Power company gave me a cool new toy Options

[trackbird]

The receps are "using the metal tabs". I need to pull them out of the box and take a look. I have dedicated 20 amp breakers for each wall. I need to be using the heavy stuff on those and not the 15 amp that I run drop lights and such from (the builder installed one, but it's what I was using, though I was using outlets I added).

I'll do some research. Thanks TJ!

[DAlgozine]

Good point Rob. The other lights on the ckt should be 5 CFL's at 17 watts each. I have five 2 bulb T8 fixtures in the garage. I should still be way under 15 amps. And oddly, the lights were on for a while and then it went dark. It wasn't a start up surge, just "poof" 5-10 minutes later.

Check to make sure the screw on the breaker is tight and that all the splices are good. A bad splice can also cause issues like that. Wires should be twisted together before putting the wire nut on. Most reps will say that wire nuts are designed so that you don't have to splice the wires together before you put the wire nut on. That's about as true as the guy who tells you that you don't have to torque wheels. Sure, it works, but you don't know if you have 60ft-lbs or 160ft-lbs.

A wire nut is a splice cap and nothing more. Make the splice, cap it so it doesn't touch anything.

Also, how are your receps wired in? Are they pigtailed so that the device isn't in series or did you just land a wire on each screw? Putting a recep inline will greatly shorten the life as you're asking that little metal tab (the one you break to make it a switched recep) to carry current all the time. I've actually seen them so hot that the recep was melting.

What are you, some kind of expert ?? (IMG:http://www.frrax.com/rrforum/style_emoticons/default/unsure.gif) (IMG:http://www.frrax.com/rrforum/style_emoticons/default/2thumbs.gif)
Couldn't resist.

[BigEnos]

I definitely have a dimmable CFL in our living room table lamp (has a dimmer built in to the switch). I've also replaced much of the lights in my house with CFLs and they last a really, really long time. I think I've only had two burn out so far. They do need about a minute to warm up, though.

LEDs are the next big thing though. No mercury and they use less wattage. Really expensive right now, but that'll change.

[98_1LE]

Follow up: This thing has made me more conscientious of power usage, which will probably taper off, but also helped me identify and eliminate or mitigate some consumption. Previously my low bill, which was the same month last year, was 888 khw. This month, 539.

I unplugged chargers for things I don't own anymore, replaced the remaining incandescent bulbs, but haven't really changed a lot of how I live. If I'm hot, the ac comes on. If cold, the heat. We have had very good weather which helps, but the drop surprised me enough I thought I would post about it.

[CrashTestDummy]

I definitely have a dimmable CFL in our living room table lamp (has a dimmer built in to the switch). I've also replaced much of the lights in my house with CFLs and they last a really, really long time. I think I've only had two burn out so far. They do need about a minute to warm up, though.

LEDs are the next big thing though. No mercury and they use less wattage. Really expensive right now, but that'll change.

We replaced almost 100% of our lights with CFLs several years ago. I didn't notice an appreciable drop in KWh used. I guess we have other things eating up more power. I did notice that we seem to have certain outlets that seem to 'kill' the bulbs. As most of the CFLs have already lasted several years, there are about three fixtures, two of the multi-light fixtures (one ceiling fan, and one bathroom light) that have one socket that I have't had a light bulb last more than a year. I find it odd, and can't explain it. Additionally, the ceiling fan came with the house we bought 12 years ago, and the bathroom light is only about 3 years old.

The LEDs I've found have been no stronger than 60 watt light output equivalent. Additionally, most of them seem to be fairly uni-directional in their light output. Great for a flashlight, bad for a light in a room. I think they are cool and the light output for power consumption is great, but don't see getting any soon at the price and light output they have at this time.

[Todd]

We replaced almost 100% of our lights with CFLs several years ago. I didn't notice an appreciable drop in KWh used. I guess we have other things eating up more power. I did notice that we seem to have certain outlets that seem to 'kill' the bulbs. As most of the CFLs have already lasted several years, there are about three fixtures, two of the multi-light fixtures (one ceiling fan, and one bathroom light) that have one socket that I have't had a light bulb last more than a year. I find it odd, and can't explain it. Additionally, the ceiling fan came with the house we bought 12 years ago, and the bathroom light is only about 3 years old.

I did some investigation of the ones that we had that burned out regularly...turns out that you aren't supposed to mount them upside down. There is a vent on the top, where the tubes come out that vents the electronic ballast. Most of the ones that we had problems with were mounted upside down and a few even went so far as to melt the plastic base. All were discolored around the vent. So if the ceiling fan/bathroom ones were mounted upside down, that was most likely the problem. This investigation has changed my stand slightly on CFL's but I still have a hard time finding decent 6000K bulbs. the 2500K units are junk, I'd be better off with a flashlight.

[CrashTestDummy]

That's good to know, and new to me. Still, we have _one_ in each fixture that keeps burning out. I can see the ceiling fan being that way, as the lights are oriented around a central fixture, and the air from the A/C and heating vents may be different on the 'downwind' side, but I can't see what's different with the fixture in the bathroom. It's against a wall. Additionally, the ceiling fan has a bulb hanging down from the center inside a glass sphere. I've had no problems with that one, either. Odd.