New "energy saving light bulb" sucking dollars out your pocket while asleep

It is not possible for a CFL to flash if the power is shut off... Fact.

If yours do flash then the power is not shut off.

 

A 1000 lumen traditional tungsten filament bulb uses 100 watts of electricity, hence consuming a unit (kwh) every 10 hours and has a life of 1000 hours. A CFL (compact fluorescent) lamp with the same light output will consume about 20 watts and have a life expectancy or 5000 hours. By far the best are LED (light emitting diode) lamps that consume 8 watts per 1000 lumens and last for about 30,000 hours. They look like the old tungsten lamps and are now available in either white or the lower colour temperature to match tungsten filament. They are truly remarkable. However you need to get good quality lamps, rather than cheaper Chinese imports that are flooding the market. Here in the UK, Amitex are the best, but I don't know whether they are available in your part of the world.
PS, The lamp that David is playing with is CFL and like everything else, he is barking up all the wrong trees.
Offering a variety of consumer and contract based LED lighting | Amitex LED

 

David, once again you are barking up all the wrong trees. Firstly read my reply to Morrow, to be able to see the energy consumption figures.

Their are 3 possible reasons why your CFL is flashing, none of them will draw enough current (if it is originating from your electricity supply) to register a pulse on your meter.

Firstly you could have a wiring fault where you are switching the neutral, thus allowing the bulbs electronics to charge its capacitors and momentarily flash to earth. This is however the least likely situation.

The second is that the neutral, which is a star point on the areas 3 phase supply is rising in voltage as the areas load increases or drops unbalancing the local transformer. The main symptom of this condition is varying voltage throughout the evenings that often blew traditional lamp bulbs. If you are experiencing this situation, contact your supplier, since it can cause a fire.

Another possibility is induction in your overhead power lines, originating from television and other RF signals. Due to their high and frequency modulated nature, they can easily jump a light switch. The mobile phone network is included in this category.

I could spend hours giving you all the technical details, but unless you are an electrical engineer, I doubt that they would mean much to you. The one fact that remains is that your light flashes are not using a measurable amount of power.

 

Thanks will.. I too am UK.. so yes, I got the better ones

 

Most of the lights in my house have dimmer switches so we can't use them anyways but I've never liked them due to the mercury content. LEDs are the way to go

 

Actually

Eureka moment

David, does the room you noticed this in have a dimmer switch?

 

I have noticed that he is getting Dimmer

 

The newest LED lamps are fully compatible with both leading and trailing edge dimmers, so they should not need replacing. However some older dimmers pulse at the lower loads. If you like the Amitex lamps and want to buy any, let me know and I will put you in contact with trade suppliers (national wholesalers) that will save you up to 50% of the retail price.

 

dont worry...i suspect this problem will end soon

i can see the future

 

It is unlikely since CFL lamps are not normally dimmable, But if he is simply using the dimmer as a switch, it could easily cause the flashing as the capacitors in the dimmer discharge through the lamps ballast unit..

 

Sometimes time goes too slow...

 

You guys!

 

Oh ok I wasn't really paying attention lol I didn't see that it was a lamp

 

I'd love a lava lamp...

 

And you and I are left having to keep David on the rails.

 

Ok

 

I hear crickets...........(chirpa,chirpa,chirp).......

 

I hear a nearing firetruck