[KingM]

I own an inn that probably has a hundred different light bulbs on site.

After seven years, I've got a bucket of dead CFLs that I need to get rid of. Unlike incandescents, I can't just toss them in the garbage, but I admit I've been saving the dead CFLs to count how long they last. These are supposed to be 10 year bulbs, but for the most part they've lasted somewhere between six months and two years. On the other hand, I've got some bulbs that have been around since the previous owners and have thousands of hours on them.

First, it's obvious that an incandescent bulb produces a superior light to a CFL. The old style CFL take a couple of minutes to warm up, which doesn't work in some contexts. The newer ones seem to reach peak light in about thirty seconds. Still, in a guest bathroom, starting with 50% light just doesn't cut it. The light quality itself is less like a morgue than in the older bulbs, but it still isn't as good.

Second, CFLs burn out rapidly when they are used for a few seconds to a few minutes at a time. I went through three bulbs in two years on a staircase my kids use frequently, shutting the light on and off ten or twenty times a day, before I finally wised up and put back in an incandescent. I'd gone through three bulbs for probably a hundred hours of total lighting.

On the other hand, I have some lights in the front room that are on 14-18 hours at a stretch, and some exterior lights that are on for 8-14 hours at a stretch (depending on the time of the year) and these lights do not burn out until they've got thousands of hours of use, apart from the occasional dud bulb. I'm clearly saving some money and electricity here.

So, based on my experience, CFLs are a waste in situations where the bulb is used for short periods of time and shut on and off frequently. In cases where they will be switched on once and used for longer periods, they make good economic sense.

[Frank]

Perhaps you had some poorer quality bulbs. The newer ones pop right on very quickly. I always shut lights off when leaving the room and have some CFL's that are turned on and off 5-10 times/day or more and are still going after 7-8 years.

The color temperature is one indication of quality but I can't remember what the appropriate numbers are.

[steam_cannon]

They don't work well, better ones aren't cheap and they are all hazardous. Plus they don't last much longer then a regular bulb. Though they can save you electricity and are great if you have old wiring in your house.

[KingM]

They don't work well, better ones aren't cheap and they are all hazardous. Plus they don't last much longer then a regular bulb. Though they can save you electricity and are great if you have old wiring in your house.

What does old wiring have to do with it?

Also, I should note that some of them last significantly longer than regular bulbs. In my experience, it's based on how you use them and keeping mind that a fairly high percentage are duds.

[davep]

They don't work well, better ones aren't cheap and they are all hazardous. Plus they don't last much longer then a regular bulb. Though they can save you electricity and are great if you have old wiring in your house.

What does old wiring have to do with it?

Also, I should note that some of them last significantly longer than regular bulbs. In my experience, it's based on how you use them and keeping mind that a fairly high percentage are duds.

I'm guessing that he means they draw less current so are less dangerous for old wiring.

Have LED prices come down enough to warrant putting them in bathrooms?

[Fiddlerdave]

This sounds to me like the same old curmudgeon complaints about new tech, looking for reasons to complain, and buying products at purveyors of bad crap, like the big hardware store chains.

For instance, I grew up using low-flow toilets because I lived with wells without lots of capacity, and they were fantastic. When the requirements for low flow were instituted, all the major makers came out with very badly engineered, ridiculous low-flow toilets and blamed it on "government regulation" while charging extra for their junk. Yet you could at any time check a few references that would give you a superior toilet at a quite reasonable price.

I buy reasonable quality CFLs, and if one ever took 30 seconds to reach peak light in a living area over 55 degrees, I would take it back. Outside in 30 or 40 degrees, they take a little time to reach peak, but that is no problem, they make a fantastic porch light.

Just admit you have been ripped off, and buy quality CFLs at a quality outlet like Costco, where you can return them in a year if they fail. But you will find that to be rare, because you haven't bought trash for big money.

[Keith_McClary]

I bought a houseful of the early models.

Almost flunked the electrical inspection because the bulbs on a high garage ceiling wouldn't come on on a cold winter day.

I had one in a pull-string basement fixture. I pulled the string, nothing happened, pulled harder, the string broke. Then the light came on.

These were so dim I don't use them:

Have LED prices come down enough to warrant putting them in bathrooms?

I have not yet "seen the light" so I have ordered:


E27 3W 42-LED Energy Saving Light Bulb (100~260V AC) - $5.49

GU10 3W 18-SMD 5050 LED White Light Bulb (110V) - $5.90

These aren't UL/CSA approved so I'll try them outdoors.

[KingM]

I buy reasonable quality CFLs, and if one ever took 30 seconds to reach peak light in a living area over 55 degrees, I would take it back. Outside in 30 or 40 degrees, they take a little time to reach peak, but that is no problem, they make a fantastic porch light.

Actually, I have better luck with outdoor lights because they are on for an extended period of time and instant light is not as important.

Note that I said that I own an inn. Even three seconds to warm up is too long. By then, the guests have already made a snap decision that the room is poorly lit and that the quality of light is not as good as with incandescent lights.

It sucks, but that's the hospitality business. People come to the mountains of Vermont and crank the AC down to 65 when it's 72 outside, and then they come back in the winter and crank the heat to 80, and then when they wake up in the middle of the night, roasting, they open the windows. In January. I have seriously had cases where I'll go into the room to find both the heat and the AC running at the same time, with dueling thermostats. Rare, but it happens. What's super common is to go into the room after guests have checked out to find all the lights on, the TV running, and either the AC or the heat going full blast.

Just admit you have been ripped off, and buy quality CFLs at a quality outlet like Costco, where you can return them in a year if they fail. But you will find that to be rare, because you haven't bought trash for big money.

They're mostly GEs, but thank you for the gratuitous insult.

[jedrider]

I've recently replace a bunch of lamps with CFLs. No, they don't uniformly work well, but many do and the turn-on is almost fast enough to not be noticeable. In a bathroom, they ARE noticeable but can be acceptable. Best thing is to install one of those auto turn-off switches in bathrooms as building codes may actually require these now. In other applications they are adequate although I have trouble with the flood type lights being florescent as they have the worst turn-on time it seems. The best turn-on times are the 100-watt equivalent florescents, but they are too bright for many applications. For a garage or utility room, they are perfect. The light quality is much better nowadays as they sell soft-white, bright-white and day-light so you can get the proper lighting, but I often find that I like to mix the bulb types, but it looks odd to see a soft-white bulb next to a bright-white bulb, but the light quality is very good.

I am waiting for the new batch of LEDs to come down in price as the LED floods seem to be at the $50 level now. $25 and I'll buy!

[Xenophobe]

So, based on my experience, CFLs are a waste in situations where the bulb is used for short periods of time and shut on and off frequently. In cases where they will be switched on once and used for longer periods, they make good economic sense.

I've got a light in the kitchen I never turn off for just that reason. Its been on for 5 years now. Same with a living room light, which is turned on with a computer in the morning and never turned off until late evening.

Incandescents for the on/off locations.

[Frank]

Actually, what kills incandescents IS turning them on and off frequently! (Check this one out.)

http://www.centennialbulb.org/cam.htm