Groceries - The Lightbulb Edition | I've Paid For This Twice Already... http://www.paidtwice.com/2008/03/15/groceries-the-lightbulb-edition/#comment-19870 Willfe Sun, 16 Mar 2008 06:59:57 +0000 http://www.paidtwice.com/2008/03/15/groceries-the-lightbulb-edition/#comment-19870 I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but the regular old CFL lights work just fine in the refrigerator. If your fridge uses standard bulbs, just snag the smallest CFL you can find (try looking for "vanity lights"). Even if your fridge uses the smaller, "candelabra" sized bulbs, they *do* make CFLs that fit. Those are tougher to find, but Wal-Mart (at least around here) does stock one brand of them, and Home Depot & Lowes also stock at least one brand of them. The biggest thing to keep in mind is the overall size; the vanity bulbs are tiny round globes and are likely the best fit. The candelabra fixture lights tend to be elongated like the incandescents they replace, but usually still fit in the refrigerator's fixture. Downsides? The cold makes the bulb take longer to warm up and probably doesn't help the bulb's overall lifespan (it will likely die sooner than if it were in a regular fixture at room temperature). Since you're not in the fridge for very long at a time, the net result is that you'll end up feeling like the whole thing is just a bit dimmer (not much, though). If you have the door open for more than 30 seconds (cleaning out the shelves/drawers, hunting for a leftover, etc.), you'll have regular light. The CFL bulbs that will fit in there really aren't that much more expensive (they still save money in energy use reduction) than the standard ones, and despite the cold, they still do work just fine. I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but the regular old CFL lights work just fine in the refrigerator. If your fridge uses standard bulbs, just snag the smallest CFL you can find (try looking for “vanity lights”). Even if your fridge uses the smaller, “candelabra” sized bulbs, they *do* make CFLs that fit. Those are tougher to find, but Wal-Mart (at least around here) does stock one brand of them, and Home Depot & Lowes also stock at least one brand of them. The biggest thing to keep in mind is the overall size; the vanity bulbs are tiny round globes and are likely the best fit. The candelabra fixture lights tend to be elongated like the incandescents they replace, but usually still fit in the refrigerator’s fixture.

Downsides? The cold makes the bulb take longer to warm up and probably doesn’t help the bulb’s overall lifespan (it will likely die sooner than if it were in a regular fixture at room temperature).

Since you’re not in the fridge for very long at a time, the net result is that you’ll end up feeling like the whole thing is just a bit dimmer (not much, though). If you have the door open for more than 30 seconds (cleaning out the shelves/drawers, hunting for a leftover, etc.), you’ll have regular light.

The CFL bulbs that will fit in there really aren’t that much more expensive (they still save money in energy use reduction) than the standard ones, and despite the cold, they still do work just fine.

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