> From: "Cyndy" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > Date: Wed, 3 Nov 2004 12:29:09 -0500 > > I am in the process of arranging my creatures for winter. I have many > kinds, not just geckos. Has any one tried, or know any data on, the > flourescent lights that screw into regular sockets? Are they as good > as they claim?
They are the same as tube type fluorescents as far as energy usage, i.e. more light and less heat per watt. As far as spectrum, unless they say otherwise, they try to emulate the color of the usual light bulb, which is more of a "warm white" than a "cool white" appearance. If you want to use light bulbs for heat, use the regular ones, or figure it by wattage: e.g. a 25watt compact fluorescent gives about as much heat as a regular 25 watt bulb, but it is much brighter -- comparable to a 100 watt or more, while a 7 or 9 watt CF is about as bright as a 25 watt bulb, but produces only about 1/3 the heat. Read the packaging to make sure the compact fluorescent can be used in the orientation you want, and whether there's a warning not to use them outdoors or in wet situations. Also, shop around -- sometimes you can find packages of them really cheap. There's a little electrical supply place near me that sells a package of 4 13w CFs plus a really good GE timer for $10 Cdn (about $8 US), while name brand CFs at a hardware store can cost $5-10 each. The current crop are mostly designed to fit into the same fixtures as bulbs, but some may be too wide for this. Note that they are a lot heavier than a regular incandescent bulb, so they might make a really light weight lamp topheavy. We've replaced most of our light bulbs with these things. They are supposed to pay for themselves in a year or so depending on what you pay for electricity. A less commonly noted advantage is that they last much longer than a regular bulb, a big win if the fixtures are hard to get at. We put one in the kitchen ceiling when we moved in here in 1991, and it's still going strong. They don't all last that long, but so far, almost all of them have lasted a long time for us. They have a lot of potential for aquarium and terrarium lighting, because you aren't restricted to the common lengths of fluorescent tubes. You can buy ones with more suitable spectra for these purposes, but they are more expensive. _______________________________________________ Global Gecko Association http://www.gekkota.com Classifieds http://www.gekkota.com/cgi-gekkota/classifieds.cgi gecko mailing list [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://lists.gekkota.com/mailman/listinfo/gecko
