CFL Lighting DEAL found (Floods for track or recessed lighting fixtures)

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Mike Labbe

Mike Labbe

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In another thread (about LED lighting) we were talking about replacing R30 (screw in) floods with CFL to lower heating requirements, and save a lot of money (wattage). This is what the electric company did about 7 years ago, when they converted our building over to more efficient lighting. Some of those original bulbs have recently started to fail.

I was just at Home Depot and saw an extraordinary deal that I want to share.

The CFL CONTRACTOR PACKS of these bulbs are normally $19 for 6 (one case). Today they are on sale for $0.83 per CASE! (14 cents per bulb)

These CFL bulbs consume only 14w and give off a warm 2700k light. They look just like an incandescent flood. (R30) They are guaranteed to last 7 years (8000 hrs use) and have 640 lumens (equivalent to about 65w incandescent) The box claims that they will save about $48 per bulb, over their lifetime.

The Home Depot barcode/item # is 762148105428, and they are in green boxes. At our local store they had them out on pallets in front, near the registers, and people were filling their carriages with cases. I bought 6 cases myself, which will last us for MANY years.

Mike
 
Now THAT'S a DEAL. Unfortunately our fixtures use Par20 bulbs. Do you know if the CFLs come in that style?
:kaffeetrinker_2: Rick
 
They do! but not for this offer.

I believe PAR30's require a 3.75" opening, while PAR20's are 2.5". They have the same base, and most fixtures will accept either type. (as long as the cover/opening is 3.75"+)

Divide the PAR# by 8 for the size.

Mike
 
Even the "regular" prices you mentioned are pretty darn good for flood bulbs. Actually, the bulbs I use are Par 30 Capsylites. They are about $5.00 each or more, and of course they use a full 75 watts and create plenty of heat. The "gimbal ring" fixtures have a springy clamp that engages the rim on the edge of a Par bulb. Do these bulbs have the rim, or are they smooth-edged?
:cool: Rick

(If the light quality from this kind of CFL flood is decent for retail use, it would probably be worth it to replace my fixtures to take the new bulbs.)
 
I wonder if they are just at your local store, or if this is a national deal.
You should have bought the entire pallet and put them on ebay.
 
Its probably some kind of federal govt subsidy program, through the local electric carrier (National Grid, which does several surrounding states). Although when that happens they usually have you fill out a form with your account number.

This time they just rang em through the register. I was at two stores today and the same deal was at both.

One employee told me that they took delivery of 10,000 cases at his store - because of the promotion.

If may not be national, I don't know. The web site shows them at regular price.

Mike
 
Stopped by my local HD and they were on sale for $9.87 a case. The guy at HD suggested that I have you buy some and ship them to me. LOL I don't think I need them that bad.
 
Not that I wouldn't take advantage of it if I could, but it makes me wonder if somebody got their "bulbs", "cases" and "pallets" mixed up in the pricing...
 
I think its just in National Grid served states.
 
Have you tried these bulbs?
I tried them and found them useless compared to my usual halogen bulbs. They're not really a reflector bulb and just kinda glow like a one sided light bulb. No good for lighting art on a wall.
 
Near future LED technology will probably be best to replace halogen, if you need a focused spot beam of light in a small area.

These are not meant as replacement for halogen. They're replacements for PAR30 incandescent floods that have the same specs. (Track lighting or can lighting type bulbs) This is what we use in the shop to light up the walls. Each bulb replaced reduces 60 watts of consumption, and a lot of heat load, with the same light output and color. (and they dont die every 6 months)

My brother just bought 10 more cases for his house and office today.

The only thing I'm not sure about regarding these bulbs is how effective the UV filters are. We have noticed almost no fading in our shop, however, except near where natural light comes in.

Mike
 
Next to PAR30 incandescents I found these useless.

The PAR30 I use have a clear, prism front that directs light. These are frosted and the light isn't really directed.
 
Correct - These are floods, so they disperse the light over a broader area. (vs a lense) I found them to be nearly identical to the PAR30 incandescent floods (with frosted face) that they replaced, in our shop. They're not for everyone, and differ from many other types of bulbs.

Mike
 
PAR - Parabolic Aluminized Reflector

with the filiament at the focal point. The parabola is shaped to give the light a spread from wide flood to spot as needed.

These CFL's aren't parabolic and the light isn't directed like a PAR

Do you find these to be a suitable substitute for PAR30 - I found them to be of no value for lighting walls.

Just a second opinion for those that might rush out and buy a bunch of these - I suggest a trial first.
 
You're right, and I have my terminology confused. (although it was correct in the original post, when I was looking right at the box). These are R30 lamps, not PAR30. The electric company switched us from R30 incan to R30 CFL, back in 2003 or so.

They light it up just fine, but then again our ceilings are only 7.5 feet high. These are the most common CFL floods that I have seen. In fact, we bought the exact same case about 6 months ago and have 4 of the 6 in use. The only difference is that the electric company ones were a different brand, and have a lense that comes unscrewed so can replace just the bulb. (and the replacements for that brand are super expensive)

Sorry about the confusion and error on my part

Mike
 
We went to another Home Depot last night, and they still had them available. I picked up another case to use for the fireplaces in our home, which take the same size/type of flood. (recessed eyeball type ceiling fixtures)

They also have LED holiday lights (50 per set) for only $1.88 each. These use hardly any power (2 watts per 50 light LED set vs 350 watts per 50 light C9 set), have almost no heat, and the box says you can safely string up to 89 sets together. HD also had a great deal for a 16(?) gallon wet/dry vac, also, for $29 (Rigid brand, usually $99)

Ah the Black Friday hysteria is over for another year! :)

Mike
 
I believe the halogen PAR lamps are brighter (even when advertised at the same lumins). Also when you turn on the CFL's they take a few minutes to get bright. The beams are different. I won't say one is worse than the other just different. The PAR lams may have a wider beam but they tend to be a real inconsistent beam. The surface of the lens of some lamps have a texture and a hexagon shape that makes the beam really inconsistent. The cfls, while not quite as wide and bright is much softer. Either way I was able to use both in my gallery without to much difficulty. I didn't pay electricity at my shop and even still noticed a savings when they were all finally swapped out with CFL's when I quit replacing 5 or 6 lamps a month. I did however have to add about 10% more heads.
 
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