These awesome bright bulbs are going for a song. They used to be $28 when they first came out a few years ago. I'm guessing they're being discontinued.
Stick them in an Ikea uplighter and light up a whole room. Just keep in mind the bulb is a little long, so the uplight will look like an upside-down excited guy wearing a very short skirt.
I spotted it at Bunnings Stafford, QLD. Not sure if it's nationwide or not. There were quite a few left, in both 5000K and 3000K, ES and BC.
Is there an LED globe that is as bright as this 48W CFL, can also screw in to an ES or BC lamp, and is similar in price?
This is $4. Attaching it to a $13 Ikea NOT uplighter will make the room brighter than any LED solution will ever be today, in the same price range.
As much as I love LED bulbs myself, right now, it isn't the answer to every lighting scenario.
Are you serious in using a 240w equivalent light inside the house? I thought you were joking.
The cost of sunglasses for your family will out weigh the savings.
As I mention below, this may be a good option for a work light.
I use the exact one in my living room. It works really well. Definitely not too bright, for me anyway.
@Click_It: Nah, not large at all, it's a rectangle about 23sqm. One side is a dark colour though.
I have two uplighters, one against the white side and one against the dark side. The one against the white side has the Nelson 48W, the one against the dark side has a 65W CFL I bought overseas.
The Nelson 48W against the white wall feels brighter, presumably because it bounces off the large white wall creating a nice diffused light. It's bright enough that I usually just run off that single 48W light.
@eug:
Just for reference, my living room is 5m x 5m currently I have three 2.5w LED globes and three 4.2w globes. So 20.1w total.
@deal88: As I've said before, brightness is subjective. It looks like you simply prefer dimmer lighting. My small white-walled corridor has a 13W LED downlight and it's only just bright enough for the small area.
I don't mind dimmer lights in the bedroom, but I much prefer brighter lighting in living and working spaces. My ~20sqm office has three 4000k 40W LED panels and it's just nice. My bathroom has 2x 28W T5 and 1x 48W CFL. I can see all my blackheads clearly.
In any case, wattage is only one measure. Luminosity is more important. But high luminosity with a poor CRI is bad. Unfortunately a lot of cheap LEDs have a very poor CRI. CFLs are a pretty mature technology with all the major manufacturers using phosphors that give a decent CRI.
@eug: I agree with you some people prefer more light.
In old school terms a general bulb for a room was 60 watts, people also had the choice of 75 and 100 watts if the wanted more light. These were the old "standard". This globe is 240 watt equivalent. It is unusual for people to use a light of this power inside the house, but as I have said would be great for other uses.
My main points were meant to be partly tongue in cheek, but also provide info..
1) this is technology that is being phased out in favour of LED lights.
2) these globes take a while to heat up to get to full light
3) the 240w equivalent of light is unusual for inside the house
4) May be a great option for a work area
In old school terms a general bulb for a room was 60 watts, people also had the choice of 75 and 100 watts if the wanted more light.
I vaguely remember those days. You would never light up a whole living room with one 60-100 watt bulb, unless you like it dim or full of shadows.
You'd normally need a few light fittings, or one of those hanging lamps that hold 4-5 bulbs. That's already 240-500W.
1) this is technology that is being phased out in favour of LED lights.
I wish that would happen sooner. But since that day is still a few years away, a cheap, bright CFL like this is great value. Even a dangerous cheap chinese LED bulb wouldn't even come close to approaching the amount of light this $4 bulb will give you.
2) these globes take a while to heat up to get to full light
It's actually pretty quick. I've had CFLs that really take a while, this one is surprisingly fast.
3) the 240w equivalent of light is unusual for inside the house
As mentioned earlier, in tungsten days, it's definitely not unusual to have a hanging lamp with four to five 60-100W bulbs in the middle of a living room. That's 240 - 500W. And many people* like brighter areas nowadays. It makes the place look less dingy IMHO.
[*] based on my sparky friend telling me about the number of LED downlights his customers want for their homes
I assume at 240w equivalent that these are the globes suited to work lights.
Nelson did make a work light that fits that bulb. It was released a year or two after the bulb.
I've seen that work light. If these are the bulbs to suit that work light, they're HUGE. Think of a coke can in diameter, and longer than a coke can. From memory, I'd guesstimate the bulb to be about 200mm long.
Close! They're 215mm. :)
This would be too bright for home use.
That's probably subjective. I find it works really well in my living room. Definitely not too bright. I've recommended it to friends in the past and they're happy with them too.
The problem of CFL is they will getting less and less bright after a few months before it die even they said XXXX hours.
I have 2x24w one they are not that bright anymore just after a few months.
Home use includes lighting up the back yard. Not too bright for that.
Many houses have a single 40W linear fluoro in their main room. This CFL will be about the same brightness, but more compact. In the office I work in, the ceiling lighting is roughly two 40W tubes (=80W) per desk.
I don't think these would compare directly to a fluoro tube.
My office has six 36w tubes with diffusers. Imagine 6 of these globes in an office.
Its probably less bright than a 36/40W linear floro, and I have a double of those in my kitchen.
Suits any room where you want good lighting - study, games room, laundry even.
The 36w fluoro light is spread over 4 feet. This globe is concentrated over a few inches.
I was thinking that these would make excellent replacements for my shed lights…gonna check my local Bunnies!
Would be a good light for a shed.
Have one of these I occasionally use if I want stronger indoor lighting for photos. As eug noted, it's a real monster - maybe twice the length of a typical CFL and a lot wider too.
I've used it in the past for additional ambient lighting when shooting video. I use the bulb along with the work light I mentioned earlier, bounced off the ceiling. Worked pretty well.
Usually these CFL globes give off a weird light spectrum that is not the best for photos.
I use it for rather utilitarian tasks like taking pics of items to sell with my P&S. Don't mean to suggest the colour quality is good for creative photography :)
You can negate the green tinge fairly easily by fiddling with the white balance though IIRC.
your lucky to find it in stock and so many of them it is a clearance item, I saw one in store a few weeks ago but left it, went back to buy and it was gone. it is the highest watt CFL that bunnings has.
Are these any good as SAD lights?
SAD lights are usually designed for a specific spectrum out put (bright but also full spectrum) If you are serious about a SAD light, it would be worth getting one that is meant for that purpose.
These bulbs are definitely not too bright for domestic use. I find they are particularly suited to rooms where activities requiring a reasonable amount of manual dexterity are performed. I have been using these for about 5 years and have one fitted in a kitchen (4M x 3.5M) and also in an informal dining/work/sewing room (3.5M x 3M).
About a month ago Bunnings reduced their price to $12 in Ashfield, Sydney but there was only one available. Staff at the store advised that they would no longer be stocked.
Has anyone found these bulbs at any other Bunnings stores besides Stafford QLD?
Agree the kitchen would be a good room to use these in as long as you are happy with the look/size of it. Also a sewing room or if you are making small plastic models or electronics. You would just need to be wary of the location of the light relative to the work area to ensure no annoying shadows.
What lumens they are? Couldn't find any LED as bright as they are.
Anybody checked their local bunnings to see if its nation wide?
I think it is but most store already cleared out sometime ago at a higher price.
thanks OP!
been after something like this for a while, as I only have a single bayonet fitting in the double garage.
Still plenty left this afternoon late!
Or embrace 2015 technology and use LED globes.
With the bonus of not having to wait for these things to warm up.