The Home Ownership Thread

[idfnl]



are you trying to answer a physics problem?

Stupid question.

 

[otc]



Stuff in the freezer means more thermal mass which will keep the temperature more steady--meaning that the compressor has to turn on less often to cool it down. So, yeah.

I can't keep my fridge full (live by myself and stuff would just go bad if I had a full fridge worth.
I keep a bunch of 2 liter bottles filled with water stashed around the fridge to help it maintain a stable temperature.
In the freezer I do things like keep the ice cream maker insert in there year-round and store my batteries in there (even though I know it is an urban legend that freezing batteries makes them last longer in storage).

Helps it recover from an opened door much faster.

 

[aravenel]

Yeah, I'm in the same boat, OTC. Well, I live with my wife, but still, can't really fill a whole fridge. We also just use water when we need to.

 

[idfnl]



Yeah, I'm in the same boat, OTC. Well, I live with my wife, but still, can't really fill a whole fridge. We also just use water when we need to.

Good idea. I keep bottles of sparkling water in a cabinet, I don't really like it cold but I'll start putting them in the fridge and pull them so they warm up in time for use.

 

[Piobaire]



Stupid question.

Possibly the most epic reply ever given the original question.

 

[Ataturk]

Another LED post.

Prices on the bulbs must have gone down a lot. eBay has exploded with people selling Philips bulbs for about half what they were selling for a year ago--60-watt A-type bulbs being ~$25 for the "L Prize" bulb and ~$15 for the standard. At auction they're going for less than that. I lucked out got a large lot of the L-Prize type bulbs for much less. The are white and yellow instead of silver and orange and look a lot better behind frosted glass. CRI is also 92, which is fantastic for any kind of energy efficient bulb (good LED is usually ~80, nice but actually inferior to the new T8 fluorescent tubes).

Also Home Depot is going to start selling these for $13 each very soon. They actually look like a real light bulb:

http://www.homedepot.com/p/CREE-9-5...-08027OMF-12DE26-1U100/203991774#.UUdqzhfMB8E

http://www.cree.com/lighting/products/indoor/lamps/60w-replacement-warm-white-type-a-led-bulb

 

[patrickBOOTH]

Excellent post, thanks for sharing.

 

[Ataturk]

One caution: the L-prize bulbs and the standard Philips LED use different types of dimmers. The l-prize uses standard dimmers and although it seems to work with the new CFL/LED type, with the specific one I have (can't remember the make/model), it hums when dimmed. Apparently that's a common issue. Always make sure your bulbs and dimmer match.

 

[otc]



Prices on the bulbs must have gone down a lot. eBay has exploded with people selling Philips bulbs for about half what they were selling for a year ago--60-watt A-type bulbs being ~$25 for the "L Prize" bulb and ~$15 for the standard. At auction they're going for less than that. I lucked out got a large lot of the L-Prize type bulbs for much less. The are white and yellow instead of silver and orange and look a lot better behind frosted glass. CRI is also 92, which is fantastic for any kind of energy efficient bulb (good LED is usually ~80, nice but actually inferior to the new T8 fluorescent tubes).

All may be well, but this tends to throw up red flags for products like this. How do you know you aren't buying Phi1ips bulbs?

 

[idfnl]



One caution: the L-prize bulbs and the standard Philips LED use different types of dimmers. The l-prize uses standard dimmers and although it seems to work with the new CFL/LED type, with the specific one I have (can't remember the make/model), it hums when dimmed. Apparently that's a common issue. Always make sure your bulbs and dimmer match.

This is a

Come on. I gotta spend hundreds on bulbs AND NOW dimmers to eventually save money on more energy efficient bulbs? Are we being hook-wound or what?

 

[patrickBOOTH]

I don't understand people's obsession with dimmer switches.

 

[Ataturk]



All may be well, but this tends to throw up red flags for products like this. How do you know you aren't buying Phi1ips bulbs?

Ebay is a lot better than it used to be. They have "buyer protection" and all that stuff. I've only had one guy try to rip me off in years, and I got my money back easily. I also reported him to post office, though I'm sure they didn't do anything to him.

I've never heard of anybody counterfeiting A-type LED bulbs. Even if they could, generics don't sell for much less, so there's not much incentive to do it. I'd worry about the little ones--the low-voltage, bi-pin MR16 type. You can get those for $2.50 each in generics, but the name brands are 4-10x that much. The generics seem to work fine, though. I got 10 of those for my landscape lights and so far they've been great and will pay for themselves in a couple months. That's the best deal in LED lights today. 4 watts and it's brighter than a 35-watt halogen.

This is a

Come on. I gotta spend hundreds on bulbs AND NOW dimmers to eventually save money on more energy efficient bulbs? Are we being hook-wound or what?

I guess. At least you can dim them, unlike CFLs. In my case there's also the benefit of not having to borrow a 12-foot step ladder every year to replace the bulbs.

I don't understand people's obsession with dimmer switches.

Lets you change the lighting level depending on what you're doing. Nice option to have.

 

[Douglas]



I don't understand people's obsession with dimmer switches.

I love my dimmers.

Dimmer in child's bedroom allows me to turn the lights nearly all the way off, placating her that the lights are on (and she can get up and go to the bathroom if needed) but dark enough that it's bedtime.

Dimmer in the bedroom means the wife or I can go to sleep before the other while leaving enough light to get undressed and hit the sack.

Dimmers in the kitchen mean we can set full bright for most evenings or cooking but also dim to set a mood for entertaining.

And my sweet-ass Grafik-Eye system allows me to set six different "scenes" for my living room track and chandelier lighting for a variety of different entertaining options.

 

[Hannerhan]

Speaking of LED:
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/03/21/t...asier-to-switch-lights.html?pagewanted=1&_r=0

Ditto on loving dimmers.

 

[Ataturk]

What a bizarre article. They spend most of their time talking about color-changing novelty bulbs.