Replacing 40W Bulb with 60W CFL (equivalent 13W)


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Old 12-13-14, 06:56 AM
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Replacing 40W Bulb with 60W CFL (equivalent 13W)

Is it okay to replace a 40W bulb with a 60W (equivalent 13W)? The guy at Lowes said no. I looked it up on Google while in Lowes and got conflicting answers, although most said it was okay to do. Not knowing who is answering/posting those answers I found, I'd prefer to post the question here. The light fixture is rated for 40W.
 
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Old 12-13-14, 07:23 AM
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Disregard my question. After reading up on it on a couple of light manufacturers web sites, I'm comfortable using the 60W = 13W CFL bulbs. The CFL bulbs only use 13W. The fixture is rated for 40W. Sounded logical enough when I was pondering over it at Lowes.
 
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Old 12-13-14, 07:50 AM
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Fixtures are rated based on the heat put off by an incandescent bulb. A 100W bulb will function quite happily in a lamp rated "40W maximum"... but it may melt the shade or start a fire because the surrounding fixture isn't designed to take that heat.

Since CFLs (and LED bulbs) run far cooler, this isn't a concern.
 
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Old 12-13-14, 09:33 AM
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You got the equivalency backward - these are 60 W equivalent CFLs which actually use 13 watts. The equivalency is supposed to help you choose the proper replacement based on its output, which is measured in lumens, but they try to use the input (watts) for the comparison, which makes it confusing.
 
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Old 12-13-14, 02:52 PM
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It's not just the wattage of the glass bulb that must be taken into consideration. The fixture if rated for 60 watts (incandescent) may not take a 13 watt CFL IF THE BALLAST in the CFL is not rated for enclosed fixtures (this mainly applies to the older CFL's that first came out). Read the fine print on the CFL ballast. If using an open fixture you should not have a problem.
 
 

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