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When to upgrade to new LED bulbs

Dave Farquhar Saving money April 22, 2012CFL, cfls, led bulbs, lumens, lumens per watt, pc magazine, philips

PC Magazine asks when it’s worth upgrading to the new Philips L Prize-winning LED bulb, lamenting its high price and long payback time. I can only say what I plan to do, based on my experience with high-efficiency bulbs. I was one of those guys paying $9 for CFL bulbs nearly a decade ago. Read more

Dave Farquhar

David Farquhar is a computer security professional, entrepreneur, and author. He started his career as a part-time computer technician in 1994, worked his way up to system administrator by 1997, and has specialized in vulnerability management since 2013. He invests in real estate on the side and his hobbies include O gauge trains, baseball cards, and retro computers and video games. A University of Missouri graduate, he holds CISSP and Security+ certifications. He lives in St. Louis with his family.

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Review: First Alert PIR725 motion sensing socket

Dave Farquhar Saving money April 11, 2012August 10, 2016CFL, cfls, incandescent bulbs

I bought a First Alert PIR725 motion sensing socket, which has the distinction of working with CFLs, as well as incandescent bulbs. The premise is simple. Screw it into a bulb socket, screw the bulb into the socket, and it turns the light on when it sees you, then after it senses there’s no one in the room, it waits four minutes and turns the light off.

Dave Farquhar

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My household’s energy usage dropped 19% in 2011

Dave Farquhar Saving money March 18, 2012February 10, 2019caulk, CFL, costco, curtains, home depot, leaks, led bulbs, occupancy sensor, thermal curtains

I got a letter from my utility company Saturday morning. Inside was a chart, comparing our household’s energy usage from 2010 and 2011. It dropped 19 percent.

Considering our total bill for 2011 was over $900, that’s hardly chump change. Read more

Dave Farquhar

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How computer and energy technology don’t relate

Dave Farquhar Saving money March 4, 20121940s, Bill Gates, CFL, IBM, led bulbs, lumens, occupancy sensor, philips

Bill Gates says the rapid advance of computers created unreasonable expectations for the advancement of energy technology. The argument makes sense. And while desktop computers did advance very quickly, I think people have a misconception of even how quickly computers developed–which makes it worse, of course. Some people seem to believe the computer was invented by IBM and Microsoft in 1981. Far be it from Gates to lead people to believe otherwise, but the direct ancestors of modern desktop computing date to the early 1970s, and the groundwork for even that dates to the 1940s, at the very latest.
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Dave Farquhar

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Review: The Lutron MS-OPS2 occupancy sensor switch

Dave Farquhar Saving money February 19, 2012September 10, 20171950s, 1960s, CFL, curtains, incandescent bulbs, led bulbs, occupancy sensor, thermal curtains

I installed a Lutron occupancy sensor switch this weekend. It detects you entering the room, turns the lights on, then turns them off five minutes after it detects nobody is in the room. The timeout period is adjustable. It comes in four models: MS-OPS2-WH (white), -AL (almond), -LA (light almond), and -IV (ivory) and retails for $29.

Installation was surprisingly easy–it took about 15 minutes, which is about how long it takes me to change a regular switch, and unlike most models in its price range it works with modern CFL and LED lighting, but I recommend some prep work ahead of time. Read more

Dave Farquhar

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LED lighting gets cheaper

Dave Farquhar Saving money February 17, 2012CFL, cfls, costco, led bulbs, LG, lumen, lumens, occupancy sensor

I saw this week on Cnet that Pharox is selling basic, bare-bones LEDs direct from its web site, hoping to get consumers to try out LED bulbs.

The Pharox 300 is a 6 watt, 360 lumen bulb priced at $6.95.

The Pharox 200 is a 5 watt, 240 lumen bulb priced at $4.95.

Dave Farquhar

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LED is the future, but I don’t think it’s here yet

Dave Farquhar Saving money May 16, 2011July 14, 2017CFL, cfls, incandescent bulbs, led bulbs, mizzou

San Jose Mercury News columnist (and fellow Mizzou alumnus) Troy Wolverton has been testing LED bulbs. His conclusion: The quality of light is good, prices will continue to fall and efficiency will continue to improve, so they’re the future, but the future isn’t here yet. Update: I think it is now.

I’m always trying to wring the last bit of value out of my utility bill dollars, so I’ve been watching this closely. And I agree.
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Dave Farquhar

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So maybe CFLs burning out a little early isn’t entirely bad?

Dave Farquhar Saving money January 22, 2011January 22, 2011CFL, cfls

I was out buying toilet parts today (more on that in a minute–I’m sure you’re thrilled), and while I was there, I looked at light bulbs. I needed a few. And I noticed something. The 40W equivalent CFLs use 9 watts today. The same as LEDs. So I bought a package of (4) CFLs for $1.85. The local utility subsidizes CFLs, since it’s cheaper to buy all its customers CFLs than it is to build new power plants.

I got home and checked one of my 40W equivalents that I’ve had for a while. 13 watts.

Dave Farquhar

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CFL bulbs and longevity

Dave Farquhar Saving money January 20, 2011April 15, 20171960s, CFL, cfls, led bulbs

Today the Consumerist linked to a report that CFLs burn out faster than expected.

That’s probably right. But not all CFLs are created equal, so if you have a bad string of luck with one brand, try changing brands.

I also think that CFLs are more sensitive to bad power than conventional bulbs are. Or maybe we just care more when a CFL burns out.
Read more

Dave Farquhar

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Of CFLs, LEDs, and modern lighting in general

Dave Farquhar Saving money October 23, 2010July 14, 2017CFL, cfls, Compact Fluorescent, home depot, incandescent bulbs, led bulbs

Compact Fluorescent and LED light bulbs just couldn’t stay out of the news this week, and boy, is there some bad information still out there.

Let’s start with Velvet Underground drummer Moe Tucker, who recently discovered a form of libertarianism after years of voting a straight Democratic ticket. She said three things about CFLs in an interview with Village Voice Media: Read more

Dave Farquhar

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