Light Bulb Law

[GaSleepingBeautyFan]

I'm not thrilled with the darn things. I noticed the older they get, the dimmer the light seems to be.

I've gone back to the original light bulbs and guess I'd better start stocking up.

 

[disneychrista]

I have been in my house for two years and have not had to replace a single one yet.

 

[MissAndrea]

We've been using them for the last 5 years and love them. Had them in our old house (noticed immediately a savings on our electric bill) and put them in our new house a few months ago. They are a little dim when you first turn them on but they brighten up after a couple of minutes. They do make many different kinds for the different types of bulb, but they tend to be a little more expensive. They have the swirly design inside but looks more normal on the outside.

OP- When we moved into our new house in October, we went and replaced every bulb in our house. Lowes had packages that were 6 for $6. There's no way we would pay $5/bulb!! Buy them in bulk and they will be MUCH cheaper!

 

[Colleen27]

The problem with the CFL bulbs are there are about a billion different kinds of bulbs, all producing different light output and different color.

And what's worse, they behave differently in different fixtures. I have some I absolutely love in my bathroom lights - nearly instant-on, bright, clear, quality light. But the exact same bulb in the reading lamp on my desk is dimmer and takes a while to warm up.

I'm slowly switching from CFLs to the much more expensive LED bulbs, and overall I am MUCH happier with the LEDs. But the cost of switching our whole house over at once is ridiculous, so I'll continue to upgrade one at a time as they burn out.

 

[Colleen27]

Wait until all of those bulbs start hitting landfills and leaching mercury into the groundwater. Much like the batteries from Hybrid vehicles, not everything "green" is better for the environment...

That's really not a "big picture" concern because while the mercury in a CFL is potentially an issue for a homeowner who breaks one, the big picture is that it is pretty much a wash - mercury-free bulbs that consume more coal-generated power which releases mercury into the air and water as a waste product, or CFLs that contain mercury but burn less energy and indirectly decreasing the mercury emissions from power generation.

On a "clean" grid you'd have a point, but given the realities of power generation for most of our country it is merely trading one source of mercury for another.

 

[ksloane]

I've been slowly switching us over as well, but don't really like it. I just knew we'd have to.

 

[seashoreCM]

Most CFL's will have a shorter life if turned off and on a lot.

Most CFL's are dim outdoors in cold weather.

 

[bbangel]

We are in the first stage of phasing out "Edison" bulbs here. The biggest problem is being denied a choice.

There are issue with CFL lights, which are the most available alternative. They include environmental concerns with how they are made and how they are disposed.

We don't use coal generated power here and they've actually determined that CFL bulb use will INCREASE our carbon footprint!

Then there are all the issues of light quality.

Depending on the fixture they actually don't last that long at all. I have fixtures in my place that have had the same bulbs for almost 10 years (lights I use everyday!). People in my building have switched to CFL's and are replacing bulbs way more often. The testing they do to determine longevity is the bulb straight up and never turned off. NOT the situation for most fixtures in your home.

If this was the only light I could use in my house I would be sitting in the dark rather than use them. They make me ill!

No one dictates that people must drive a hybrid or electric vehicle so why are they taking away choice when it comes to light? Makes NO sense to me!

 

[QVCshopper]

Just FYI about the new CFL bulbs. I have bought them at my local Goodwill for $1. They seems to have some special deal going with some sponsor to sell them for so cheap; there was boxes upon boxes of them.

I've been using them for a few years now and have not had problems. I agree that you have to be careful with them, dispose properly, and they can take a couple of minutes to warm up.

 

[MissAndrea]

What about scentsy's? Will they go out of business?

 

[ColoradoDisneyFreaks]

Makes NO sense to me!

Much like anything else, follow the money trail...

 

[sherry7]

I'm glad I'm not the only person that dislikes the CFL bulbs. Now I don't feel so guilty for not being environmentally correct.

I dislike the dimmer light, and they take awhile to reach maximum brightness. The ones we bought said they were supposed to last 7 years, but they only lasted about 2 years. I have a couple of ceiling fans in my house, and the ones designed to handle the vibration are expensive.

Thanks for the warning OP. I plan to stock up on the old-fashioned kind.

 

[Kycha]

A few years ago I replaced all the light bulbs in my house with CFL. Since most of these bulbs are "guaranteed" to work for 5-7 years(and I am a pessimist) I wrote the date that I installed the bulb on the bulb base. Well, lo and behold less than 6 months later the bulb in the light fixture above my bed burned out(loud pop and sizzling sound). When I emailed GE, they wanted me to return the bulb in it's original packaging with receipt. If the guarantee is for 5 years and it burns out at 4 years 364 days, I should get my money back. But who is going to keep a receipt for 5 years let alone the packaging??? Anyway, I emailed back and told them I didn't have the receipt or packaging anymore. They graciously offered to send me a coupon to replace the burned out bulb but warned me they wouldn't do that again without proper proof of purchase.

And another thing, I asked them why this bulb would burn out so quickly. I was told that if you have the bulb in an enclosed fixture or a fixture with the bulb facing downwards this would lessen the life of the bulb. Of course, none of this information was on the product packaging. I did a quick google search and found out that cfl bulbs do generate heat but mainly around the base not the bulb portion. The base has little vents to vent out the heat. But if the bulb is in a downward facing fixture or enclosed fixture there is no place for the heat to escape. And the heat builds up and has no where to go and causes the burn out.

 

[dyna]

In my old house DH had put some CFL lights in my bathroom that got brighter as they warmed 5 of them in fact I HATED those with a passion because the bathroom is 1 place I tend to want instant light usually I was in an out before the lights ever got bright enough to see what I was doing. That was the only room I noticed the lights getting brighter as they warmed.

I don't care for the CFL lights either, in my old house I had a hanging light that took 5 blubs an was forever replacing those bulbs the CFL's did last much longer in that light than the reg bulbs ever did.

My electric com ran deals monthly take in 5 canned good get 5 CFL bulbs free an take in 5 burned out reg bulbs an get 5 CFL free, 1 month it was shampoo an personal care items etc we stocked up on CFL's for sure.

My parents are 80 yrs old have lived in the same house for almost 60 yrs I know their kitchen lights will not take these new fangled CFL lights even the florescent lights are different....it is a question as to how much longer they will be able to stay in their home I don't feel they should have to put in new lights esp since once they are gone most likely the house will be gutted an torn down.

 

[BridgetBordeaux]

Been gone for a day and just looked over the comments. I am learning a lot from other's experiences. I did update my original statement concerning dimmer switches as I don't want to mislead anyone.

I am pleased to hear that there are specials out there that help keep the cost down, but I still have concerns about the "color" of the light and the warm up time.

If you have other info to share (good or bad) please join the discussion.......especially if you have found a particular make/model that puts out satisfying light!

 

[princesscharming]

So are LED lights a better option than CFLs?

 

[granmanh603]

In my old house DH had put some CFL lights in my bathroom that got brighter as they warmed 5 of them in fact I HATED those with a passion because the bathroom is 1 place I tend to want instant light usually I was in an out before the lights ever got bright enough to see what I was doing. That was the only room I noticed the lights getting brighter as they warmed.

I don't care for the CFL lights either, in my old house I had a hanging light that took 5 blubs an was forever replacing those bulbs the CFL's did last much longer in that light than the reg bulbs ever did.

My electric com ran deals monthly take in 5 canned good get 5 CFL bulbs free an take in 5 burned out reg bulbs an get 5 CFL free, 1 month it was shampoo an personal care items etc we stocked up on CFL's for sure.

My parents are 80 yrs old have lived in the same house for almost 60 yrs I know their kitchen lights will not take these new fangled CFL lights even the florescent lights are different....it is a question as to how much longer they will be able to stay in their home I don't feel they should have to put in new lights esp since once they are gone most likely the house will be gutted an torn down.

This is funny, we own DVC and a few years ago they put some of these bulbs in the bathroom fixtures and they are dim and terrible when they start off but this is the bathroom where you can't wait for them to warm up for light...yet the ones in the main rooms light quicker...does anyone know which ones are better . I also know I had one by my desk that did the same thing and I finally went back to a regular bulb because of light and headaches...probably eye strain and I also have not found them to last longer..I guess we are going to have to buy them but I think it is a big scam.JMHO

 

[fakereadhed]

I am stockpiling them! No way I'm eliminating trans fats and HFCS, avoiding DEET on my kids, and turning my house into a mercury danger zone for slight energy savings. Makes no sense at all.

 

[Tink-aholic]

We are in the first stage of phasing out "Edison" bulbs here. The biggest problem is being denied a choice.

There are issue with CFL lights, which are the most available alternative. They include environmental concerns with how they are made and how they are disposed.

We don't use coal generated power here and they've actually determined that CFL bulb use will INCREASE our carbon footprint!

Then there are all the issues of light quality.

Depending on the fixture they actually don't last that long at all. I have fixtures in my place that have had the same bulbs for almost 10 years (lights I use everyday!). People in my building have switched to CFL's and are replacing bulbs way more often. The testing they do to determine longevity is the bulb straight up and never turned off. NOT the situation for most fixtures in your home.

If this was the only light I could use in my house I would be sitting in the dark rather than use them. They make me ill!

No one dictates that people must drive a hybrid or electric vehicle so why are they taking away choice when it comes to light? Makes NO sense to me!

I just want to comment on the "longevity" part of your post, particularly because you brought up Edison. Did you know that Edison's bulbs are still burning? I mean the ACTUAL bulbs that he himself created? They burn every day that the Edison museum in Fort Myers, FL is open.

One of the reasons that we have had to to change light bulbs so frequently is because of planned obsolescence. Clearly, if GE made bulbs the way Edison made bulbs, they wouldn't sell very many.

 

[misscassiecass]

I think its a good thing. Let's put aside our preferences, sacrifice a little for the sake of our earth.