Are name-brand low-energy fluorescent "Green" bulbs any brighter than store brand?

Just got a 4-pack of the Walmart "Great Value" version of these energy- saver style fluorescent 23w bulbs which they claim are equivalent to a

100w incandescent bulb. Not even close. It's about like a 40w bulb.

Are the name brand bulbs of this type any better?

Reply to
Doc
Loading thread data ...

A 23 watt CFL lamp should put out a great deal of light. One thing I have found when dealing with a number of CFL lights is the fact that the lamps have a warm up period. The colder the ambient temperature the more time it takes the darn things to reach full brightness. I've installed them in the bathroom exhaust fan/light fixtures at several business because of the long life of the lights and soon discovered that in the wintertime it's like a

40 watt incandescent until about 10 minutes later when it's as bright or brighter than a 100 watt standard bulb. In the summertime, flip the switch and it as bright as ever. I imagine that the more expensive CFL lamps will perform better over a wider temperature range.

TDD

Reply to
The Daring Dufas

Have you let 'em warm up--generally takes a CF a bit to come to full brightness.

Reply to
J. Clarke

I have noticed that some new CFLs will take 5+ minutes to reach proper brightness on the first run even at room temperature. After this first burn in, they come up to brightness normally (within 30 seconds or so) after turning on from a cold start. The first time it happened to me I though the bulb was bad, but the ones that did that have been fine ever since.

In a cold environment, they will be slower to warm up.

Reply to
JohnR66

It should be very close to a 100w bulb once its had a couple of mins to reach peak output. Maybe you've got some junk halophosphate ones.

NT

Reply to
meow2222

I have tried several different brands and have decided to stick with Sylvania. In a 72 degree house it takes less then a minute to warm up. For my 100w equal I use the Sylvania CFL23EL Micromini 3000k. Works great for me.

Chris

Reply to
Chris

I like that "feature" in the bathroom, because the light doesn't blind me as badly when I turn it on at night...

Reply to
John Weiss

Hi, What name brand? They are 99% made in China. For more light output try daylight kind which has higher color temperature.

Reply to
Tony Hwang

Well, they should be brighter than a 40W incandescent. Check the lumens rating, that gives you a number to compare. A typical 100W incandescent is around 1600-1700 lumens. Walmart doesn't seem to give the lumen ratings on theirs but a Sylvania CF23EL is indeed rated for 1600 lumens.

It may take it a few minutes to reach full brightness.

But it seems like all the companies cheat on the "equivalent to" rating, if they say "equivalent to 100W" I figure it should be a bit brighter than a 60W.

Dave

Reply to
Dave Garland

nasty

Reply to
meow2222

Philips, GE and Sylvania 23 watt ones as well as those other brands prevalent in home centers (such as N:Vision) generally achieve 1600 lumens after warming up for a minute or two. Higher color temperature versions achieve closer to 1500 lumens. 1600 lumens is close to the output of a "double life" 100 watt incandescent. A "full blast" 100W 120V incandescent achieves 1670-1750 lumens.

I like to think of 23 watt CFLs as being about halfway between a 75 watt and a 100 watt "standard" incandescent (750 hours) in "real-world" light output.

- Don Klipstein ( snipped-for-privacy@misty.com)

Reply to
Don Klipstein

My expereince is that higher color temp. ones produce slightly less light than ones rated 2700-3500 K. Higher color temp. ones do work better outdoors at night however, because their spectrum is more favorable to night vision.

- Don Klipstein ( snipped-for-privacy@misty.com)

Reply to
Don Klipstein

My experience is that non-dollar-store CFLs marketed as equivalent to

100W significantly outperform 75W "standard" 750 hour incandescents rated 1190-1210 lumens.

- Don Klipstein ( snipped-for-privacy@misty.com)

Reply to
Don Klipstein

Get a light meter and measure the lumens of a 100 watt bulb then a 23 watt CFL after it warms up.

Reply to
Claude Hopper

Okay, I see it gets considerably brighter with time. However, this seems like something of an annoyance if I want there to be light

*now*. Sort of like revisting TV's that need warming up or something.
Reply to
Doc

On the other hand, it has the advantage of not immediately blinding you when you flip the light on in the dark.

It takes some adjustment, but after a few weeks, you'll probably no longer even notice.

Reply to
clams_casino

Indeed. When we built out house my wife had them put in special switches that slowly raise the light level because she hates being blinded. When we started switching to CFLs on other lights we hardly noticed.

Some brands are much quicker than others, too. And some lines within a brand. Unfortunately no one puts "full brightness in 47 seconds!" on the packages.

Reply to
WDS

Actually last time I was in Lowe's I actually did see some "quick start" CFLs. I don't remember the brand name though, nor did I buy any, as most of the fixtures in my house already have CFLs in them and those that don't are a) rarely used and b) slated for replacement anyway.

nate

Reply to
Nate Nagel

If its not bright as 100w incandesant return it, Popular Mechanics rated them years ago, its still online but hard to find, I think in the Home section, Consumer reports did a test. I use HD soft white, I get a 9w that equals 40w for about 1$. The HD bulbs rated Better than incandesant for color at Pop mech, such as how it colors your skin. I have 60 in use and failure after 1.5 years with many in commercial use is maybe 2. Heat is what kills the ballast, as long as they are not sealed in an enclosure they last.

Reply to
ransley

The Popular Mechanics test and maybe CR tested and published Lumen output.

Reply to
ransley

HomeOwnersHub website is not affiliated with any of the manufacturers or service providers discussed here. All logos and trade names are the property of their respective owners.