Have you found the longevity of CFLs to be over-hyped?

[StageLeft]

I'll preface by saying I don't write down any of this, I'm not quite that obsessive, but after replacing almost all lights in my house with CFLs I just don't get the impression that they last a great deal longer in my use than incandescents. I have replaced quite a few that have burned out, a couple outside (protected and within temp limits specified by manufacturer) that died quickly and several others indoors on various circuits. House electric is quite new so I am sure nothing is wrong with my power. It just seems that these don't last magnitudes longer than incandescent, as they are supposed to...

 

[iamwiz82]

I've had mine for 5 years or so with no burn outs yet.

 

[MikeyIs4Dcats]

cheap bulbs are cheap.

 

[ra990]

Agree, I replace them all the time. All these claims of them lasting up to 10 years are bullcrap.

 

[Jeff7]

cheap bulbs are cheap.

This.
While the fluorescent tubes themselves should last a long time, some things can shorten that:
- Short on-time per startup. Every startup is hard on the tube, and shortens its life. Some T8 tubes I've seen are rated 30,000hrs at 12hrs on per startup, or 10,000 hours at 4hrs per startup.
- Cheap supporting circuitry. The light's only as good as the weakest link. If the tube is fine, but the manufacturer cut corners everywhere on the power circuit, then something's likely to fail.


Out of a batch of around 12 cheap/no-name CFLs I bought from Home Depot and 1000bulbs.com, 4 of them still work after less than a year. Some were dead within 6 months.

Out of a batch of 8 Neolite CFLs, used to replace the dead ones, all 8 are still working fine, and some are at least 1.5yrs old.

 

[aircooled]

The quick on and off area's don't work well with CFL's
The long-term "on" works well for light, but it sure has altered the color of the room and not in a good way.

 

[Lean L]

yeah, they don't last long if you turn it on and off like a normal bulb... the 9 year rating is when it is turned on once per day for 8 hours

 

[rockyct]

I've had decent luck with the normal CFLs. I've gotten some dimable ones that didn't last a month. I blame that on the cheap dimming circuitry though.

 

[Jeff7]

The quick on and off area's don't work well with CFL's
The long-term "on" works well for light, but it sure has altered the color of the room and not in a good way.

Definitely. I use incandescents in any room where the on-time is likely to be a minute or so per use. The bathroom is nicely done where it has two sets of lights, so I use the CFL only if I'll be in there for a little while.

But I'd imagine that most people don't want to put that much "thought" into turning on a light.


*awaiting cost-effective LED lighting...*

 

[0roo0roo]

ge/ikea ones working fine, i rarely ever replace one. been a long time since i last did. and yes use regular bulb in bathroom and such. not just regular but the blue coat color enhancing.

 

[bobdole369]

Yes absolutely. I think the trouble is that a lot of times they are rated in the "upright" position. Also there seems to be no agency in charge of it, so its rated like how tv screens were measured before LCDs, that is "19" TV = 15.9" viewable" - so 10,000 hours = 6000 hours actual use or some crap.

If you place the CFL upside down, like a good 50% of my fixtures, its life is halved. (these numbers are directly out of my ass)

So much BS around CFL's. I like the light from good ole dimmed incandescants and am lobbying my congressman to repeal that stupid fucking law that doesn't save any money and turns every house into a toxic waste dump.

 

[sandorski]

My Incandescent lights used to not last a year. Currently I haven't lost a CFL in the 3+ years of using them. I am very pleased.

Use Sylvania, some "Natural"(bright White) and another type that is more Yellow like an Incandescent.

 

[Jumpem]

I have replaced most all of my bulbs with them over the past few years, and can't recall a single one burning out.

 

[ShawnD1]

The long-term "on" works well for light, but it sure has altered the color of the room and not in a good way.

You really need to pay attention to what color the CFL is. My desk lamp is a CFL that looks like a regular incandescent bulb, but the light connected to the wall switch is a very harsh white light.

Most of my house was switched over to CFL bulbs about two years ago and none of them have burned out.

Use Sylvania, some "Natural"(bright White)

Yep I have some of these. Incredibly hard on the eyes. If that's natural, I wonder what planet the designers are from.

 

[TheVrolok]

I don't think I've had a single CFL burn out yet.. it's been about 3-5 years for most of them.

 

[Gillbot]

extremely

most I have purchased have died inside of 3 years. Luckily I did keep the receipt to the displeasure of the mfr. I've had many of them replaced so far but have been told that the replacements will not be replaced.

 

[bobdole369]

good ole dimmed incandescants

http://www.elflist.com/article14_dim.htm

dim by 10% and you double bulb life - that is NOT out of my ass.

http://greeninc.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/04/24/a-defense-of-the-incandescent-light-bulb/

You won't notice 10%. Use something like a Lutron Homeworks system and you can be saving so much money and never replacing your bulbs. Of course they start around $10k so people looking to save money and the planet probably aren't looking here.

 

[sandorski]

You really need to pay attention to what color the CFL is. My desk lamp is a CFL that looks like a regular incandescent bulb, but the light connected to the wall switch is a very harsh white light.

Most of my house was switched over to CFL bulbs about two years ago and none of them have burned out.


Yep I have some of these. Incredibly hard on the eyes. If that's natural, I wonder what planet the designers are from.

I think that's what they called it. The first bulb I bought was the Yellowish one, which is very nice, but that was after spending an hour Researching on the Internet and knowing exactly what I wanted. The bright white ones I bought later having forgot most of the details, so I just grabbed them based on the Marketing speak...and Failed.

 

[T9D]

...

 

[Dirigible]

I tried a few brands and they all sucked for me. Maybe LEDs will be better, but I'm done with CFLs.

 

[Gillbot]

I tried a few brands and they all sucked for me. Maybe LEDs will be better, but I'm done with CFLs.

I'm not replacing my CFL's. The cost vs. life so far is just sad, even after you factor in the "energy savings".

 

[Ayah]

I haven't had any CFLs die on me yet.

 

[Jeff7]

Yep I have some of these. Incredibly hard on the eyes. If that's natural, I wonder what planet the designers are from.

Some of that depends on your preference for color temperature, and also the quality of the phosphor in the fluorescent tube. Some of the cheap ones have pathetic color rendering qualities.
Some will give their CRI - higher is better. An incandescent is going to be 100, or pretty damned close. A decent CFL will have a rating in the 80's. A lot of cheaper ones will be closer to 70.

Color temp: 2700K is around the incandescent range, or "warm white." 4100K is "cool white" and something above 5000K is usually considered to be "daylight."

I've got some CFLs that are 2700-3000K, and thanks to the lampshade, most people would think that it's an incandescent in the fixture.

Don't buy any from Home Depot. period. They do not sell anything but the "green" bulbs. They are a harsh white. They don't use Mercury or anything that gives the good ones the more natural colors. I bought a couple packs now they will have to be thrown out. Seems like you spend 4 times the cost just finding the right ones that work for you. Then if they don't even last as long it will never ever pay off. Still not a fan of CFL's. Save us LED.

I...don't think you can make a fluorescent tube without mercury, at least not right now.

 

[ultimatebob]

I have about a dozen CFL's installed, and had 2 of them fail in about 18 months time.

That really sucks... They don't seem to last much longer than my old incandescent lights!

 

[Imp]

"Up to" seem to be the key words.

The back/ambient light for my monitor is still running strong after 2 years. It's in the upright position, in a heated, but well ventilated room though. It was also $7 for the one bulb. I'd say it'd turned on/off at least once a day.

The room lights I use are fro, Wal-mart mainly. Since removing the enclosed fixture, the bulbs seem to be lasting longer. The closed POS that was too big for 60 Watters killed bulbs once a year at least.