Anyone seeing that the good ole, much touted CFL that is suppose to last 7 years, or 5 (at 4 to 8 hrs/day usage) is lasting 1 or even less?
I guess it's still a significant savings over incandescent, but I put in a bunch of GE bulbs from SAMS club and probably 25% are dead in under a year.
No I see HDs bulbs last 2-3 years, run every night on photocells indoors and out.
You're buying cheap CFLs.
6 Years ago I was renting and had CFLs in my apt. When I bought my house, I took all the bulbs and used them in it. Thus far, most of them are still working. There have been a few (under 5) which needed replacement, but they are all still functioning. I might also add, the wife is notorious for leaving lights on.
The fine print give the hours used in those 7 years. Last ones I bought say
10,000 hours Overall, I've had good experience with them, but never 7 years. Never 10,000 hours. I replaced one in the bathroom after about 2 years and that is never used more than a couple of hours a day. Family room though is on 18 hours a day and it is at least 6000 hours. The number of starts probably has something to do with it too.
I believe that that is correct. That said, i've seen appallingly short life from incandescents recently - my friend's house has had many bulbs burn out and it was built less than two years ago. A 3-way incandescent lasted only a month or two in a table lamp before I replaced it with a CFL. Possibly the only incandescents still available are s**te quality?
nate
Mostly HD bulbs now, haven't been picky about the brands but look for the long life, 9 years if available. The low wattage bulb shaped have had the shortest lives. The others I've had very few failures over quite a few years.
Just bought some yellow bug lamps that were bulb shaped and instant on. HD also had twisties that were rated to -20 F and light quickly. They had both bright white and soft white, same wattage but the bright light was 100 lumens less. Go figure.
Don't know about GE, but my overall impression is that they are getting better. As far as LEDs, Don Klipstein notes that some of the phosphors have lifetimes more in the range of the CFLs.
I'm not convinced that some other technology, like ESL, will not prove to be a winner.
Jeff
I have some 6500K 23 watters (100W equiv) outside that run dusk till dawn. Originally purchased in 2008. I've never seen one last 5 years and I've been using them since 2003. One thing they don't like is hung upside down in a ceiling reflector I've watched several 23 watt CFLs die in under 6 months used that way.
I've had one fail in less than six months. Mounted upside down in a garage ceiling ceramic fixture. By fail I mean it went "half dim". Putting in a lamp, inside it didn't work any better. The same brand I bought for .49 cents works great in my garage door opener - mounted horizontal. Those two bulbs take all the vibration of the GD opening and closing. Something about being upside down and they give out early.
How about halogens, are these in the incandescent catagory?
Anyone know of a brand or standard for CFL's that start up quicker? I just put a bunch of them in my bedroom and for the first 1-2 minutes they are at about half brightness, and only reach peak after about
3-4. Would replace them if I could find one that performs better.The ones dying the soonest are in the bathrooms -- hanging down. Also baths tend to be on/off a lot. I really contemplated just leaving incans. in the baths, but thought I'd give it a try since the kids often leave them on (maybe motion sensor would be better). I did have one "flood" version die in
HDs bulbs, their Invision brand have a Best rating at an old POP mechanics magazine article, and second at CR magazine, they have a 7 or 9 yr warranty, they are real cheap now, about 45c for the 11 watt. Its what I use and I think they are the best you can get, plus they are the cheapest. The products faults and defects are being improved every day and im happy with what you now get.
LEDs are many times overpriced, poor color, possibly poor life from the electronics and surges or heat that may kill them and have no payback established.
Some of mine last as advertized and some dont. I find most of the failures are in the electronics. The electronics is very cheap so if they had spent the extra nickle they probably would have had a real
5/7 year bulb. I think two of the 6 in my bathroom fixture are getting colse to 5 years.Jimmie
I have upwards of 60 incandescent lights in this house (three years old). The only ones that have failed were in the fan on the back porch and a couple of decorative lights in our hutch.
I have CFLs almost entirely lasting 3-plus years at usage mostly several hundred to ~1500 hours per year. Many are making it for 5 years at this rate.
Brands I use: Mostly Philips and Sylvania, and whatever the main one Home Depot has when I get them (N:Vision of "Bright Effects").
Styles and wattages I use: Mainly 13 watt spiral. Also spirals of higher wattages in more-open fixtures other than downlights. Also 9 watt "ceiling fan" bulbs, but CFLs with outer bulbs tend to start dimmer and take more time to warm up. (I know why.) Also 13 watt "PL"/twintubes in an older floor lamp that I modified to use these.
Where I see CFLs dying young:
1) CFLs of "dollar store brands", after that in my actual experience Lights of America. (However, since I have avoided L.O.A. mostly for since 2002 and entirely for a few years due to personal experience of high rate of dying young and very high rate of producing less light than is produced by others with the same claims of light output, L.O.A. may have improved without me knowing they did so.) 2) CFLs over 13 watts, especially over 18 watts, used in small enclosed fixtures or recessed ceiling fixtures, especially if the CFLs were not made for such "heat hellholes" 3) When turned on and off frequently, especially in motion sensor lights 4) Ones not rated for use with dimmers being used with dimmers not rated for use with fluorescents or CFLs - or, non-dimmer-rated CFLs being used with electronic switching devices (timers, remote switching devices, etc.) not rated for CFLs or fluorescent lamps, "motor loads" or "electronic equipment". CFLs rated for use with dimmers in general tend to be OK with electronic lamp control devices even other than dimmers, with maybe exception for electronic control systems that sense separate switching associated with the lamp in question.
"Bright White" is a "whiter shade of warm white", usually coming up very slightly less than "fully warm white" in photometric terms. However, the
3500K ("semi warm white" in my words) CFLs mostly look better to me because they are whiter but still "basically warmish in color". Whiter stimulates scotopic vision better and warmer fluorescents are worse at this, and that makes a minor difference in "sensation of illumination" in most home lighting. However, if "bright white" appears "dreary gray", then use the "truly warm" ones.LEDs are improving. Count on life expectancy much longer than CFLs by LED units by reputable major brands such as Philips.
Upside down in ceiling fixtures - better to use CFLs rated specifically for such hellish duty, or do not exceed 18 watts, maybe stay as low as 13 watts.
For that matter, a 23-watter will likely be dimmed by non-optimum temperature so badly that an 18-watter will be hardly any dimmer. An 18 watt 6500K outdoors at night has a good shot at being "equivalent" to a
100 watt incandescent in such duty, due to 6500K CFL having a spectrum that is used by night vision more than that of incandescent is.
CFLs with "outer bulbs" around the tubing tend to start dimmer and take longer to warm up. Ones with bare tubing, such as bare spirals, tend to be less bad in this area.
Also, avoid ones of brands largely seen in dollar stores other than Dollar Tree. In my experience, these have an impressively high rate of being junk, often for more than one reason.
45c for a CFL?
I'm not seeing that.
IMHO the Sylvania twisties are the best I've found for that, and they have a slightly higher color temp than GE etc. as well which I like but you may not.
nate
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