumens and it doesn't matter with CF or LED but just trying to brighten the room up with out adding more lights..
 

Thread Starter

Dr.killjoy

Joined Apr 28, 2013
1,196
There is no answer to your question beyond reading the wattage limit off the socket, and then not exceeding that. As long as the CFL has an acceptable wattage, it's fine. The fact that it makes more light is not relevant. Most times, older sockets were designed for incandescent bulbs and therefore can tolerate even the brightest CFL you can find.
I just check the sockets and they say 60w max type A bulb..
 

Thread Starter

Dr.killjoy

Joined Apr 28, 2013
1,196
You're good to go with any CFL rated 60W or less, as long as it fits.
Not to be a pain here but most where rated for the older style hence the Type A bulb but the CFL are rated at 1/3 less with same output . So why can't I use a CFL that rated at 100 watts output which has better specs than the Type A counter part ??
 

Whatashame

Joined Nov 30, 2015
88
I wasn't sure where this should be place ..
I live in a small apartment and I have a couple lights that I would like to changed to higher wattage CF bulbs .. Right now I am using 13watt CF which is equal to 60watt standard incandescent.. The plan is too switch a couple to 75w equal CF and 100w equal CF but I am trying to make sure I won't burn the place to the ground ..
So is this safe ??


Thanks
Jay
When a house or building is wired ,all outlets must be able to handle at least a hundred watts. They figure a hundred watts per outlet so you're only allowed to have 10 outlets on a circuit. 100 times 10 is 1000 Watts. The circuit can really handle 2 thousand watts at 120 volts, but one is only allowed to use 20% of the rated capacity of the wire. So that is 1800 watts. If you exceed 1800 watts on that cicuit, a circuit breaker of proper size will trip off because of a overload. You are smart for asking that question. People abuse wiring by using all kinds of products that are meant to be used as a temporary solution in which is to be disconnected after use. This is why all this junk electrical stuff is allowed to be sold because once you use it you unplug it but people use this stuff all year long. Good question. Smart for asking. To answer quickly and to the point, you are fine and safe. Even lamps are to be unplugged after use because of the skinny little cord. Everything with a cord falls under, "Temporary wiring" in the code book.
 

Whatashame

Joined Nov 30, 2015
88
When a house or building is wired ,all outlets must be able to handle at least a hundred watts. They figure a hundred watts per outlet so you're only allowed to have 10 outlets on a circuit. 100 times 10 is 1000 Watts. The circuit can really handle 2 thousand watts at 120 volts, but one is only allowed to use 20% of the rated capacity of the wire. So that is 1800 watts. If you exceed 1800 watts on that cicuit, a circuit breaker of proper size will trip off because of a overload. You are smart for asking that question. People abuse wiring by using all kinds of products that are meant to be used as a temporary solution in which is to be disconnected after use. This is why all this junk electrical stuff is allowed to be sold because once you use it you unplug it but people use this stuff all year long. Good question. Smart for asking. To answer quickly and to the point, you are fine and safe. Even lamps are to be unplugged after use because of the skinny little cord. Everything with a cord falls under, "Temporary wiring" in the code book.
Some else just made a great point. If it fits you are good. Don't ever cut off, twist, or change a plug for instance. If it fits in the receptacle, it is correct and safe. Don't use adapters to make changes.These would then be unsafe.
 

PatM

Joined Dec 31, 2010
86
Another thing to consider.
Some CF or LED's are only for use in a non-enclosed fixture.
I have converted to LED's but make sure that the enclosed ceiling fixtures only use ones rated for use in these.
Not all can be used here.
I would read the caution on the bulb carton.
 

Whatashame

Joined Nov 30, 2015
88
Another thing to consider.
Some CF or LED's are only for use in a non-enclosed fixture.
I have converted to LED's but make sure that the enclosed ceiling fixtures only use ones rated for use in these.
Not all can be used here.
I would read the caution on the bulb carton.
Great point. In my house all globes have been removed. This angers me, that the goverment is making it illegal to make incandescent lights bulbs, to be replaced by these new LED light bulbs, which can't be used in hundreds of situations. I go into 500 thousand dollar homes and see all the globes in their thousand dollar light fixtures are removed so these new energy saving bulbs can be used. Crazy, yes? The ceiling lights look awlful. My house, with cheap fixtures look horrible. So far, I lived in this house for ten years. Have all energy saving bulbs. Paid alot of money for these bulbs because they can last over ten years, right. I have replaced over ten of these bulbs now. I save them. I use no more then 2 lights on at a time because I live alone. These bulbs only last for 2 years. They lie big time. In my old house , I never changed one light bulb in 10 years that I lived there with kids always leaving lights on. How, you ask? Not true you say. But true. I'm an electrician, so awareness is the key that I passed on to all our customers. Buy 130 volt bulbs, not watts, I'm talking about , volts. That's how. Yes, they exist. Go to a electrical supply house and not Lowe's or Home Depot. Now we have ebay. 130 volts.
 

SLK001

Joined Nov 29, 2011
1,549
Not to be a pain here but most where rated for the older style hence the Type A bulb but the CFL are rated at 1/3 less with same output . So why can't I use a CFL that rated at 100 watts output which has better specs than the Type A counter part ??
You can use a CFL with an equivalent light output of 100W, which means it gives off the same light as a 100 watt incandescent bulb. The fixture is rated for 60 watts incandescent, which means 60 watts of power. A CFL with a light output of 100 watts will only consume ≈ 20 watts of power.
 

Whatashame

Joined Nov 30, 2015
88
Great point. In my house all globes have been removed. This angers me, that the goverment is making it illegal to make incandescent lights bulbs, to be replaced by these new LED light bulbs, which can't be used in hundreds of situations. I go into 500 thousand dollar homes and see all the globes in their thousand dollar light fixtures are removed so these new energy saving bulbs can be used. Crazy, yes? The ceiling lights look awlful. My house, with cheap fixtures look horrible. So far, I lived in this house for ten years. Have all energy saving bulbs. Paid alot of money for these bulbs because they can last over ten years, right. I have replaced over ten of these bulbs now. I save them. I use no more then 2 lights on at a time because I live alone. These bulbs only last for 2 years. They lie big time. In my old house , I never changed one light bulb in 10 years that I lived there with kids always leaving lights on. How, you ask? Not true you say. But true. I'm an electrician, so awareness is the key that I passed on to all our customers. Buy 130 volt bulbs, not watts, I'm talking about , volts. That's how. Yes, they exist. Go to a electrical supply house and not Lowe's or Home Depot. Now we have ebay. 130 volts.
Lights bulbs are rated at 117 volts. They call them 120 volt bulbs. They are not. The electric company usually provides around 125 volts especially in the summertime. It really depends on the time of year and what the consumer is using. Does everybody have their air conditioners going on? So they provide high voltage to prevent problems, at around 125 volts. Well the bulbs you buy, made in China are only good for 110 to 115 volts. No you know why you are replacing bulbs constantly. Not good for your TV too. They usually are 117 volts. They don't like higher volts either. How long will the TV last? Alot shorter then if they had proper voltage., 117v. Surge protectors may help, not sure if they also reduce output voltage. It's all an evil plan to sell more products.
 

Whatashame

Joined Nov 30, 2015
88
You can use a CFL with an equivalent light output of 100W, which means it gives off the same light as a 100 watt incandescent bulb. The fixture is rated for 60 watts incandescent, which means 60 watts of power. A CFL with a light output of 100 watts will only consume ≈ 20 watts of power.
This is another great point. Codes should now allow maybe 18 outlets on a cicuit because of what was just pointed out. Who uses 100w watt bulbs in their lamps?
 

wayneh

Joined Sep 9, 2010
17,496
Who uses 100w watt bulbs in their lamps?
I do, if the fixture can't take more. It's a pet peeve of mine that most CFLs target the 60W equivalent. Prior to CFLs, I didn't have a bulb in my house less than 100W, except for accent lights. Who the heck wants a 60W bulb when you could use a 150W? What I want is a CFL using maybe 80 real watts and giving me the light equivalent of 400W. Oh, yeah, and I want it for less than a buck, like my old incandescents. :cool:
 

Lestraveled

Joined May 19, 2014
1,946
The rating of screw in light bulbs has really gotten convoluted recently. For decades we just had incandescents, in that a 60 watt bulb drew 60 watts of power and dissipated 60 watts of heat. Now with LED and CF bulbs that is no longer true. An LED bulb labeled 60 Watts, only draws 9.5 watts and dissipates less than 9.5 watts of heat.

The screw in type fixture, max wattage, is currently labeled based on incandescent bulbs (worst case). A fixture labeled 60 Watts max means the fixture ventilation is suitable to handle 60 watts of heat without getting too hot. The wire size and connection size can easily handle ten times that wattage, so fixture rating is really about maximum heat, not maximum amperage.

To determine how big of a bulb you can put into a fixture, ignore the advertised wattage of the bulb and just look at the amount of wattage it consumes.
 

#12

Joined Nov 30, 2010
18,224
ignore the advertised wattage of the bulb and just look at the amount of wattage it consumes.
Right. You need to discriminate between the watts the bulb actually uses and the number of watts worth of incandescent light it is pretending to resemble. Pretend equivalence is not what heats the socket.
 

Wendy

Joined Mar 24, 2008
23,415
Which means an old dog like me is going to have to learn a new trick.

I've felt for a long while LEDs are the way to go.
 

Whatashame

Joined Nov 30, 2015
88
I do, if the fixture can't take more. It's a pet peeve of mine that most CFLs target the 60W equivalent. Prior to CFLs, I didn't have a bulb in my house less than 100W, except for accent lights. Who the heck wants a 60W bulb when you could use a 150W? What I want is a CFL using maybe 80 real watts and giving me the light equivalent of 400W. Oh, yeah, and I want it for less than a buck, like my old incandescents. :cool:
Make sure your light fixtures have porcelain sockets and not Bakelite. Your right in the fact that 60watts sucks. You just can't see. I can't understand how in our "Free" Goverment, can they force companies not to make light bulbs or sell them. Remember the 60, 100, 150 watt bulb for your lamps? Now, 2 clicks turns lights on. The 3 way bulb, just remembered. Lol
 
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