Your Rating Of Compact Flourescent Lights

[erichtopp]

Thought I would post this on the forum. Please post your good and bad experiences with CFL's, with regard to any manufacturers quality, intensity of light output versus the incandescent you had there before, quality of the CFL's light versus the incandescent (is it a colder looking light than the incandescent light that was there before), flickering of the CFL, heat being emmited from the CFL, noise from the CFL, premature burnout, the location you installed the light, cost of your CFL and your electrical savings, etc., etc., etc.

When you post a comment, please include the manufacturer, the size and type of CFL so that we can all compare our ratings.

I'll start with my Sylvania globe style CFL's, 14 Watt equivilant of 60 watt bulb, 120V 60Hz 0.24 Amp 3000K Model CF14EL/A19. Made in China. None of the units are contained within an enclosed fixture. They're noisy and emit a 60 cycle buzzing sometimes. Out of 19 units installed in my home, 5 have now failed in less than year (just had another one fail this morning). 2 units failed in first day installed them and aonther 3 failed within 1 year of installation. The light quality is somewhat cold and does not compare to that of the incadescent that were there. They turn on at about 50 percent brilliance. They are a little slow to get to full brilliance and take 2 minutes to get there. They cost $6 canadian each.

On the other hand, all of my Phillips CFL's ranging from 60 watt to 150 watt (equivilant incandescent rating) run great whether or not they are installed inside an enclosed fixture or not. All of them are perfectly silent when running and NONE of them have failed in 1 year. The Phillips CFL's turn on instantly at almost maximum output with no flickering. The light quality is soft so it's not hard on your eyes. All of the Phillip CFL's run cooler than the equivilant Sylvania units. They range from $2.50 to $9 each.

Overall, I am please with the Phillips units.

The installation of the CFL's reduced my electrical bill and I find that the air conditioner doesn't have to work as hard when the lights are on now.

[dinges]

Glad to hear you like the lamps from my former employer :-) BTW, it's PhiLips, with just one l; tiny detail, but about 3/4 of all Americans make that mistake. Not related to the screwdriver-bits (phiLLips). Instead of the company slogan 'let's make things better', we used to say 'let's make better things' or even 'let's make things knetter' (knetter=crazy).

On topic: we only have cheap CFLs in our house, and no complaints so far for the last 10 years. BTW, some of these Chinese lamps don't even have a brand, just 'made in China'. The only thing they can't stand is turning on/off too often. I used to use 2 on my night stand, which saw much '20 second' use. Both cheap lamps failed within a year. Now, I use a converted LED light for short uses (time telling, quick notes, etc.) and the CFL only for reading etc., when the light will be on for longer. So far (1 year), all is fine.

Peter,

The Netherlands.

[Zix]

I had some 11 watt cheapies that all failed within the first month they were a dollar each,the light was bluish and hrd to read by.

I bought some $4 ones at walmart they are GE soft white 100 watt output they pull 26 watts very nice natural light, can't tell the difference from a regular light for reading,no buzzing or flckering and up to full brillance in about 10 second or so.

Zix-------------

[ghurd]

I was happy with many Lights of America (LoA), while others were not. Then I found the worst nastiest bulb I ever bought and it was LoA!

I have GE, Sylvania, LoA, Commercial Lighting, Ikea, etc.

Many are the same bulb, same printing, same mould markings, but different brand names.

Straight horse shoe tubes seem to run cooler, but they tend to be lower watts.

Spiral twist bulbs seem to run hotter, but they are higher watage.

CFLs in globes tend to run hotter.

Cheap (crap) CFLs tend to weigh very little, run hot, and have poor color quality.

Cheap CFLs can get to hot to touch in a upsidedown fixture, even if ventilated.

Higher quality bulbs list the color, in degrees Kelvin is it?  Some are available in at least 3 colors... yellow-er, middle, blue-er. Some are even pinkish to help that winter season depression syndrome.

Just installed a pair of Commercial Lighting 9W CFLs in a globe shaped like a regular bulb, and they are the only ones I ever bought that take more than about 10 seconds to get full brightness... these take a full 2 minutes. Disapointing, but she doesn't mind as long as they look OK, so it's better than 2, 75W bulbs for 4 hours a day!

A few take 2 or 3 seconds to click on, but you get used to it.

Have a few of the old-style (CFL?) that is 8 or 9" round tube and an adapter. Some of these are over 10 years old for sure, maybe over 15. The main living room light is this kind, and the last one lasted about 10 years on 7~10 hours everyday.

The 3 to 7 watt 120VAC CFLs have been a huge disapointment. Not near as nice as the 7 or 11W 12VDC CFLs.

I look for heavy CFLs, with straight horseshoe tubes, 9 to 13 watts, and on sale!

For lots of light, like past 13W, it seems they are all twisters, but get a heavy one.

If I live long enough to use up all the extra ones I have, I'll have done pretty well.  I'm a sucker for a clearance sale.

G-

[windstuffnow]

  They break when you drop them !   That's my only complaint... they need to make some up in a "rough surface" for my shop light.   Other than that their great !   I've had a couple burn out but mostly because I used them inside the glass bubble of a ceiling fan.   If I leave the bubble off they down over heat and last just fine.  

  I was thinking of converting my 8 ft shop lites to 2 rows of 4 in my shop, It dawn'd on me that I could come out better by using an area light with a CF bulb.   My outside CF is 65 watt and is supposed to be the equivilant to a 500 watt light.   It really lights up the outside so I have to imagine it would light my entire shop quite well.  

.

[ghurd]

Drill holes, a lot of big holes, in the tin covers. Helps more than expected.

G-

[finnsawyer]

Those are the ones I just bought.  Your experience mirrors mine, so far.  The units cost $6.44 plus tax for two and are guaranteed for eight years at 4 hours use per day.  We will see.  I'm keeping a record on these, if I can remember where the material is after several years.  They are cool enough to touch by hand.  The company claims $88.00 savings in electrical cost over the life of the unit.  

[nanotech]

I have had two GE CFL's in my stairwell for over a year now.  They are the 60W equivilant ones and they pop on immediately.  Too high to feel for heat, so no info there.  But the light is of good color, and there's no noise.

I've tried various other types, brands, and wattages.  I've had to replace the ones in my living rom several times due to vibration (bedroom directly above it and 11 year old autistic child likes to play up there).  I've finally just given up and put in a double 48in flourescent tube light both in here and the kitchen.  Also put one up in the bathroom.

Speaking of the bathroom, I've got another one of the GE one's that's been there over a year as well.  Same experience as the stairwell.

I've got a couple of the REALLY cheap ones in my storage shed.  They give off a wierd, weak blue light, take a couple seconds to fire up.  Not to thrilled with them.

Also got 4 different brands (don't remember them off the top of my head) up in the bedroom.  Had the full range of experiences with them.

All in all, I'm much happier with the flourescents than incandescents.  I only have two

AC incans on the property.  One out in the garage that I think is original equipment.  And considering the house was built in the 1920's....  The other is in my wife's nightstand light.  It's one of those three stage touch lamps, so CFL wouldn't be too happy in there.....

[rotornuts]

I still have the first one I bought in 1999. Cost me $25.00 CDN at the time but it still works.

Mike

[ruddycrazy]

I've got 8 12 volt 20 watt cfcl fluro's for my shed, I run them off my nife battery setup and so far they have lasted a year. Thru the day the light intensity isn't the greatest but at night they really light up the whole shed. My only complaint is the light holders as their made from 0.015 brass shim and are so flimsy I thought they would of fallen out when hot. At $20 each for the lights I hope to get afew years out of them and I'll probably transfer them to my shearing shed when I put that into operation.

Cheers Bryan

[whatsnext]

I have a huge house and there are lights everywhere. All CFL now. All my Phi;;ips bulbs are great. None have failed, the color is very nice, and they come on pretty quick. Unlike some here I've also had good luck with my LOA twisters. Quick to turn on with a nice color. I have one that was on on my front porch 24-7 for three years in an enclosed fixture. The plastic base near the bulb is turned brown but the bulb still works fine in my kitchen. I have a few Technabright bulbs. The par style lights are great as are the 3 watt candella(sp) style. The 13 watt globes are a little weird. They take forever to warm up and when they are new the light is purple util they warm up to more of a white color. After they are used about a year the light gets more yellowish just like a new Phillips and they are quite bright once warm which takes forever. I can't use them unless another bulb is used to light the way before the Technabright warms up. Here in KC KCP&L has some sort of deal going on where you can buy GE soft white cfl's for 99 cents but you can only buy three at a time. Needless to say I buy three every time. So far so good with them, bright, good color, and cool running. Stay away from the two U-tube chinese junkers. They're blue and dim. They've been reliable for me but the color is so odd as to be almost worthless. I should put one on my porch to see if the color changes and how long it would last. Also, and this is just me, stay away from "bulb" shaped cfl's. The bulbs can't transmit all the light so the rest turns into heat. Why would you want that just for a little extra style?

John...

[whatsnext]

OK, my prorch is now lit up by the earie blue light of a new chinese CFL. It's Dec 3rd. Anyone want to guess how long it will last?

[terry5732]

I got my first 'compacts' about 15 years ago. Lights of America circleline. They are all still in use. Since that time they went to production in Mexico and all of their products are definately not worth buying. If the label says Mexico     - forget it. I have some 14Ws by the puter here and it causes eye strain. If the 14W rating is accurate, they are overunity as they are giving off about 100 watts of heat. I have blistered my fingers several times on these.

 I was replacing incandescent outside bulb monthly - since going to CFL I haven't had to replace in over a year. When it is below about 30 degrees it can be quite slow brightening, but being in an enclosure it will get hot enough to be full brightness well below zero. The old LOA 12W I used to have outside wouldn't go at all under 5 degrees.

Dust and smoke buildup on fluorescents seem to make the light more palatable- why can't engineers make them better out of the package?

[nothing to lose]

Well I don't know which is what, but I have not had one that I was not happy with yet.

Some are whatevers from Big Lots and others are from Wal-Mart. Some were single pack others 2 pack or 3 pack. They all seem the same to me. None buzz, colors are fine, all still working. The one on the porch starts a bit dimmer when cold, so far no problem but has not been all that cold yet. Maybe high 20's or low 30's a couple times.

Some are a couple years old maybe and others nearly new. I have one of the ring lights also for many years now, not sure may have changed the tube once maybe not?

I should have kept better track but they all work as good as the others so to me it does not matter (so far). I am limited to where I can buy them, just those two stores here. I think I might have got a pack at Harbor Freight also on sale, not sure.

So far the only problems I've had are not the lights faults, kid dropped one and it shattered, I left one in the rain upside down (used it for a work light and forgot it) now it has one tiny spot that will glow red.

I have one I used in a plastic drop light for working in the yard at night or under cars and it's been great.

I geuss I have about all the regular types except bulb type. Some are twisties, some U shaped tubes. The one in the kitchen has 4 U tubes, 2 larger in center and side ones a bit shorter. I have at least one that is 2 U tubes.

I have not noticed any buzzing from any of them, some on grid power and some on a mod wave inverter.

They are on allot for long periods, also  on and off often for short times.

Only few things I really notice about them is I never have to change a bulb now (used to be at least 1 normal bulb a month) they don't make as much heat, and I like the fact they use less power. How much power they really save me I don't know but I do know the batteries will last allot longer when using these on an inverter compared to a incadesent bulb of course.

I was using one of those self contained rechargable power boosters with 400 watt inverter built in. A 100 watt bulb was running it dead between charges, changed to a  CFL for the same amount of light and the battery never went dead from just the light.

Whatever brand it is Wal-mart sells in a 2 and 3 pack seem to be working good for me, and others too.

[ghurd]

The circle-line, ring lights had good tubes, but atfer 10 years when the tube dies the adapter must be about shot, the new tubes never last long for me, like a month.

Still have 1 or 2 circle tubes, but when those are gone (in 20 years?), we will use all 1 piece CFLs.

G-

[asheets]

I have a few of those for porch lights.  Not rated for outside duty but they always seem to last longer than the old filament types.  i figure the combination of the cold and vibration wears out the incandesents fast, but CFLs don't seem to care.

[Rowan Clearwater]

(UK) I found the Best value for money are the 11w CFL by IKEA - made under contract. Every time I go I stock up. The one problem I have found tho, was using the tiny 7W enclosed in a "Candle" style case. We had two storm style enclosed fixtures, and these were the only style that would physically fit. NONE of them lasted more than 8 months. On the whole though, rather good.

[nothing to lose]

Well I am either still on the first tube or the second is lasting a long time, not sure which really but the first ever CFL I bought for normal lighting use is still working, it was a screw in circle ring style. The tube in it I can see is a Lights of America, what the screw in transformer part is I don't know. At least 10 years old, on and off alot, 3 different types of inverters and 2 different houses.

 Hmmm, I geuss the light lasted longer than anything else in my life

Well, actually the light has been moved around allot and why so many varibles.

[philip]

I picked up a couple of Noma CFL bulbs on sale from Canadian tire last week. 60W equivalent and 100W equivalent. I like the brightness and colour (fairly white) however the delay at cold turn on is very irritating. So.... I went back today and picked up 100W GE units that had "instant on" written on the box.  Well they lied. The bulbs are nearly identical in fabrication, brightness, colour and on-delay as the Noma pack I picked up last week.

WRT colour, I tried those "true colour" incandescent bulbs with the blue tinted bulb and loved them. I find the CFL's are much closer in colour to those than to the typical yellow incandescent.

I'll take some photos to compare. 1 sec

[philip]

Generic Low Cost 100W Bulb

GE Reveal (neodymium coating)

Noma 100W Compact Fluorescent

[BigDogues]

I really like the color of the GE Reveal bulbs. I wish they would come out with an equivalent in a CF, I'd change out every bulb in the house. I've had several LOA CFs. The latest was a 3 pack of "natural light" bulbs I got at HD. I found the light to be bright but a bit harsh. The other LOA bulbs seemed way too yellow. Although I have had one 7 watter in my porch light for years and have been happy with that. Haven't tried the Philips bulbs yet though.  

[jumpingjackflatch]

I don't remember where I bought my CFL's, I think it was Home Depot, they are marked Luminus P17715. They are spiral 7 watt. They start instantly at room temperature. They are very yellow and have low output for the first 30 seconds after which they whiten and brighten up. My opinion is they have the output of a 40 watt incandescent. They have only been installed about a year with relative low mileage in the unfinished basement, so no longetivity report can be made.

[SparWeb]

Found a box of 6 Globe Enersavers at Rona, on sale at about 13$ (canadian$).  Currently they're about 15$.  I've been replacing burned-out bulbs with them ever since.  None of the CFL's have blown, but I haven't been using them for very long.

These bulbs are the same size as regular incandescent bulbs, so they fit in all enclosures.  Unlike the set of "compact" CFL's my wife bought 2 years ago.  They didn't fit in ANYTHING except the garage, where there aren't any enclosures on the bulbs.  Some do better in the cold than others.

These 13 watt bulbs are equivalent to 60W incandescents, and they do compare well.  The colour is a bit more yellow than the incandescents, just fine by me.  There is a delay when turning them on.  I mitigate that by using them in places where several lights are controlled by one switch.  I can leave one incandescent in to light up first, then the CFL's come on and the room is fully lit.  Putting one CFL and one incandescent in the same lamp enclosure would probably be a bad idea, from a temperature point of view, so I haven't tried it.  For those who are curious, these are made in China, too.  Thery're also UL listed.

On the side of the box the CFL's came in, a rating in "lumens" is given.  These CFL's are rated at 800 lumens, and the 60 watt incandescents next to them on the store shelf also happened to have a lumen rating printed on the box - 860.  I can live with 8% less light if they consume 75% less power.

BTW, I've checked with an ammeter: CFL's really do use 13 watts, just like they say on the box.

[Peppyy]

I have tried several different brands and I have to say the best ones I have were also the cheepest. They are FEIT electric and I got them for $1 each with free shipping on ebay. Less than a second delay and quickly come to full bright at room temp. I have one outside on my furnace and so far it lights in the cold.  It will be interesting to see what happens below zero. They came in a 4 pack that says ECObulb. The company is in Pico Revera CA but the product is made in China.

I only bought them a year ago but so far so good. I have them in every orientation and  some in enclosed fixtures with no failures and they seem to run pretty cool. They are a normal incandesent co;or and say 1100 lumens 18 watts 8000 hours. If I save all the box says I can save in energy costs over the life of the bulb they will have paid for themselves 55 times over.

[Adrian L]

I must say I have about 14 different odd types I have tried - big and small, blue to white to yellow-white - all the sizes and squiggly balls-sealed round ones-tiny genie brand ones, and the smallest by far I have ever used the 'Thompson' branded ones.  Every last one of them is made in china!

It's almost a hobby in itself finding the best one

The closest I have come so far to the nice 'warm' light of a existing incandescent is the Philips Ecotone 23W warm-white brand, the round curly type ones - cost about the equilavent of 5 bucks US in australia - meant to be rated the same as a 120watt incandescent but i'd say they are about the same as a standard 100 watt light globe

'Mirabella' are so so, the warm-white versions are a little harsh and you can hear a hum up close, but the light comes on to full brightness within seconds

'GE' are a mixed bunch - some take 3 seconds just to light up after you turn the light switch on - some are excellent and have a great warm/white light output

And for an interesting one I have - the 'Thompson' yellow uv coated ones, for outdoors - we have a bit of a bug problem around outdoor lights at my new house, but these beauties keep every last bug away - rated at 100 watt light output but again that's a bit 'exagerated' i'd say 60-75 watts but it does its job well

Can't say i've had many fully fail on me yet - a lot have moved with me into three different houses now - im not leaving them behind! some are as far as 4 years old all with very regular use even in bathrooms etc

[laskey]

My favourite are the ones that Wal-mart carries.  They are made by Globe.  The colour is mainly orange like a regular tungsten bulb.  I find them pleasing to the eye.  Not harsh like a blue-er bulb.  I have some GE's but I don't like the colour they throw, so I'll use them in my trouble lights untill I break them.

I've replaced every bulb in the house with the Globe CFL's. This make even has a set for the vanity lights in the bathroom over the mirror, with nice round globes over the bulb.  I like the slow on times for the bathroom lights.  They come up like theater lighting, and that's nice at night when you've just stumbled in out of the dark.  It's tough on the eyes to just get hit with couple hundred watts worth of light in an instant.

Cya,

Chtis

[whatsnext]

Well, it's still working and if I'm not mistaken it's loosing quite a bit of it's ghostly blue hue and becoming whiter. What is really odd is that it seems to be effected by cold but in a very delayed sort of way. The colder it is the dimmer it is but it takes a couple of hours to react to the change in temp. Also when it's cold the bulb it kind of striped with the tube going from light to dark about every half inch. The bulb is marked Trisonic China and I think I got six of them for $4.

/this is way more writing than this cheapy bulb is worth. Still fun though.

[ghurd]

But now we know it's a cheapy bulb and why.

And I think thats the whole point!

G-