CFL's simply don't last all that long...

[Pablo]

Sorry to say in this house in 5.5 years we have gone through around 25 CFL's. And they are not inexpensive. Plus they need to be saved in a bucket for proper disposal.

Even worse than that, some on dual switches have been inadvertently been left powered and in particular the flood variety lamp base gets quite warm even though there is no evidence of visible photon output. Now that's stupid as well.

I have seen no true savings from CFL's.

 

[river_rat]

Originally Posted By: Pablo
I have seen no true savings from CFL's.

+1
They cost a fortune, don't always fit, take time to come to full brightness, don't work well outdoors in the cold, and don't last much longer than incandecents.

 

[Steve S]

They are made in China!!! I Have two that were given to me from when they first came out and are still working. The newer ones are of the lowest quality.

 

[eljefino]

Originally Posted By: Pablo

Even worse than that, some on dual switches have been inadvertently been left powered and in particular the flood variety lamp base gets quite warm even though there is no evidence of visible photon output. Now that's stupid as well.


There's something up with your wiring. Are those "fancy" switches like X10 that leak a little current through the "filament" to power themselves?

 

[Pablo]

Originally Posted By: eljefino
Originally Posted By: Pablo

Even worse than that, some on dual switches have been inadvertently been left powered on AFTER THE BULBS BURNED OUT and in particular the flood variety lamp base gets quite warm even though there is no evidence of visible photon output. Now that's stupid as well.


There's something up with your wiring. Are those "fancy" switches like X10 that leak a little current through the "filament" to power themselves?


Nothing wrong with the wiring. My writing yes - I left out SOME CRITICAL info above....power is on.

 

[andyd]

x2 I dont think CFLs are made in the USA

 

[ddrumman2004]

Originally Posted By: Steve S
They are made in China!!! I Have two that were given to me from when they first came out and are still working. The newer ones are of the lowest quality.


That's what I have found. I have one in the ceiling of my bathroom, due to ceiling height and hassle of changing a light bulb. It has been up there for almost 6 years....but it's American made.

As prices of them go down, so do their longevity.

But in all fairness, some of the incandescent bulbs we buy don't last that long either.

 

[Kuato]

Pardon my ignorance....CFL?

 

[bullwinkle]

Compact Florescent Lamp. Not to get political-but soon that's all you'll be able to buy! I have trouble with them too-unless it's a bulb you leave on 24/7-they cost MORE to use than an incandescent bulb!

 

[Pablo]

What I am also trying to say:

1) CFL burns out.
2) Power to light gets left on inadvertently before I have time to get ladder tomorrow and change the bulb.
3) 4 days later, unscrew dead bulb and base is quite warm.

That is a useless waste of energy!! Thank goodness not ALL CFL's do this.

This also could be obviously a problem in multi CFL fixtures and one or two burn out and it takes a week or two to change while the others are making diminished but enough light.

 

[ryansride2017]

After many years, I have not had to replace one yet. I prefer them in the garage, most specifically in the shop light, because they are more shock resistant than their counterparts. Even in the garage application, I haven't had to replace one yet.

 

[highmilegeguy]

I call [censored] on the entire thread.

1) CFLs that I installed 6 years ago are still going strong. Compare that to the old bulbs that Seemed to go out regularly due to the power surge at start up. I used to have to buy 5 four packs a year from burnouts. With cfls, Ive replaced none. I repeat, none, zero.

2) The cfls I bought on sale were around 1.00 each. Big cost? Get real.

3) no, they are not meant for outdoor use but that is stated clearly on the package.

4) yes, they save electricity nicely.
Regular bulbs only converted about 5% of the elec consumed into light. The rest was converted into heat. CFLs convert 15% into light while producing heat with only 80% of the elec consumed.

Whoever is having problems must have some hillbilly wiring throughout his home. CFLs are very durable and a big step in the right direction.

 

[Pablo]

Three in the garage - all three died within a 1-2 year span. What a joke.

 

[Pablo]

Originally Posted By: highmilegeguy
I call [censored] on the entire thread.

Whoever is having problems must have some hillbilly wiring throughout his home. CFLs are very durable and a big step in the right direction.


So I made the whole thing up? I love it when someone calls me a liar on the internet!!

Later today when the bowl gets boring I will take pictures of the failures since November.

 

[mva]

CFL's do save significant power and money:

For example a 60 watt incandescent verses 13 watt CFL used 3 hours per day:

3 hr/day x 365 x 47 watt = 51.5 kWh per year

51.5 x 0.10 $/kWh = $5.15 saving per year per bulb.

The savings will be greater in the summer if your house is air conditioned and less in the winter depending on how you heat your house.

CFLs typically cost less than $2 and last several years. If you are having a bad experience try a different brand. I have found name brands, such as Sylvania, to have a warmer light and work a bit better.

Also, you need to be careful turning them in - they are very easy to damage if you hold on to the tube to turn them in.

The life of an incandescent bulb is 750 to 2000 hours. CFLs last 6000 to 14000 hours.

 

[Turk]

If those stupid Mercury bulbs become mandatory, I'll stock up on so many incandescent bulbs, I will never be forced to bendover and use one.

 

[highmilegeguy]

Originally Posted By: Pablo
Originally Posted By: highmilegeguy
I call [censored] on the entire thread.

Whoever is having problems must have some hillbilly wiring throughout his home. CFLs are very durable and a big step in the right direction.


So I made the whole thing up? I love it when someone calls me a liar on the internet!!

Later today when the bowl gets boring I will take pictures of the failures since November.

Lets just say we agree to disagree.

My experience with CFLs is the polar opposite of yours and when that happens, I tend to get suspect of whatever someone is claiming.
Maybe instead of acting all insulted, you should investigate why you're having such failures.
You remind me of people with faulty transmissions. They seem to have such bad experiences with them. Yeah, it sure seems odd.That is untill I see them screech the tires while driving out of the shop. GEE, I wonder why their trannies keep going out??
Yeah, I call [censored] on your claims.

 

[mva]

Interesting stuff from wikipedia:

"While the purchase price of an integrated CFL is typically 3 to 10 times greater than that of an equivalent incandescent lamp, the extended lifetime and lower energy use will more than compensate for the higher initial cost.[25] A US article stated "A household that invested $90 in changing 30 fixtures to CFLs would save $440 to $1,500 over the five-year life of the bulbs, depending on your cost of electricity. Look at your utility bill and imagine a 12% discount to estimate the savings."[26]

CFLs are extremely cost-effective in commercial buildings when used to replace incandescent lamps. Using average U.S. commercial electricity and gas rates for 2006, a 2008 article found that replacing each 75 W incandescent lamp with a CFL resulted in yearly savings of $22 in energy usage, reduced HVAC cost, and reduced labour to change lamps. The incremental capital investment of $2 per fixture is typically paid back in about one month. Savings are greater and payback periods shorter in regions with higher electric rates and, to a lesser extent, also in regions with higher than U.S. average cooling requirements.[27]

The current price of CFLs reflects the manufacturing of nearly all CFLs in China, where labour costs less. In September 2010, the Winchester, Virginia General Electric plant closed, leaving Osram Sylvania the last company to make standard incandescent bulbs in the United States. At that time, Ellis Yan, whose Chinese company made the majority of CFLs sold in the United States, was interested in building a United States factory to make CFL bulbs, but he needed $12.5 million to do so, and the U.S. government had not helped with this. Yan said stores wanted American-made bulbs, which would be 45 to 50 cents more each, but Yan said consumers were willing to pay this much."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Compact_fluorescent_lamp

 

[Pablo]

Originally Posted By: mva
CFL's do save significant power and money:

.......



I post my experience. YMMV. Not sure where you get the $1 bulbs, but the multi pack on sale isn't too bad, but the duration hours just aren't there no matter what brand we use.

Perhaps we don't leave them on long enough - but in the winter some are on most of the day from 5AM to 11pm. The three in the garage probably get switched on and off more than the others.

What about the resources to make the bulb?

Yeah sure I made this all up and have hillbilly wiring! Not insulted, just laughing.

 

[mva]

Originally Posted By: tpitcher
If those stupid Mercury bulbs become mandatory, I'll stock up on so many incandescent bulbs, I will never be forced to bendover and use one.



CFLs and florescent tubes should be saved for proper disposal but:

CFL's contain around 4-5 milligrams of mercury. According to an EPA Fact
***, and "The Carbon Buster's Home Energy Handbook" (ISBN 0865715696),
the amount of mercury released from a broken CFL is less than what is kept
out of the environment by using it instead of an incandescent bulb, If the
electricity is produced by a typical coal fired power plant. A coal fired
power plant will release about 2.4 milligrams of mercury into the
environment in the process of producing the electricity to run the CFL
bulb for 5 years. If the bulb is then broken, another 4-5 milligrams will
be released, for a possible total of 6.4 - 7.4 milligrams of mercury
released into the environment.

To power an incandescent light bulb for 5
years, a typical coal fired power plant will release about 10 milligrams
of mercury into the environment. If your electricity comes from a typical
coal-fired power plant (more than half the electricity in the U.S. does),
then even if you break every CFLs before putting them in the trash (they
should be recycled), less mercury will be put into the environment than if
you had used incandescent light bulbs.

http://newsgroups.derkeiler.com/Archive/Alt/alt.gathering.rainbow/2007-08/msg00593.html