CFL lightbulbs are supposed to last 8000hrs?

[JEDI]

8k hrs = 4yrs, if you have it on 40hr/week.

i guess i'm 1sigma to the left of the avg.

put in a 13w cfl (equivalent to regular 60w lightbulb) on aug 2010 in my computer room. it died today, 2 1/2 yrs later.

and i know the light hasnt been on 40hr/wk.

this wasnt some no name cfl. it's GE.

hate being negative sigma

 

[Imp]

10,000 according to Ikea.

But note that the estimated life usually says "approximately". In the asterisk, there might something about how turning your light on/off "frequently" will kill it faster.

The 13W CFLs in my kitchen die in about half a year to a year. However, that light is usually on 12 hours a day and flipped on and off at least a dozen times a day. At 12 hours they should still last 2 years though... (10,000/12/365=2...)

On the flip side, my monitor's backlight is on about 5 hours a day and its' lasted probably 3 years by now.

I switched my room to LEDs. They're supposed to last 20,000 to 25,000 hours. We'll see.

 

[bignateyk]

Is the bulb in an enclosed fixture? They overheat and die pretty quickly if they aren't in open fixtures.

 

[AstroManLuca]

I've heard that if you're likely to use the light again within 20 minutes, it's better to just leave it on. CFLs are great for lights that stay on for long periods of time, like a living room, but really bad for rooms like bathrooms where you flip it on and then off again within a few minutes several times a day.

 

[K1052]

CFLs should last 8-12K hours depending on the model. All are not created equal though...really cheap ones fail earlier and have much higher initial failure rates. Cycling reduces their life as well.

To me the main advantage of CFL and LED (in addition to less energy consumed) is not having to change them all the time. The lifetime of even halogen bulbs sucks if you have hard to reach fixtures.

 

[Oyeve]

I replace all my lights in my apt with these and that was 4 years ago. I havent lost one yet. Also, the one in my bathroom is on 24/7. These were the cheap ones, 6 for 10 bucks, I got at home depot years ago.

 

[Jimzz]

CFLs also have a On/Off rate as well. So if you turn it on and off a lot that also reduces its life.

If you turn it on and leave it on all the time you will probably hit or exceed the hour rating.

 

[JEDI]

Is the bulb in an enclosed fixture? They overheat and die pretty quickly if they aren't in open fixtures.

no. the lamp shade is open on top