Specialist light bulb fittings stole my energy saving choice

The builder has no choice but to avoid standard bayonet and ES fittings.

ref http://www.planningportal.gov.uk/buildingregulations/approveddocuments/partl/faqs Q19

It would have made much more sense for the builder to install fixtures that allow the user to replace just the failed lamp, rather than throwing out the electronics too. When CFLs arrived, I assumed that they would be a temporary solution, and it would not be long until most of us would be using lamp fixtures containing the electronics.

By keeping the electronic separate from the heat-generating lamp, improved reliability can be achieved.

I have recently seen some LED lamps that produce much warmer light than anything I had seen before. Unfortunately, they were 12V rather than mains voltage.

Most people prefer a colour temperature of 2700K, and regard 6000K are a very cold light, only suitable for kitchens and the workplace. The same criticism is applied to LED lighting, but lower colour temperature lamps are now becoming available.

If you like the higher colour temperature then you get more light for your money and can buy higher power lamps that are mainly used in commercial premises. As incandescent bulbs fade into history we may become much happier with brighter, whiter lights.

wavechange,
You are probably right than many people generally prefer the lower colour temp but in the case of CFL’s to me the “orange effect” seems too far the other way compared to incandecents. Perhaps it’s just me but I find the higher colour temp CFL’s a closer match to the incandecents they replace in the actual amount of light produced, and they don’t have to be any higher powered (wattage) than other CFL’s so the energy saving is still there.
As technology moves on I’m sure we’ll be able to get low energy lights (CLF, LED and who knows what else) in whatever colour temp prefered and at good prices.
It’s the unneccessarily increasing variety of fittings that is the pain.

Part L is home made stupidity. Wrong to blame Europe, but right to lobby your MP to get UK housing standards approaching those of the mainland. All Part L and similar achieve is to set a standard that builders work down to.

The law requires a “competent person” for electrical work. When I enquired how this would be interpreted I was told that unless you had passed the 17th ed test and were registered you could not be considered competent. I was amused by this as at the time I was designing high energy power distribution systems for industry.

The gas regulations used the same term but being a CORGI member was not the only way to demonstrate competence: common sense could still be applied. Which in my case was I’ll happily service my boiler but I’m not going anywhere near the gas supply. the exception to allow self declaration of competence only applied to your own gas appliances. Ihave no idea if such self declaratoin of competence is still allowed.

I can still change light fittings if they break and can be considered a hazard. Anyone for indoor football/ golf practice?

When low energy bulbs started first appeared in the 1980s I realised that this was the way forward, even though electricity was much cheaper and the lamps were expensive. With hindsight, it would have been good to have alerted the public to plan for the future.

CFLs last five or ten times as long as old fashioned bulbs so having to climb up to replace a lamp is not necessary very often. That is an important safety benefit, and not just for the elderly.

It is about time that do something about variety of lampholders, which makes life difficult for many people.

Alternatively, just change the lampholders.

We must remember that it is EU legislation that has led to this chaos. We can’t blame our British governments except to the extent that they have signed up to our loss of control of our laws.
I agree with you on flourescent light. the hard shadows make working difficult unless they are orientated satisfactorily in relation toyour work station. It is also the high frequency flicker that affected me when I was younger, but that doesn’t affect me so much now.
The legislation has certainly damaged our quality of life. My poor 99 year old aunt couldn’t see properly with the meagre light from the eco light bult she had been left with. I tried the local shop to find something with a higher power (of any tyope that would fit the socket, but without success and I was sad that I couldn’t help her.
My wife was given a sample high light output eco bulb that she immediately inserted into one of our ceiling fittings in our kitchen and discarded all the covers so we now have bare socket backings in the kitchen. We have not been able to find to buy any more of the high output bulbs.
Indeed, don’t let anyone fool you that there is much (if any) saving in power. It is the winter that we use artificial lighting for long periods. If the light bulbs give off less heat one simply needs to turn up the heating to compensate the loss.
To buy a light bulb now is an activity in itself. It’s never less that half an hour’s shopping as one trys to find bulbs which fit and result in the least disadvantage. And the horrendous cost! Just before (and I mean just before, not historic war time) one could buy a pack of 10 incandescent bulbs for £1 if one was careful to look out for the bargains (as we consistently do). There are no bargains now (except the free bulbs issued to us by the power companies that are pretty useless at providing light).
Replace light fittings, they suggest. What of the cost and wasted energy in their production, transportation, and time in their fitting which could all be put to better development rather than change for change sake (which is what it is).
Do I need to say more? It’s bad legislation carried through without thought by the EU parliament and pushed by the industry who saw a way to make a killing in increased prices, sales and profits at the expense of the man-in-the-street.

M. A. S

The reason that you are no longer affected by flicker is a change in design of compact fluorescent lamps. Modern ones operate at a much higher frequency. The only time you will see flickering is if the lamp is faulty or you use it on a dimmer.

Saying that the lamps do not save electricity is nonsense. Those of us who have compared the power taken by energy saving lamps and ordinary bulbs have seen the difference. I’ve been saving money for 25 years. I suggest you choose the spiral or stick types rather than the bulb-shaped variety because the extra layer of glass in the latter cuts down on light output.

Agreed the government is plain stupid. How many offices run with their lights on 24 hours 7 days a week ALL year – come rain, shine or otherwise? The one I work in does – complete with an average of 9 strip bulbs per person. Add to this that I have to drive 50 miles a day as I can’t afford a house any closer and home working is possible, even permitted, but is hugely and heavily discouraged.

There are bigger fish to fry but as normal the government is to stupid to do it.

Try using some old fashioned light bulbs and see what effect they have on room temperature as I have suggested. I’m fairly sure that you will be disappointed.

Think about old people perching on stepladders trying to change light bulbs every 1000 hours or so.

Perhaps the difference between us is that I had made the change to energy saving lamps long before the old bulbs were phased out. I wanted long life bulbs that would save me money.

Points:
a) I can get 2 pin bayonet long life energy saving bulbs, so the hugely over priced 3 pin with almost no availability are a liability that isn’t needed.
b) Few of these supposedly long life energy saving bulbs actually last – especially not the 3 pin ones which are designed to operate on a lower voltage.
c) The extra cost more than compensates for any savings from energy or longevity (especially for the 3 pin ones).
d) Given the 5 minutes it takes the energy saving bulbs to actually illuminate anything they are useless for reading or emergency situations.

I had the same problem and found that the flickering got a lot worse hours or even days before a fluorescent lamp failed. I could look into a room and spot the CRT monitor set to the wrong refresh rate. Many can detect the flickering but some find it really annoying.

Thank goodness I have never been annoyed by silly 3-pin light fittings. Two sizes of bayonet cap and two sizes of screw fittings is quite enough.

You have me confused Colin. I assume you are referring to BC3 lampholders (as mentioned by Jo in her introduction) and not 3BC.

BC is the UK standard. Buy Eco bulbs (CFLs) from the well-known manufacturers and you will get a much longer life and save electricity cw incandescent. If you don’t like CFLs there are energy-efficient (but not as good as CFLs) halogen bulbs made for mains voltage to replace ordinary incandescent.

I suggest replacement of the lampholder might be a safer solution than a bodge job. Apart from electrical safety issues, there is the risk of having a lamp falling out of the lampholder and breaking.

These seem to be a proprietary MEM lampholder with premium-priced lamps. As others have said, bite the bullet and change to 2 pin BC lampholders. Not a difficult job.

Hello Val

It’s not entirely clear from your comment whether [a] the diameter of the lampholder is greater than the shade ring on the lampshades, or [b] the diameter of the shade rings is larger than the diameter of the lampholder [frequently the case if the shades were designed for use with a screw-type (ES) lampholder]. Either way, the two are incompatible without adaptation. In the case of [a], it would be cheaper to substitute bayonet-cap (BC) lampholders for the installed fittings. If [b] applies, then fitting reducing rings into the shade rings of the lampshades would probably be the answer; these are cheap plastic inserts that go on the shade ring before slipping it over the lampholder and they are available from some hardware stores and electrical departments.

Replace the fittings, it is simple (two wires), cheap (normally < £5 a fitting, normally about £2.99),
You only need to take out the two downwires – the rest of the stuff can stay on the ceiling, but a new rose, the only bit you actually need is the wire and bulb holder – this is easily put in the place of the existing one.

European bayonet? Quality? Please, I don’t know who you work for but please. The bulbs last 10% of the time of an old incandescent bulb if you are lucky (mostly not that long). The fitting is cheap and nasty. The 3 pins provide no extra use and weaken the design compared to a 2 pin. The bulbs are harder to fit (only one position works).
If you want to pay through the nose for nothing feel free to convert your entire house and spend £15 a light bulb, but I have changed the stupid 3 pin fittings for proper ones.

Hi. Could you point a ‘simpleton’ like me how to change to a 2-pin fitment? Video link, perhaps? I’ve never had to do this before now!

Not a good solution as the lampholder is not fully engaged, will not necessarily make proper contact, and this can lead to overheating.
As GLS lamps are no longer available on sale – except perhaps illicitly – just bite the bullet and change the lampholders to BC or ES. A relatively easy job if you are familiar the precautions needed when handling electricity. Turn off at the mains, ensure you strip the insulation on the existing cable (if necessary) only as far as necessary (your new lampholder should have instructions that show how to do this), twist the wire strands so no “whiskers” are outside the terminal, and tighten the terminal screws properly. Make sure the wires go around or through the strain relief.