why I hate CFLs

[LCHIEN]

last fall I relamped my Master bedroom ceiling fan with CFLs. It had four sockets with those transparent flower looking glass shades, designed for the short "fan bulbs or appliance bulbs".

I had put some Sylvania "CF13EL/micromini" miniature curly CFLs rated for 13 watts equal to 60 Watts and had to put up with the slow turn on.
Now just six months later one of them has gone out, despite their claims of long life.
I go to Lowes and buy another 2-pack, for $8. To add insult to injury the package says this bulb will last me 11 years and save me $112.

Worse than that the bulb package looks indentical to what I bought 6 months ago except the fine print on the bulb base now says 2700K instead of 3000K so the new bulb looks visibly different in color.

I doubt it's the vibration because being less than 2 seasons for these bulbs I haven't even run the fan during their short pitiful lifetime. Besides, fan bulbs are needed for the vibration resistance of the filaments and these have no filaments.

I only use the lights maybe 2-3 hours a day on average, that would be 400 hours maybe for six months.

[sscherin]

I've had the same problem.. The really annoying part is the warranty return shipping costs more than a new bulb.

[leehljp]

You need some Japanese bulbs! I bought 2 today to replace one that went bad yesterday and one that is slow to come on. I installed 24 bulbs with CFL bulbs 4 years ago and these are the 4th & 5th that I have replaced.

The first two were "Costco" bulbs of 2700 that I hated. They lasted 2 years. One Japanese bulb went out 3 months ago. These are all on the 4 light fixtures in the family room and kitchen area that are used the most.

What I like the most is the "Cooling" cost reduction for summer months in Energy high Japan.

I replaced 20 - 24 incandescent bulbs with CFL in our home in the States back in the summer of '06 and according to my daughter they are still going fine. My daughter says her summer cooling has continued to stay lower that it was in '05.

[crokett]

The oldest CFL bulb I have in my house is 2 yrs old and is still going strong. I know I am also using less electricity iver the last year since I replaced the majority of the incandecencts in my house with CFLs. The only place I wish I'd put a standard bulb is in the floodlight outside - the CFL there takes too long to come to birghtness in the cold.

[Richard in Smithville]

My dad bought two CFL's about a year or two before he passes away. They were still pretty new back then. Mum still has them in her livingroom lamps-and yes they are still working. By the way, dads been gone ten years this summer! How is that for long life? I have CFL's that have been working for more than five years, but of course now that I have written this they will all blow.

[Hellrazor]

CFL bulbs can be a PITA. I am not impressed with their life span with the boatload of them we have at work. I am running into issues with poor life span and the bulbs that are in can lights get brittle and break off at the base. But these are the commercial version where the ballast is in the fixture.

[cgallery]

The CFL lamps don't seem to tolerate tight quarters for me. The ones in the basement that are just plugged into a cheap china socket have been running for 9-10 years. And I never turn some of them off. Others that I've used in cans and other reflectors don't last at all. And when I replace them you can see that heat has slightly discolored the base.

[jon_ramp]

It has been hit and miss with me. Some are still going after 3 years, some have lasted less than one, even a no vibration installation. On average, I would say the claim to longer live is very questionable.

[aggrex]

I tried some Costco CFLs and I did not have good results to justify their expense over regular incandescent bulbs. The package stated that they save on energy costs while providing similar lighting at a lower wattage. The package also stated they last 7 years. The fine print stated they last 7 years if only used for four hours per day. The CFLs died a relatively quick death one-by-one until I replaced them all with incandescent bulbs. I tried another set of CFLs in the kitchen chandelier. The complaints this time were from the wife and family: The CFLs made the food on the table strange looking and unappetizing even though it tasted great. So out went the CFLs and any potential energy savings.

Another problem with CFL useage is proper disposal:

"CFLs or other fluorescent light bulbs thrown into the trash are usually sent to a landfill or incinerated. These disposal methods will lead to releases of elemental mercury into the environment through breakage and leakage. There is also the potential for exposure to mercury from broken fluorescent light bulbs thrown in a dumpster, trash compactor, or trash can. Approximately 670 million fluorescent light bulbs are discarded each year in the United States. These discarded bulbs can release approximately 2 to 4 tons of mercury per year into the environment. Once in the environment, mercury can be converted to an organic form that accumulates in living organisms and contaminates the food chain. To prevent the release of mercury, the fluorescent light bulbs should be taken to a recycler before they break. Recyclers can recover the mercury and other components for reuse".

[dlminehart]

A couple things to keep in mind:

CFL technology has been advancing rapidly in the past few years. If you tried them a couple years ago and didn't like the color or speed of startup, you might be surprised at the current crop.

Many CFLs can be adversely affected by heat, as when being kept in confined spaces without ventilation. For instance, in ceiling canisters, downward facing glass shrouds like those in ceiling fans, or closed outdoor fixtures. Such applications typically require CFLs designed to operate under higher heat.

[MikeMcM1956]

Most CFLs do not like/can't handle enclosed spaces, unless specifically rated for such. Having them upside down just makes it worse. It overheats the base and causes premature failure, DAMHITK ....

Mike

[sscherin]

You do have to see what color temp you are buying..
All the shop lights are 6700k Cool Whites my wife couldn't stand in the house.

I've noticed the Cheep Feit brand CF bulbs don't last long at all except the ones I never turn off like the shop lights.

Most of the GE brand CF's I have around the house are still working.

[jackellis]

Thomas Edison's first incandescent lights probably didn't last very long either. It took many years of research and continuous improvement. CFLs are more energy efficient but right now there are some situations they don't tolerate very well. Confined spaces and high temps are two. If you put incandescent bulbs in a confined space, they also fail prematurely, but it's less painful on your wallet because they've become so cheap.

LEDs will also fail prematurely in high heat.

In fact, just about anything will fail in an environment where temps are high for the application. Electric motors, piston engines, turbine engines, etc.

[DustyandLefty]

bulbs

I've found out that mixing a CFL in a globe fixture with a regular bulb won't work. The CFL will burn out in a day. That was expensive.

My local Home Depot has a drop box for burned-out CFLs right next to the returns desk, along with a roll of plastic bags. Probably all the big box stores have them now. All I have to do is remember to bring along the worn-out bulb.

Dusty and Lefty

[pacwind3]

I had an electrician friend tell me having them hang upside down can cause a short life span on them.

I've had really good luck with the CFL's from IKEA. They aren't the curly ones, they are kind of straight, but I haven't had a single one burn out in a year+.