If your General Electric CFL bulbs are dyign prematurely... (heating, plastic, installing)

[Voebe]

I think that's what the energy-saving squiggle bulbs are called. I spent a half-hour with this, so you get the benefit of my efforts.

If you have GE bulbs that are burning out prematurely, call them to complain at: 800-435-4448. They'll step in with a refund or replacement. And do call, not only to save yourself money, but because that's the only way GE knows about the problems, and their spending time/money to deal with complaints is the only thing that will push them to focus on quality control.

[SaveTheIncandescent]

I have severe doubts that these spiral CFL bulbs are really as environmentally friendly as they claim they are. When one factors in the much greater energy it takes to make CFL bulbs, and the fact that their actual lifetimes are often much less than the manufacturers claim, one really has to wonder whether they reduce CO2 emissions at all.

Exaggerated lifespan
Real-world reports from the home front show that the claimed extended lifespan of CFLs is often greatly exaggerated. There is ample data indicating that the frequent switching on and off of CFLs greatly shortens their life. A study by H. Sterling Burnett, senior fellow at the National Center for Policy Analysis, and co-author Amanda Berg concludes:
“Unfortunately, except under a fairly narrow range of circumstances, CFLs are less efficient than advertised. Manufacturers claim the average life span of a CFL bulb is 10,000 hours. However, in many applications the life and energy savings of a CFL are significantly lower. Applications in which lighting is used only briefly (such as closets, bathrooms, motion detectors and so forth) will cause CFL bulbs to burn out as quickly as regular incandescent bulbs . . . When initially switched on, CFLs may provide as little as 50 percent to 80 percent of their rated light output and can take up to three minutes to reach full brightness.”
http://www.ncpa.org/pub/ba637/

Here is one comment made by James Rhyner at St. Cloud University:

"I have been trying CFL's for several years and have yet to have one that lasts longer than an incandescent bulb. Again the politicians are trying to run our lives. As another writer mentions, the costs of producing and disposing of the CFL's are probably much greater than the operating and disposal costs of incandescents. Of course no one wants to analyze that as the politicians will lose their kick backs from the Chinese manufacturers (I despise congress and don't trust them)"
(December 15, 2011)

"I have a combination of incandescent and CFL bulbs. ... My home was built in 1999, and all the bulbs in it are 60-watt bulbs. Just in the last year they started to burn out. 11 years for an incandescent bult is pretty darn good. I have replaced some of these with CFL's and NONE of them have lasted more than 3 years."
(Darryl Buss, comment left on Popular Mechanics website)

There is a number of situations that will cause CFL bulbs to fail prematurely. Overheating may be caused of CFLs are used in enclosed fixtures or recessed lighting. Higher wattages of CFLs are more prone to overheating than lower wattages. This can also create a fire danger. Vibration will also greatly reduce the lifetime, so CFLs should not be used in ceiling fans or garage door openers. Installing the spiral bulbs into a fixture where it will be upside down also decreases the life, since heat rises and the plastic base is more prone to overheating in this position. In addition, using the CFL in a fixture that is frequently switched on and off will cause it to fail much faster. Normal CFLs can also not be used with dimmer switches for this reason.

Besides from all this, even if it is placed in the correct fixture, often the CFL bulb may just be of inferior quality, since they are all made in China now. A properly functioning CFL bulb will not burn out, it will just get dimmer over time. The rated lifetime is based on the point in time where the CFL bulb is expected to put out 70% as much light as it did at the beginning. But often the cheaper quality CFLs can lose their brightness much faster as the phosphor coating inside the bulb degrades. The worst ones can lose 40% of their brightness after only 8 months of use.

[underPSI]

I will say this I'm done with CFL bulbs. I'm "green" to keep green in my pocket. I moved into my current house 5 years ago and shortly after changed all bulbs to CFL. I have already replaced 75% of them due to failure. I'm done with them.

[GregW]

We use CFL's in the summer and replace them with incandescent heat globes in the winter. We do not used the electric baseboard heat in our all electric condo.