8 ms·
Not to mention that the "wasted" energy of incandescent light bulbs, might actually not be, at least not entirely - since they pretty much work as electric hea
by BlueTemplar 7y ago
Not to mention that the "wasted" energy of incandescent light bulbs, might actually not be, at least not entirely - since they pretty much work as electric heaters...
- deleted 7y ago[deleted]
- pwg 7y agoDuring cold winter months, when one is otherwise attempting to add heat to the indoors, the 'waste' heat from incandescent bulbs is not really 'wasted', since it contributes slightly to maintaining the interior room temperature.
- teruakohatu 7y agoIf they are resessed down lights you mostly end up heating roof or ceiling space. And in summer not only do you consumer power for heat you don't need, you end up consuming power to remove said heat with AC. Also in winter there are much more efficient ways to heat than electricity, such such as heatpumps.
- wtdo 7y agoI'd imagine on the whole it's wasted. Half the year they aren't just generating wasted heat, they're increasing cooling costs. The half of year that the heat is wanted, it's usually above you, and I imagine that heat is being generated less efficiently than a purpose-built device.
- anchpop 7y ago> I imagine that heat is being generated less efficiently than a purpose-built device. All the heat that comes out of a lightbulb is being generated at 100% efficiency :) (Although it's likely more expensive to heat your home electrically instead of via natural gas)
- mmcnl 7y agoHeat pumps have higher than 100% efficiency because they extract heat out of air / water. 100% is a very low efficiency for electric heating. Anything lower than 400% is considered below average.
- BlueTemplar 7y agoSadly, heat pumps are still very rare. (They're much harder to do properly than just electric heating.)
- krallja 7y ago> that heat is being generated less efficiently than a purpose-built device. “efficiency” is meaningless when heat is desired. if you pump 100W into a device, and it “wastes” all that power, you have successfully generated 100W of heat. only heat pumps can be more efficient.
- hristov 7y ago"only heat pumps can be more efficient" Exactly. And if you have a whole house/apartment electric heating system it is very likely that it is in fact heat pump based. So you are better off using that for heat than the lights. If your whole house/apartment heating system is gas or oil based, that will probably be even cheaper than the heat pump electric version.
- ubercow13 7y ago>if you have a whole house/apartment electric heating system it is very likely that it is in fact heat pump based Hmm, where? I have never knowingly been in a house with a heat pump in the UK, and lots of cheaper flats have electric radiators and immersion heaters.
- BlueTemplar 7y agoFinite fossil fuels... which might not even be "environmentally cheaper" in the long run...
- tomatocracy 7y agoThis is true but - especially if your house is not well insulated - getting heat in the right place matters too - most people don't need to heat their roofs or ceiling spaces. There's also a more minor point on time of day you want heat or not.
- BlueTemplar 7y agoWell, hot air tends to rise anyway. Anyway, my point is that the inefficiency lost to "waste heat" is not 100% waste.
- paulie_a 7y agoI had a friend with a condo in Chicago with a 400-500 dollar a/c bill plus another 200-300 year round bill because the builders hated the earth and universally used halogen bulbs. But on the plus side the heating bill was probably 50 bucks for the year.
- BlueTemplar 7y agoHow does it compare to similar buildings nearby ? (Most people don't use a/c.)
- tasty_freeze 7y agoResistive heaters are very low efficiency when compared to heat pumps. How much more efficient depends on the climate you are in, of course. So, in net, they require more cooling in the summer, and the heat they provide in the winter is more expensive than the heat pump that you are likely to be using (in a home anyway).