That was quite informative about LEDs vs. CFs, but to change the subject ever so slightly . . .
I wonder if others have noticed that some of the CFs and some LEDs that are sold don't live up to their claims of long life like they used to. I've come across this problem (now and again) for the past few years.
But first, I should point out that back in -- on I don't remember exactly -- maybe 1995 or so, I bought my first CFs from Real Goods. When these eventually burned out, it was almost traumatic. I had enjoyed them for so long that it was like throwing away a family heirloom! I don't recall if they lasted the 7 or so years that they were purported to last, but they sure lasted a long time! I felt almost like preserving them in some sort of shrine.
Another bad experience with CFs was when I bought some from Gaiam (then I think they were called Seventh Generation, and later Harmony). These, oddly enough, were German made(!), which usually means anything but shoddy (or used to, anyway). I think I bought two. In anycase, on one of them, the glass part was loosely connected to the base when I first pulled it from its box! Gaiam replaced it for free, however. They were very nice and prompt about it. (I like their toilet tissue from recycled paper, too).
In the past few years, though, the CFs I've bought at stores (rather than online at "green" businesses) have sometimes not lasted so long at all, some burning out within six months or less. Even the projected life on the labels has dropped from 7 to 5 to 3 years on some makes. I wish I had kept up more closely with the brand and the precise date when they were installed, and the precise date they died. Then this wouldn't sound do darn anecdotal.
Maybe, however, some of this is my subjective mind, after all, as the secondary reason for buying CFs in the first place was that the incandescents I had been buying seemed to be having a shorter and shorter longevity. Thus, at first, the CFs seemed wonderfully long-lived, but over time maybe I have gotten used to the relative superiority . . . But the thing is, I've never been one to leave lights on in areas I am not in. I am not a waster at all, even before I installed my first solar stuff. I actually got in a bad argument once with my girlfriend (who became an ex-girlfriend relatively quickly) about leaving lights on, and this was before my first CFs or LEDs.
With LEDS, my first bad experience was with Jade Mountain sometime back, before the merger with Real Goods and Gaiam (but don't get me wrong, I loved Jade Mountain. Their online catalog was much better than the consolidated version that Real Goods now has, not that I'm knocking Real Goods either. They're still a great company.) In that particular instance, Jade Mountain gave me the phone number of the maker. When I talked to him, he thought I was having power surges or something. But I wasn't. He offered to give me a refund, but in good faith I refused (being all for the good effort, even if it was fatally flawed). In any case, not too long after that, Jade Mountain's catalog had a note that they no longer sold that particular brand of LED lights, so I guess other people had problems too with that brand.
Another recent bad purchase of an LED light was from ebay. At least in that case, however, it was much cheaper. And yeah, I think it was from China. I don't think that particular LED flood type light lasted more than a couple of weeks.
The best LEDs that I've bought I've gotten from Cyberguys.com. Theirs seem sturdier and just exude "quality" compared to the few I got on ebay (not that you can't get good deals on ebay. I've bought some solar panels that are excellent deals).
Anyway, I hope my few bad experiences with CFs and LEDs are unique. These have been the exceptions and not the rule. But I have wondered if some makers are slowly scrimping on quality or something.
