Can I Mix 40 Watts and 25 Watts Light Bulbs in One Fixture?

[jayk...@hotmail.com]

I would like to ask questions related to a lighting fixture in my
bathroom.

1. Can I mix 40-watts and 25-watts light bulbs into one lighting
fixture? The lighting fixture allows me to put 6 light bulbs into it.
But I have no idea what's the manufacturer suggestion of the right kind
of light bulbs for the lighting fixture because the lighting fixture
was already in the house when I bought the house, and I don't have any
documentation about the lighting fixture. I am thinking of putting in
25-watts light bulbs to it in order to save some electricity. But I
already put in some 40-watts light bulbs in it already (I didn't know
any better at that time). Am I going to have a problem if I mix
25-watts and 40-watts light bulbs in the same lighting fixture?

2. How much light do I need in a small bathroom anyway? I am trying to
figure out if I am making the right decision in using 25-watts light
bulbs instead of 40-watts ones. The bathroom is only 5'x8'. One
40-watts light bulb will provide 415-ju..(spelling). Six 40-watts light
bulbs will provide totally 2490-ju... One 250-watts light bulb will
provide around 250-ju... Six 25-watts light bulbs will provide totally
around 1500-ju... Is 1500-ju... bright enough for a small 5'x8'
bathroom?

Thanks in advance for any info.

Jay Chan

[Dave]

check your fixture its probably stamped on it and painted over. Most
fixtures say 60 watt bulbs is the limit. there'd no reason why you can't mix
bulbs that are 60 or under.

<jayk...@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:1121959635....@f14g2000cwb.googlegroups.com...

[Luke]

On 21 Jul 2005 08:27:15 -0700, jayk...@hotmail.com wrote:

>I would like to ask questions related to a lighting fixture in my
>bathroom.
>
>1. Can I mix 40-watts and 25-watts light bulbs into one lighting
>fixture?

Yes.

>The lighting fixture allows me to put 6 light bulbs into it.
>But I have no idea what's the manufacturer suggestion of the right kind
>of light bulbs for the lighting fixture because the lighting fixture
>was already in the house when I bought the house, and I don't have any
>documentation about the lighting fixture.

[snip]

Should be a label affixed specifying maximum wattage per socket. If
you can't find it, describe the fixture better and we can tell you.
I'm guessing it's a strip light, probably 60 Watts maximum per socket,
common is to use decorative globe bulbs, but any standard base bulb
will work.

>2. How much light do I need in a small bathroom anyway?

[snip]

You're overthinking :-). Make it as bright or dim as you want.

--
Luke
______________________________________________________________________
Q. Given recent developments in the C.I.A. leak case, particularly
Vice President Cheney's discussions with the investigators, do you
still stand by what you said several months ago, suggestion that it
might difficult to identify anybody who leaked the agent's name?
And...
A. That's up...
Q. And do you stand by your pledge to fire anyone found to have done
so? And...
A. Yes.
-- George W. Bush, June 10, 2004, at news conference after G-8 Summit
in Sea Island, Ga.

[Doug Miller]

In article <1121959635....@f14g2000cwb.googlegroups.com>, jayk...@hotmail.com wrote:
>I would like to ask questions related to a lighting fixture in my
>bathroom.
>
>1. Can I mix 40-watts and 25-watts light bulbs into one lighting
>fixture? The lighting fixture allows me to put 6 light bulbs into it.

Sure.

>But I have no idea what's the manufacturer suggestion of the right kind
>of light bulbs for the lighting fixture because the lighting fixture
>was already in the house when I bought the house, and I don't have any
>documentation about the lighting fixture. I am thinking of putting in
>25-watts light bulbs to it in order to save some electricity.

Compact fluorescent bulbs would save even more.

>But I
>already put in some 40-watts light bulbs in it already (I didn't know
>any better at that time). Am I going to have a problem if I mix
>25-watts and 40-watts light bulbs in the same lighting fixture?

No, you won't have any problems at all.

>
>2. How much light do I need in a small bathroom anyway? I am trying to
>figure out if I am making the right decision in using 25-watts light
>bulbs instead of 40-watts ones. The bathroom is only 5'x8'. One
>40-watts light bulb will provide 415-ju..(spelling). Six 40-watts light
>bulbs will provide totally 2490-ju... One 250-watts light bulb will
>provide around 250-ju... Six 25-watts light bulbs will provide totally
>around 1500-ju... Is 1500-ju... bright enough for a small 5'x8'
>bathroom?

Only you can decide that. What's bright enough for me might be too dim for
you, or vice versa. It depends on far too many factors for anyone else to be
able to give you an answer; among these factors are:
a) are the walls painted a dark, or light, color?
b) are the ceiling and floor dark, or light?
c) how large is the mirror in the room?
d) how much light is absorbed by the fixture globes?
e) how much natural light does the room get?
f) how old are you? (The older you get, the more light you need.)
g) do you prefer brightly lit bathrooms, or dimly lit ones?
h) is the floor carpet, tile, or wood?
i) are the fixtures white porcelain, or some other color?

The only way you can tell how much light *you* need in *that* bathroom is by
experimenting. Put some bulbs in; if it's too bright, use lower-wattage bulbs.
If it's not bright enough, use higher-wattage bulbs. Repeat as needed until
you like it.

--
Regards,
Doug Miller (alphageek-at-milmac-dot-com)

Get a copy of my NEW AND IMPROVED TrollFilter for NewsProxy/Nfilter
by sending email to autoresponder at filterinfo-at-milmac-dot-com
You must use your REAL email address to get a response.

[Ken]

As others have said, the fixture is probably rated for 60W bulbs or
better, so if that's the case, mix bulbs anyway you want.

Also, as others have said, the right amount of light is what makes you
happy.

Since you said the goal is to save electricity, you should know that
fewer higher wattage bulbs are better than more lower wattage bulbs.
This would probably look silly in your fixture, but a more energy
efficient distribution of bulbs would be to use 2 or 3 60W bulbs and
leave the other sockets empty (or perhaps screw in burned out bulbs so
that an empty socket isn't there as a potential shock hazard. Don't
screw in one of those lamp-socket-to-plug conversion things because
that would encourage someone to plug something in to a circuit that is
likely not GFCI protected in a bathroom.)

In place of that, perhaps you want a new light fixture that only has a
couple sockets in it.

Finally, compact fluorescent bulbs would be the most energy efficient
choice. Lowes has a wide selection of attractive looking compact
fluorescent bulbs if your fixture has exposed bulbs.

Ken

[CL (dnoyeB) Gilbert]

jayk...@hotmail.com wrote:
> I would like to ask questions related to a lighting fixture in my
> bathroom.
>
> 1. Can I mix 40-watts and 25-watts light bulbs into one lighting
> fixture? The lighting fixture allows me to put 6 light bulbs into it.
> But I have no idea what's the manufacturer suggestion of the right kind
> of light bulbs for the lighting fixture because the lighting fixture
> was already in the house when I bought the house, and I don't have any
> documentation about the lighting fixture. I am thinking of putting in
> 25-watts light bulbs to it in order to save some electricity. But I
> already put in some 40-watts light bulbs in it already (I didn't know
> any better at that time). Am I going to have a problem if I mix
> 25-watts and 40-watts light bulbs in the same lighting fixture?
>

If its a ceiling light fixture its probably 40w bulbs, if its on the
wall its probably 60w. You should be able to see the rating for the
bulbs on the bulb socket itself.

> 2. How much light do I need in a small bathroom anyway? I am trying to
> figure out if I am making the right decision in using 25-watts light
> bulbs instead of 40-watts ones. The bathroom is only 5'x8'. One
> 40-watts light bulb will provide 415-ju..(spelling). Six 40-watts light
> bulbs will provide totally 2490-ju... One 250-watts light bulb will
> provide around 250-ju... Six 25-watts light bulbs will provide totally
> around 1500-ju... Is 1500-ju... bright enough for a small 5'x8'
> bathroom?
>

BAthroom its probably 60w. Typically you go with the brighter bulbs in
the bathroom so you can see how beautiful you are in the morning...
Clear bulbs are typical to help you see the true color of yoru clothes.

Bulb brightness is measured in lumens. joules is a measurement of
energy consumed.

> Thanks in advance for any info.
>
> Jay Chan
>

--
Respectfully,

CL Gilbert

[JohnR66]

<jayk...@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:1121959635....@f14g2000cwb.googlegroups.com...

In my experience, the bathroom light is not on anymore than 2 hours in a day
(even less for me). I would not worry saving energy there. My bathroom had
3-40w clear globes in a strip above the mirror (not shaded). I felt like I
was getting nuked when I turned the lights on at night. As they burned out,
I replaced them with 25 watters. It seems just right to me now. My walls and
fixtures are light in color so I can get away with lower wattages. Darker
rooms will require more light.

I use CFL bulbs where the lamps are on for many hours or continous such as
outside fixtures or rooms I'm in long. CFLs are great for those hard to
reach fixtures too, since they last quite long.

John

[petertdavis]

I don't see how it could hurt. Might look a bit odd.

--
petertdavis

------------------------------------------------------------------------
petertdavis's Profile: http://www.homeplot.com/member.php?userid=25
View this thread: http://www.homeplot.com/showthread.php?t=56191

[jayk...@hotmail.com]

I would like to piggy-back on your reply to thank everyone who have
replied to my post.

Glad to hear that this is OK for me to mix two different watts light
bulbs in the same lighting fixture.

People is right to point out that we really don't spend that many time
in the bathroom; therefore, trying to save some electricity in the
bathroom doesn't make much sense. For the same reasoning, I will not
replace the light bulbs with CFL bulbs either because the upfront cost
is higher with CFL bulbs and I would take a long time to save enough
money to recover the cost. But I will definitely use CFL bulbs in areas
I will leave the light on for an extended period.

I am surprised to hear that using fewer number of light bulbs will save
more money than using lower-watts light bulbs. I didn't know this. Seem
like if I ever replace the lighting fixture, I may need to replace with
one that use fewer light bulbs than the current one. I always feel that
the current lighting fixture is providing more light than I really
need. The reason why I say so is that two of the light bulbs had burnt
out, and I didn't notice any difference.

Thanks again for the info.

Jay Chan

[Don Klipstein]

In article <1122049460.9...@g14g2000cwa.googlegroups.com>,
jayk...@hotmail.com wrote in part:

>I am surprised to hear that using fewer number of light bulbs will save
>more money than using lower-watts light bulbs. I didn't know this.

Next time you're in the lightbulb aisle, look at the lumen light output
figures. One 60-watt lightbulb usually produces more light than four
25-watt ones do.

- Don Klipstein (d...@misty.com)

[CL (dnoyeB) Gilbert]

lumens is a measure of brightless IIRS. There is also the overall fill
to be considered. More lights can give a more even lighting with less
shadows. Something you definitely want in a bathroom unless you want to
see all those wrinkles, or your a body builder :)

--
Respectfully,

CL Gilbert

[jayk...@hotmail.com]

> lumens is a measure of brightless IIRS. There is also the overall fill
> to be considered. More lights can give a more even lighting with less
> shadows. Something you definitely want in a bathroom unless you want to
> see all those wrinkles, or your a body builder :)

You are probably right in saying that we need more light in a bathroom.
But in my opinion, my bathroom has already got more light than it need.
I come to this conclusion from the simple fact that 2 of the 6 light
bulbs was dead and I didn't even notice any difference. This means
those 2 are definitely "extra".

Anyway, I have looked into the sockets of the light bulb and found that
they are rated as 60-watts as what people have already mentioned in
previous posts. Still, I put 40-watts light bulb because that are what
I have been using all along; therefore, I don't feel that this is
necessary to use 60-watts light bulbs.

I also decide not to use 25-watts light bulbs. As suggested in other
posts, we spend very little time in the bathroom. Any saving is
minimum. I would much rather all the light bulbs to "match" each other.

Thanks for all the replies that I have received so far.

Jay Chan

[Tony Hwang]

Hi,
I use florescent bulbs as much as I can. All lights in my house is
daylight spectrum kind except in sun room where plant growing lights
are used.
Tony

[jayk...@hotmail.com]

> I use florescent bulbs as much as I can. All lights in my house is
> daylight spectrum kind except in sun room where plant growing lights
> are used.

There are a couple problems of using florescent bulbs in a bathroom:

- We spend very few hours in the bathroom, and florescent bulbs
are more expensive than regular light bulbs. We will not
recover the additional cost of using florescent bulbs for a
very long time.

- I have an impression that a florescent bulb will take longer
time to light up than a regular light bulb. When we enter a
dark bathroom, we want the light to come on right away because
we expect to get in and get out from the bathroom quickly.
The additional seconds delay of florescent bulbs will be hard
to bear when we only intend to stay in the bathroom for half
a minute.

- I have already had regular light bulbs in the bathroom. If I
used florescent bulbs, I would need to phase them in. This
means I would see a mix of two different size and shape of
light bulbs in the same lighting fixtures for two years.
I would not like this.

Of course, if I were off-grid, I would definitely use florescent bulbs
everywhere.

Jay Chan

[Bob]

jayk...@hotmail.com wrote:
>...

> There are a couple problems of using florescent bulbs in a bathroom:
>
> - We spend very few hours in the bathroom, and florescent bulbs
> are more expensive than regular light bulbs. We will not
> recover the additional cost of using florescent bulbs for a
> very long time.

California now requires general lighting in bathrooms to be fluorescent.
So a typical bathroom has three switches by the door: One for the
incandescent light bar over the mirror, one for the exhaust fan, and one
for a compact fluorescent light on the ceiling.

[Don Klipstein]

In article <Xns96B6A3B...@216.168.3.64>, Night Angel wrote:
>"Dave" <da...@telnet.com> wrotenews:9ePDe.170578$_o.144238@attbi_s71:

>
>> check your fixture its probably stamped on it and painted over. Most
>> fixtures say 60 watt bulbs is the limit. there'd no reason why you can't
>> mix bulbs that are 60 or under.
>

>And that 60 number is the politically correct, cover my ass number anyway to
>hopefully keep the company from being sued when some moron puts a 5,000 watt
>bulb in there, burns down the house and then sues.
>
>The number is really a base upon heat, not watts, put out.
>
>You could put a 150 watt flourescent bulb in there and it would be fine,
>because it throws out about 30% of the heat.

A 42 watt compact fluorescent heats a fixture very slightly more than a
60 watt incandescent does. I have a "Raytek" non-contact thermometer and
operated various lamps in an 8 inch glass globe and wrote down
temperatures.

Although a 42 watt compact fluorescent puts out more light than a 60
watt incandescent, it also puts out slightly more convected and conducted
heat. What the compact fluorescent produces a lot less of is infrared -
which will mostly produce heat matwerializing in the room but mostly not
in the fixture (at least for most fixtures).

>You could put all 100 watt bulbs in there, but your bathroom would be a steam
>room.

I did once see a fixture rated for a 60 watt bulb have wire insulation
start turning brown and producing a burning odor with a 60 watt bulb.
This was a desk lamp of the "banker's lamp" style. It used tubular
"refrigerator" style showcase bulbs. My guess is, where the fixture was
designed the 60 watt bulb that shape and size that the fixture was tested
with had a vacuum, while in the USA many such shape, size and wattage
bulbs are gas-filled - and produce more convected/conducted heat and less
infrared. However, the fixture ran nice and cool with a 40 watt tubular
bulb - 40 and 25 watt 120V tubular "refrigerator" bulbs used in the USA
have a vacuum unlike the 60 watt version.

I would not consider all fixtures safe somewhat exceeding their rated
limits, since I saw one with a design/testing flaw that made it unsafe
with the bulb it came with and was rated for.

- Don Klipstein (d...@misty.com)

[BARBARA f WOLF]

replying to Ken, BARBARA f WOLF wrote:
does this also apply to a kitchen fluorescent fixture.. I had four 32 watt
small tube 4ft tubes...two went out so i replaced them with two 34 watt ones
larger tubes that I had on hand. so i have two 32 watt tubes and two 34 watt
tubes in same fixture . is this ok or is that a problem

--
for full context, visit https://www.homeownershub.com/maintenance/can-i-mix-40-watts-and-25-watts-light-bulbs-in-one-fixture-15190-.htm

[Pop]

replying to jaykchan, Pop wrote:
Should never mix wattage. It's a closed circuit to t fixture. Power will
distribute equally, based on the higher wattage. Eventually the lower wattage
bulb will overheat and shatter.

[trader_4]

Total nonsense that violates physics, ohms law, etc. They will work fine. It's no different than a 40 watt, 25 watt, 100 watt and 150 watt plugged into different receptacles on one circuit.

[gfre...@aol.com]

On Thu, 29 Mar 2018 17:14:03 GMT, Pop
<caedfaa9ed1216d60ef...@example.com> wrote:

>replying to jaykchan, Pop wrote:
>Should never mix wattage. It's a closed circuit to t fixture. Power will
>distribute equally, based on the higher wattage. Eventually the lower wattage
>bulb will overheat and shatter.

What? These sockets are wired in parallel, not series so each one is a
totally separate load.
You can mix and match any way you want. You could even use LEDs or
CFLs along with your incandescent. In fact that is the only way you
can use some electronically switched devices. (One incandescent along
with whatever LED or CFLs you might want to use).

[Clare Snyder]

On Thu, 29 Mar 2018 17:14:03 GMT, Pop
<caedfaa9ed1216d60ef...@example.com> wrote:

>replying to jaykchan, Pop wrote:
>Should never mix wattage. It's a closed circuit to t fixture. Power will
>distribute equally, based on the higher wattage. Eventually the lower wattage
>bulb will overheat and shatter.

Male Bovine Excement - IOW - Bullshit.

[Time Warp]

replying to Pop, Time Warp wrote:
*Bravo, Pop!* You just replied to a 13 year old post. While awaiting your
brilliant and illuminating reply, all the bulbs in the fixture died a natural,
but not untimely death, and were replaced with 6 LED bulbs. They will last
until the end of time but the OP now must wear sun glasses whenever he takes a
crap. OTOH, he has a marvelous tan!

[Ed Pawlowski]

On 3/29/2018 7:14 PM, Time Warp wrote:
> replying to Pop, Time Warp  wrote:
> *Bravo, Pop!* You just replied to a 13 year old post.  While awaiting your
> brilliant and illuminating reply, all the bulbs in the fixture died a
> natural,
> but not untimely death, and were replaced with 6 LED bulbs.  They will last
> until the end of time but the OP now must wear sun glasses whenever he
> takes a
> crap.  OTOH, he has a marvelous tan!
>

so then, can you mix LED CF and Incans in the same fixture? Will they
last 13 years like the last ones?

[k...@notreal.com]

Not a good idea. The incans will heat the LED and CF. The
electronics in them don't like heat. ...but they won't shatter. ;-)