• slackassassin@sh.itjust.works
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      1 year ago

      I replaced an incandescent bulb in my basement with an led, and my pipes froze the next winter. Took me a minute to figure out why.

        • HerrBeter@lemmy.world
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          1 year ago

          But you’d have to replace it often. The space heater can also have frost guard so it will turn on when the temperature goes down. Imo it’s the better option

      • evranch@lemmy.ca
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        1 year ago

        In Canada ain’t nothing for cheap. Except the light bulb.

        Jokes aside until Amazon started bringing us cheap crap there was no practical low cost alternative, aside from gutting a coffee pot or something. I fixed an old water trough once that was heated by a 240v stove element brazed to the stubs of the old 120v one that had burned out. 2kW / 4 = 500W which is about the right power level for this job.

        Stove element from the dump $0, Canarm watering bowl element $70

        • HerrBeter@lemmy.world
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          1 year ago

          Actually I agree, it’s a pretty good source of heating elements. I’ve scavenged from some old toasters and sandwich iron

    • Tar_Alcaran@sh.itjust.works
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      1 year ago

      As long as you’ve got some form of heating running, every electrical device in the room is ~100% efficient.

      Also, because this is absolutely hilarious: They make heated LED lights for use in really cold places.

      • Honytawk@lemmy.zip
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        1 year ago

        Wasted energy isn’t just heat, it also includes chemical energy (chemical bonds), kinetic energy (noise and vibration), activation energy (chemical reactions), and light.

        So a lamp that heats up the room but also makes noise is not using its energy 100% efficiently. Because the noise is not wanted.

        • starman2112@sh.itjust.works
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          1 year ago

          I don’t think you understand their point. Typically, heat is the only undesirable byproduct of electrical devices, so the less heat it produces, the more “efficient” it is. However, if what you want is heat, then all devices are 100% “efficient.” (Minus any EM or kinetic energy that leaves the area as anything but heat)

          A 100W incandescent light bulb and a 10W LED+90W heater are exactly the same in terms of how much heat they produce for how much energy they use, with the bonus that when you don’t want that heat, you can turn off the 90W heater and have the same light for 10% of the energy expenditure