I hate compact fluorescents!

[MinisterofDOOM]

They suck.

1: They don't like the cold.
2: Quality is inconsistent.
3: They fail dramatically, flickering and smelling of ozone.
4: They absolutely DO NOT last longer than incandescents. I've got a 5-year-old incandescent in my hallway that gets used for hours every day. Every compact fluorescent in my house has been replaced AT LEAST 3 times in that duration, even more than that. And every one of those CF lamps has done the noisy, flickery, stinky ozone-dance-of-death upon failure rather than having the common decency and courtesy to just get on with dying and be dead like a good old incandescent will do.
5: They may or may not have a delay in turning on, even in warm conditions, and you never know if the specific lamp you're buying will be one of those or not, because of point #2.
6: They cost more.
7: They've been forced on me by the same ***holes who force me to burn corn in my engine and bolt platinum to my exhaust pipes.
8: Despite what everyone keeps telling everyone else, I don't see any improvements on my electric bill.

Probably more but that's it for now.

If I could work out a ventilation system I'd light my bedroom with tire fires. Out of monumental spite.

[Looneybomber]

When we first got some CF bulbs, we wrote the date on them the day we installed them. We're getting about 3-5yrs out of a bulb depending on which room it's in. It's way longer than we got out of any normal 100w bulb.
In rooms where the bulb stays on, they work great. In bathrooms where you turn the lights on and off a lot, they don't work so good. On a dimmer, they will fail very quickly. So that, along with not working in the cold, are my only complaints about the bulbs.
No wait, size is another one. A 150w or 200w (equivalent) CF bulb is way bigger than their incandescent counterparts. 200w bulbs will still fit in most normal lamps, but a 200w CF bulb is monstrous.

[asoomal]

Yea, we go through a lot of CFL bulbs, sometimes they will go in 3-4 weeks.

LED seems like the magic ticket.

[Red coupe]

Make/model of bulb?



(but kinda seriously....)

[gmac708]

And...You better take precautions if you break one.

Lamps contain mercury. Not a lot, but enough to cause some concerns on how you should clean it up and dispose of it. Here is snoops article about some myths and some facts.

http://www.snopes.com/medical/toxins/cfl.asp

EPA how to clean up after a broken lamp.

http://www.epa.gov/cfl/cflcleanup.html

[bcar240]

Yep, I am less than impressed. I do use them for certain applications, but there are some places I stick with incandescent.

Like mentioned, they hate the cold, I find that when it is below 35°F or so (relevant to carport/outside bulbs), they will never quite warm up to proper brightness. They also seem to die much faster when used in cold temps. Also, they are not very tolerant of physical vibration and tend to die fast when used in ceiling fans, garage door openers, etc.

The mercury is a legit concern. Maybe not for a single broken bulb, or several broken bulbs, but now that everyone (pretty much literally) is using them, it might be an issue over a lifetime of exposure. Also, I seriously doubt these are going to get recycled properly most of the time and there may eventually be an issue with mercury collecting in the dumps since there are going to be millions of them going there.

[Red coupe]

And...You better take precautions if you break one.

Lamps contain mercury. Not a lot, but enough to cause some concerns on how you should clean it up and dispose of it. Here is snoops article about some myths and some facts.

http://www.snopes.com/medical/toxins/cfl.asp

EPA how to clean up after a broken lamp.

http://www.epa.gov/cfl/cflcleanup.html

lol... every precaution listed is pretty much standard safety warnings for cleaning up glass, other then let the room air out for 5 - 10 minutes by opening a door.

[skydragoness]

If I could work out a ventilation system I'd light my bedroom with tire fires. Out of monumental spite.

I don't like them either.
However, I'd really like to get one of those daylight-simulating bulbs to shine over me at work where there aren't any windows and I'm under awful fluorescent lights

[driverdriver]

My indoor CFLs seldom need changing, I don't remember the last time I changed one? I use them outdoors too and we get extremes in temperatures (-40F to 104F) and they're timed to come one every night. I change the outdoor ones once a year. Maybe its a quality issue?

[PapaSmurf2k3]

I've never changed a CFL out because it died. I had some DOA ones though.

I actually PREFER them in my bathroom. You stumble in in the middle of the night, flip the switch, and are gently caressed with light that slowly gets brighter and doesn't burn the living s*** out of your cornea. I seek out the slowest ones specifically for that reason.


I also tend to upgrade my 60w bulbs with 100w equivalent bulbs, and not feel bad when I get hammered and leave them on all night.

[Red coupe]

I do "building maintenance" at school for a small paycheck...

Basically I change lightbulbs and make/patch holes in drywall.... So I deal daily with 300+ CFLs that are lit pretty much as often as there are classes going on on campus. Slow to start, but once lit I see almost none of the issues you are talking about.

I bet you have cheap bulbs, or are supplied with s*** electricity.

[C-Kwik]

I've never changed a CFL out because it died. I had some DOA ones though.

I actually PREFER them in my bathroom. You stumble in in the middle of the night, flip the switch, and are gently caressed with light that slowly gets brighter and doesn't burn the living s*** out of your cornea. I seek out the slowest ones specifically for that reason.


I also tend to upgrade my 60w bulbs with 100w equivalent bulbs, and not feel bad when I get hammered and leave them on all night.

One suggestion my environmental science professor had for this was to put in one or more regular bulbs if you have a multiple light fixture. Though, I was thinking pretty much what you just said. Additionally, I've had nothing but bad luck with the Decorative CFL's that I would need for my bathroom. They have the smaller base. They don't last nearly as long as they should and they weren't as cheap as the regular ones. I did buy a 3-pack of LED decorative bulbs at Costco a month ago. I only put two in my bathroom and one in the guest bathroom. They are not offensive even when stumbling in from the dark. I would hope they will last though.

I should say, my experience with regular sized CFL's have been pretty good. Not to mention I paid like $4 for 20 of them a couple years ago at Costco. So if they happen to go out early, no biggie, but I haven't really had issue with them.

[szh]

I said this in a different thread about 6 months ago ... worth repeating here, I suppose.

Reality check: FWIW, CFL's are not a good transition technology. I have been trying to use them in my house for some years now, including comparing them carefully to incandescents (yes, I am a geek engineer!) to see what success I was having with them.

So far, the outcome has been:

1. They last much less than good quality incandescents. Even in little used areas. In my son's bathroom for example, the CFL's longevity is less than half the incandescents for example - about 1 year on average compared to over 3 years (side by side in the same light fixture!) that I have been measuring. In our bathroom, some of the incandescents are still working fine since we bought our house ... more than 11 years ago!

2. None of the CFL's I have ever bought - even expensive ones - have lived up to the 7 or more(!) years promised on the boxes. Nothing has lasted more than 2 years without failing or requiring replacement due to light output dropping too far.

3. CFL's start gradually losing their light capacity as soon as you start using them - the light output is down about a third to a half within 6 months or so. I sometimes end up replacing a CFL before it actually burns out totally because the light output has degraded to the point of uselessness.

4. They cannot be disposed of easily. I have tried to find local areas that will take them and end up driving some miles to do so! Pain in the butt.

5. Drop one and you will have to quickly open windows and leave the house for 30 minutes (or much more to be safe - I have a young son that I would like not to be exposed so much) to allow the Mercury vapors to escape. I wonder how many people know about this?

6. The cost is still too high. In general, based on electricity rates around here, given the higher price and the faster failure rate, my actual calculated experience has been that I am spending about three times as much for using CFL's as incandescents - even when taking electricity into account.

So, yes, I can't wait for lower-cost LED's - they are purported to have longer lives (so were CFL's by the way, but have not proven so), but I will check to see how long they actually do so. Today, the prices are way too high for me to consider them as a complete alternative.

Z

[szh]

A recent Consumer Reports study on LED lighting - specifically a 60W incandescent equivalent from Philips is very, very promising.

However, the price tag at about $39 each, makes it seriously ridiculous (today) to replace the 8 bulbs I would need to do for my son's bathroom - let alone the other lights around the house.

But, if the price of A19 LED bulbs continue to drop (looks like Philips Endura A19 60W equivalent is now down to $33 at 1000bulbs.com: see http://www.1000bulbs.com/product/58963/LED-409946.html), then it is promising for the future, at least.

To manufacturers: I'd consider buying at $5 an LED bulb (given the apparent longevity), but $33 to $39 is way over the top - just this one light fixture alone would be between $250 to $300! Yikes!

Z

[szh]

Correction, that Phillips LED bulb is down to $22 today (30 Nov 2011): http://www.amazon.com/Philips-Ambient-D ... 677&sr=8-5 at Amazon.

I hope the price continues to drop further ... in time for the law on incandescents not to hurt people financially.

Z

[Jesda]

I've had a few that flaked out. I'm not crazy about them.

Some municipalities, states, and even countries want to ban incandescents. A boneheaded move.

[Dattebayo]

MoD,

If the CT (current transformer) on your house electricity is bad (showing more than standard 115-120 volts at the panel) or you have a corrupted sine wave, the CF bulbs seem to be more sensitive to that kind of power.
This can be different in different parts of your home depending on the length that socket is from the panel, too.

[300ZXttZMAN]

I agree with the op..

I hate this:
7: They've been forced on me by the same ***holes who force me to burn corn in my engine and bolt platinum to my exhaust pipes.

EDIT: move to louisiana and you won't have to worry about those

[Encryptshun]

I see an ad at the bottom of this thread for an 8-watt A19 LED (50 watt equivalent) for $19.99. In big letters, it says "Lasts 20x longer than incandescent bulbs."

Um, I would pay less for 20 incandescants than your one LED, Mr. Advertiser. So how exactly is it cheaper? And I've been running high-efficiency lighting solutions in my home and seen at most a 5% price decrease in electricity versus when I ran all incandescants. Overall it's been a negative savings to operate.

[PapaSmurf2k3]

One suggestion my environmental science professor had for this was to put in one or more regular bulbs if you have a multiple light fixture.

Yup! I do that in my living room where I have these s*** candella lights. The CFLs take FOREVER to spool up there, and its not in an area where I appreciate it. Once spooled up though, the 40w equivalent bulbs (which are like 9 watts or something) are actually brighter than my 40w incandescent, and by quite a bit too.

The warm up period isn't even really noticable when they are combined with the incandescent (I run 1 incandescent to 2 CFLs in a 5 bulb fixture. Yes, 2 are left empty... I like a dark shadow around my TV )

I gotta agree with Dave. It sounds like our experiences are quite different with these things. Assuming they are more or less coming from the same place, I would be willing to bet something funky is going on with your home electrical (sine wave or voltage). Can altitude play a factor too?

[Jesda]

I just got into a little argument with my dad about light bulbs of all things. He wants me to use the single light above the sink in his kitchen as opposed to the track lights to save energy.

The energy saving bulb takes a f**king eternity to get bright, so I have to use the track lights to see anything! What's the point if saving energy if I have to stand there and wait for the light to properly come on in order to briefly use it?

In the end, he agreed with me -- the energy saving bulbs are total crap but they will help sell the house when he retires and moves to Arizona.

[PapaSmurf2k3]

Agreed. Its really all about strategic placement. If I know I'm going to be leaving a light on for a long time (garage, over the oven, etc), I go CFL. I do not, however put them inside my refrigerator.

[C-Kwik]

I see an ad at the bottom of this thread for an 8-watt A19 LED (50 watt equivalent) for $19.99. In big letters, it says "Lasts 20x longer than incandescent bulbs."

Um, I would pay less for 20 incandescants than your one LED, Mr. Advertiser. So how exactly is it cheaper? And I've been running high-efficiency lighting solutions in my home and seen at most a 5% price decrease in electricity versus when I ran all incandescants. Overall it's been a negative savings to operate.

5% is meaningless without knowing how much your actual bill is. A $50/per month bill would only save you $2.50 per month while a $200 bill would be at $10 per month. Also depends on how many bulbs you changed along with how much you use them. If you generally don't use a lot of light in your home, the savings are obviously going to much less in actual dollars per month.

As for LED's they probably aren't all that cost effective yet. Frankly, only reason I decided to try them in my bathroom is because even the incandescent bulbs would go out often. Might not be cost effective yet, but I just hate changing bulbs. Assuming the components in the bulbs are descent, it will probably never get swapped...hopefully.

On a side note, I had a fish tank hood lamp that failed on the small tank that's at my parent's shop. Its an odd sized tank and hood (they came as a kit) so I ended up using a smaller version of the LED bar I have at my desk (3 LEDs). I had to strip the lamp assembly out of the hood and fabricate a mount for it but the end result is actually kind of nice. Since LED's are point light sources, we get a really cool effect where the shimmering on the water surface from the filter causes a neat lighting effect in the tank. Kind of like the what it looks inside a moving stream.

MoD,

If the CT (current transformer) on your house electricity is bad (showing more than standard 115-120 volts at the panel) or you have a corrupted sine wave, the CF bulbs seem to be more sensitive to that kind of power.
This can be different in different parts of your home depending on the length that socket is from the panel, too.

I suspect there is a problem in my living room. I have a desk lamp with a touch switch. Works great in every room but the living room. I tried unplugging everything else in the room and still no go. The lamp works, but won't turn on and off like its supposed to. The only consistent way to turn it on and off is to ground a finger on the microUSB or microHDMI connector on my phone dock and touch the switch at the same time. I'll be in a new place this weekend though, so hopefully I can use it normally again soon.

Agreed. Its really all about strategic placement. If I know I'm going to be leaving a light on for a long time (garage, over the oven, etc), I go CFL. I do not, however put them inside my refrigerator.

It would probably work like crap in a fridge anyways. Some new fridges come with LED arrays. Those are pretty bad a**. Some have LED's all over. Never a dark spot in the fridge. I think most if not all even bring the light up to full brightness somewhat gradually so late night fridge raids aren't so blinding.

[Dattebayo]

The CF bulbs we use here last for years, and we have a slightly bad CT on this place, too. But our sine wave is fricken magical, the best I've seen anywhere. Good enough to run power line communication devices all over the place without a signal drop even to the shed out back!

[Encryptshun]

I see an ad at the bottom of this thread for an 8-watt A19 LED (50 watt equivalent) for $19.99. In big letters, it says "Lasts 20x longer than incandescent bulbs."

Um, I would pay less for 20 incandescants than your one LED, Mr. Advertiser. So how exactly is it cheaper? And I've been running high-efficiency lighting solutions in my home and seen at most a 5% price decrease in electricity versus when I ran all incandescants. Overall it's been a negative savings to operate.

5% is meaningless without knowing how much your actual bill is. A $50/per month bill would only save you $2.50 per month while a $200 bill would be at $10 per month. Also depends on how many bulbs you changed along with how much you use them. If you generally don't use a lot of light in your home, the savings are obviously going to much less in actual dollars per month.

My electric bill has dropped less than $2/month after switching to CFL and LED lighting. However, my cost to purchase and replace lights increased an average of $5/month if you factor in the initial investment and annualize versus an incandescant alternative. As Chris said, they don't like the cold, either, so my outdoor post-light, front-porch light, security lights, and garage lights should really not be CFLs even though they are right now. I guess what I should try next is to use fluorescents only where I rarely turn the lights off and LEDs where they get a lot of on/off use.

[breadbox]

I didn't read all the responses but, has anyone experineced this?

The bulb starts flickering when you touch the lamp or shake the table the lamp is on, you investigate only to find the bulb had somehow slowly unscrewed itself. I feel that they have some sort of vibration that actually causes themselves to turn. I noticed it more on upright fixtures than horizontal or upside down fixtures. although considering it unscrews itself slowly...makes me think that cfl's in upside down fixtures are potential bad things waiting to fall at you.

[gwoods]

The CFL's do not last as long. I write the date of install on the plastic part of the bulb when installing it. They last 2-3 years in my house. Although I have 4 normal bulbs in my hallway that came with the house new in 2004 and still work great. I have 3 small kids so the hallway light is off on off on off on off on all day long. They are exspensive. I am just trying the LED's and like them!

advantages

1> I have found with the CFL's is that if you have a 60 watt rated lamp you can put in a 30 watt cfl that puts out equivalent light of a 120 watt bulb.

2> Color Temperature is a wide spectrum. Getting a standard bulb in a softer light is hard getting a cfl with a specific color temp is easy. I like to have sunlight 5000-7000 k lighting in my closet so I can tell which pants are black/blue and how my outfit is going to look outside.

I have a very warm 2000-3000 k bulb in the laundryroom and 7000 k bluish light in the family room.

3> cool to touch, again little kids touch things and cfls are much cooler to the touch then a standard bulb

[MinisterofDOOM]

I didn't realize LED lamps had gotten that low in price. I'm considering a couple for my bedroom. It's completely sealed off from outside light sources (so I can sleep during the day) which means I often run an overhead light for several hours a day.

[asoomal]

I didn't read all the responses but, has anyone experineced this?

The bulb starts flickering when you touch the lamp or shake the table the lamp is on, you investigate only to find the bulb had somehow slowly unscrewed itself. I feel that they have some sort of vibration that actually causes themselves to turn. I noticed it more on upright fixtures than horizontal or upside down fixtures. although considering it unscrews itself slowly...makes me think that cfl's in upside down fixtures are potential bad things waiting to fall at you.

Sometimes they burn out, but as you spin it, they will light up...

Kinda freaky lol.

[Jesda]

I didn't read all the responses but, has anyone experineced this?

The bulb starts flickering when you touch the lamp or shake the table the lamp is on, you investigate only to find the bulb had somehow slowly unscrewed itself. I feel that they have some sort of vibration that actually causes themselves to turn. I noticed it more on upright fixtures than horizontal or upside down fixtures. although considering it unscrews itself slowly...makes me think that cfl's in upside down fixtures are potential bad things waiting to fall at you.

YES. My bathroom CFLs do that. I don't understand why or how it happens.