Friday, July 15, 2005

Light Bubs

So, on the box of the Light Bulbs it says Life = 1500 hours.

I have to ask, does this mean the entire life that the lightbulb is screwed into the socket? Or does it only count when it's on? Or does it count from the point that it was actually made?

All very interesting questions. I wish my life only counted when I was awake, maybe I would live longer.

4 comments:

thisismarcus said...

Perhaps you need one of those new-fangled light bulbs that switch off when you close your eyes. If you blink fast enough, you can catch them working!!

Anonymous said...

For the record, the life of a light bulb specifies the illuminated time of the bulb - i.e., the amount of time that you can use the light bulb before it burns out.

Also for the record, 1500 hours is around 2 months (62.5 days) of continuous use.

-crp

GiromiDe said...

I've been told by an electrician that this rating refers to the number of continuous hours a bulb will work without being shut off. What you might not know is that the most wear and tear in a light bulb's use occurs upon activation or deactivation. The rating mean much less when you first shut off the light.

GiromiDe said...

Also...

If you want a more reliable light bulb, or one that doesn't hum when used with a dimmer, I highly recommend rough service bulbs. The filament is much thicker, allowing it to handle more vibration and trauma.

The wattages are different. The most common rough service build I've found is 50 watts, so it's noticable dimmer. Fortunately, I've replaced the bulbs in multi-light units, so I haven't noticed much loss.