After lunch at The Old Siam, I discovered a light bulb store while walking to my car. Batteries N Bulbs is located at 1111 W El Camino Real, #135, Sunnyvale, California. Although the interior of the store is quite spartan, the store carries an amazing variety of light bulbs. Since I needed a few specialty bulbs, I headed in to take a look.
First, the other 4 Pin Trip Tube Fluorescent Bulb in the bathroom went out. At least, I got 7 more months of use from this one, but no where near the claim 10,000 hour life. For this go around, I picked up an Eiko 26 watt 3500° K Triple Tube FLuorescent Lamp Base GX24q-3 for $15.95.
Compared to a 100 watt incandescent bulb, I should be saving 74 watts per hour. If the light is on for 3 hours a day for the 3 year life of the bulb, that’s 3,285 hours. So, the compact fluorescent saved me 249,600 KWH during its functional life. So, how much does 249 KWH cost? At 9.54 cents per KWH, one bulb saves me $23.76, if I would have installed a 100 watt bulb instead. So, despite the diminished life of the fluorescent bulb, I think I’m still ahead.
Now, for the more difficult task. I was also looking for a 40 watt type t4 e11 base mini candlelabra. I’ve searched in all the major hardware stores but never found a replacement bulb until I found Batteries N Bulbs. I mean this bulb was out for at least a year or more. The replacement bulb, a Bulbrite Industries, Inc. KX40CL/MC cost me $16.75.