subject: Replace Garage-Door Opener Lights with the Right Light Bulb [print this page] Replace Garage-Door Opener Lights with the Right Light Bulb
As we draw nearer to 2012 and the ban of standard incandescent light bulbs I am reminded of a place where incandescents will continue to reign, at least for a while: the garage. Garage-door opener lights have long been incandescent, and I don't see that changing. The best light bulb for garage-door opener lights is the rough service incandescent.
Specifically, Trojan Inc. rough service light bulbs are your best bet for garage-door opener lights. Garage-door openers are subject to strong vibrations each time they are activated, and they are generally turned on and then off in fairly quick succession. This leads regular light bulbs to a quick demise, but rough service incandescent light bulbs are made to handle these rigors.
To start, rough service lamps are covered with a thin layer of silicone which significantly strengthens the glass bulb. It's very difficult to accidentally break one of these rough service light bulbs, and it even takes some creativity to break one on purpose. If a rough service light bulb does happen to break, there is no glass spill. The silicone coating prevents the glass from scattering; it all remains inside the coating. In addition to this safety feature, rough service light bulbs can operate at 130 volts, which increases their lifetime to compact fluorescent light bulb levels of 10,000 hours or more.
Rough service incandescent light bulbs also use a thicker, stronger filament that is made to withstand the vibrations of a garage-door opener. These reasons together make rough service incandescent light bulbs the only good choice for garage-door opener lights. For other lights in the garage, I once again recommend compact fluorescent light bulbs for their variety of color temperatures and energy efficiency.
