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We use the dimmable ones in the dimmers, the 3 way in the 3 way lamps and the others as prescribed; matching them up to the lamps, nightlights, fixtures, etc. We have had no issues whatsoever. We are 100% happy with our CFL purchases. One does have to be very careful and mindful of reading the packages. The CFL companies are coming out with much more attractive bulbs as well.
The non-dimmables have worked OK. Don't know if they'll make 7 years. The family room has 8 recessed lights on 2 switches (4 each) . I replaced the 4 we use 6-8 hours a day with dimmable CFL's. One went bad in < 30 days and HD replaced it with no hassle. A second went bad within a year and I replaced it with a regular bulb. The start-up time isn't bad for that room, but I don't think the CFL technology/benefit is there yet except for some limited applications.
Is it wise to start stocking up on Incandescent bulbs?
On a side note, I was over my grandparents over Thanksgiving and they had them in two of their lamps in the tv room. It was my first experience with CFL bulbs. I Was not impressed and did not like them at all. THey had a blueish hue to them and for some reason they bothered my eyes if I looked in the direction of the lamp. Too dim in my opinion but the blue hue bothered me more.
I went out and replaced most of my bulbs with cfl. They don't last as long as promised. For a while they had 3 way cfl bulbs and they regularly burned out so we went back to the GE reveal bulbs. As they burn out I'll be switching all my lights back to the GE Reveal bulbs. I do a lot of reading and they're the best light for reading. In the long run it's cheaper to remember to turn off the lights when they're not needed.
Is it wise to start stocking up on Incandescent bulbs?
On a side note, I was over my grandparents over Thanksgiving and they had them in two of their lamps in the tv room. It was my first experience with CFL bulbs. I Was not impressed and did not like them at all. THey had a blueish hue to them and for some reason they bothered my eyes if I looked in the direction of the lamp. Too dim in my opinion but the blue hue bothered me more.
That bluish hue is because they have bulbs with the wrong Kelvin rating.
CFL bulbs usually have this rating printed on the ballast. It will be a "K" with some big number behind it. Basically, the higher the number, the more blue/white the light will be. If you go with a lower number, the bulbs will have a more yellow hue to them.
The above bulb is 5000 kelvin which as the above said would be a white like you see in 48" fluorescent fixtures usually. They have a very institutional feel to them.
The above is 2700 Kelvin and would emit a light similar to the coor of incandescent. I have seen CFL go as low as 2100K and up to the 5000k above. depending on the feeling you want you use the particular kelvin rating that best suits.
Inside I would use lower kelvin for the more homey feel. Outside for security lighting the whiter light seems to be brighter although technically it's only brighter to humans.
Location: Visitation between Wal-Mart & Home Depot
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Quote:
Originally Posted by jtur88
My CFL light just blew out. I bought it about a year ago. and it says guaranteed for 7 years on the label (brand name Globe). Mine is in a dark but central area, so has probably been on about 15 hours a day, for a year, that's about 5,000 hours, or just half the expected life in terms of hours.
Has anybody else had one long enough to burn out?
I hate CF. You need a hazmat team if you break one, the beautiful, mercuresque light brings out every scar, blemish, broken blood vessel, and blackhead on your skin. It also makes my food look so ugly I can't eat it.
I need someone to hurry up and make a breakthrough in LED technology. I probably have about 1600 Watts of lighting in my house. With LED it would be closer to 200. That's huge.
Compact Fluorescent Light Bulbs The risks to you and your family from breaking a CFL are small. The amount of mercury in a CFL is very small, about five milligrams, or the size of the tip of a ball point pen. In comparison, older thermometers contain about 500 milligrams of mercury. It would take 100 CFLs to equal the amount of mercury in a single thermometer. The mercury in a CFL is needed to help turn the electric current into white light you get from the bulb. Once turned on, a very small amount of the mercury in the CFL becomes a vapor. If a CFL bulb breaks, a small amount of the mercury vapor will be released in the air. Unlike the elemental mercury found in fever thermometers, which are the shiny beads of liquid mercury, you will probably not see any mercury with the naked eye if you break a CFL bulb. The white powder you see is from the phosphorus coating on the inside of the CFL. So if you break a bulb, you’re at little risk for significant mercury exposure. It is important, though, to carefully clean up and dispose of a broken CFL to avoid spreading around the phosphorus powder, glass and any remaining mercury.
According to the above link Home Depot has a recycling program for you to return the unbroken bad ones.
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Along with other directions if you break one
