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To: InvisibleChurch

Very common misconception about energy efficiency of incandescent bulbs.

They work by getting so hot they glow. So ~90% of their energy is released as heat, which we can’t see by.

The energy savings numbers given are accurate only if you are neither heating or cooling your home, as possibly in spring or fall.

If heating, the waste heat given off reduces the need for heat by exactly the same amount. So incandescent bulbs become much more efficient. Amount depends on your heat source, but if you heat with electricity the cost is essentially the same whether a btu comes from a baseboard heater or a light bulb.

If you are cooling, the waste heat requires additional AC to remove, so they become much less efficient than stated.

Over course of a year, this means the bulbs are far more efficient in MN than they are in FL.


72 posted on 11/08/2013 8:39:29 AM PST by Sherman Logan
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To: Sherman Logan

You’re using physics.

Is that still allowed here?


73 posted on 11/08/2013 8:42:00 AM PST by nascarnation
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