13 year compact flourecents

[tpolley]

is it me or are these things the biggest joke ever? when we moved into our appartment 3 years ago we replaced all the incans with compact flourecents from sams club. especially the big 100 watt above the toilet in the bathroom. i got tired of it cooking my scalp when i was "reading". anyhoo, we've replaced all of them atleast once. some have been replaced twice. we both work 8-5 so they're only on from 5:30 to 9 when we're in the room. we generally shut the lights off when we leave the room. the only light thats on 24/7 is above the kitchen sink.
also we recently replaced the lights in the bedroom celing fan with mini compact flourecents... isn't that an oxymoron? they take about 30 to 45 seconds to reach full brightness. so for a time you can't see anything in the room. they're nice and bright once they get going. we've only had them for a few months so none have gone bad.

 

[LEDninja]

2nd biggest joke ever.

Biggest joke ever is the 100,000 hour rating of 5 mm LED flashlights and fixed lighting bulbs.
6 years ago there were plenty of reports of multi-LED torches lasting 2-3 weeks. Then CPF discovered Luxeons and abandoned 5 mm arrays.
More recently there were plenty of reports of multi-LED fixed lighting bulbs lasting 2-3 weeks.

The advertising idiots for CFLs assume 1 hour of use a night. Since you use them 3.5 hours a night you have to de-rate them by 13/3.5=3.7 years. So they are only just a little below expectations.
You naughty boy! You turn them on and off? Don't you know that reduces life expectancy? (How people can run them 1 hour a night without turning them off and on is beyond me.)

10 years ago CFLs were rated 10 years. When it was obvious they do not last that long some companies rate them 5 or even 3 years. Now some new idiots claim 13 years.

I came across a table lamp I really like a couple of months ago. Lucky for me I read everything on the box before heading for the sales desk. "GU-24 bulb - lasts 13 years". Huh? Went home to do some research 1st. Nobody in Canada carries a replacement GU-24 bulb! Pictures on US sites show CFLs with a funny base. I have been using CFLs since January 2000 so I have some idea how long CFLs last. Sigh. I really like the looks of that lamp.

 

[cfromc]

I've had very good luck with CFLs although I've seen a LOT of people who haven't. I started converting over 5.5 years ago and have about 30 in my house. Over the 5.5 years I've had about 7 or 8 go out. I have two on my garage set on a timer for about six hours a night. One has burned out in five years.

 

[asdalton]

You usually get what you pay for as far as the brands go. I haven't seen any failures in the GE or Sylvania CFL bulbs that I have.

 

[blasterman]

Most of the bigger name brands I've been buying the past couple of years are hitting their typical 8000 hour lifespan. A couple cheaper ones I've bought have actually caught fire when simply hung in an open fixture.

Not sure where you get '13 year' because that drastically exceeds the best T5 and T8 bulbs. If you believe a claimed '13 year' lifespan for a screw in CFL then I have some '75mpg' gasoline for you

Biggest issue I'm starting to have with CFLs is the more elaborate I get with using power LEDs and learning to mix them for desired color the more I get aggravated with CFL phosphor mixes because they are so inconsistent.

There *are* good CFLs out there with nice, pleasant phosphor mixes that blend in nicely with a room, but they are increasingly the exception and there is no description on the box to determine them. +5000k seems the only way to get a high CRI CFL with guaranteed good color, and I don't want that in my living room. Just as easy for me at least to use warm-white Bridgelux (gorgeous color), or mix neutral white LEDs with amber, which I agree with Cree yields stellar indoor light. No warm white CFL or low temp fluorescent I've seen comes close to the better LED color mixes.

 

[Machine154]

My comments on CFLs. I am not necessarily an expert, but I am in the fluorescent lighting industry.

CFL-i (integrated ballast) are all made offshore. More modern units perform better as will the better brands (usually). You've got to deal with heat from the ballast and the lamp, both in close proximity. Keep these out of small enclosed fixtures and low-runtime applications.

CFL-ni (non-integrated ballast) are better made commercial grade units. Many of these are made here in North America (for now), You are only throwing the lamp away when it goes out. Hopefully new construction will use this type of arrangement to help in adoption. The ballast heat is kept separate and usually above-ceiling. Many energy regulations will push the use of these or maybe LED if they can get their costs down and efficiencies up.

 

[JohnR66]

Can't blame you, tpolly, CFLs have their limitations. I have good luck with them, but after I convinced my parents to try them, they have had bad luck with them. In a two bulb enclosed ceiling fixture, they die as fast as incandescent. In open air base up use in the basement, they lasted less than incandescent. They were 40 watt units and the heat given off killed the ballast quick.

They seem to perform best in base down or base side vented fixtures.

I too have a problem with dim start up in a couple situations. One remedy I use it to use an incandescent in one of the sockets and CFL in the other as long as the incan doesn't heat the CFL too much it is okay. Yes you lose some of the efficiency of using all CFL, but at least you can see.

 

[Dave_H]

Nobody in Canada carries a replacement GU-24 bulb!

Canadian Tire now carries them. In fact I even got one at Giant Tiger
(Globe brand). Price is higher than "standard" base, usually $5-6, mostly
due to lower demand I would think. Some desk/table lamps and even
ceiling fixtures now take GU-24s.

Dave

 

[Guy's Dropper]

In my experience, those CFLs have shorter lifespans than incandescent bulbs. I only used them in one room for about 4 years, and in that time, I went through 5 bulbs. Of the 5 that failed, 2 of them failed violently. One of them exploded into pieces above my head, and the other one made a bunch of sputtering, crackling noises and left a burn mark on the wall when it failed.:thumbsdow I'll stick with my incandescent bulbs.

 

[Dave_H]

Canadian Tire now carries them. In fact I even got one at Giant Tiger
(Globe brand). Dave

Could be mistaken about CTC, it may have been a GU-10.

From GT: Globe 13W/830L/8000hr, UPC 058219-066201.

Also from GT: Luminus table lamp, with GU-24 bulb
13W/900L/10000hr (UPC 059212-867550). Bulb is larger
than previous.

They were also clearing a Globe ceiling fixture with 9W/GU-24
bulb included, didn't bite as I already use standard-base in
my overheads, having a >lifetime supply of them as it is, no need
to switch to a new base.

Also check Home Hardware (if you are near one), they list Sylvania
GU-24 CFLs (13W and 23W).

ave

 

[Dave_H]

You usually get what you pay for as far as the brands go. I haven't seen any failures in the GE or Sylvania CFL bulbs that I have.

I concur, have never had a CFL smoke,flame, melt, explode, or die
prematurely except one dollar-store Sunbeam 11W. Maybe it's because
I've been mostly using GE, Sylvania, and Phillips and mostly non-
enclosed fixtures with good ventilation. Failure mode if you can call
it that is erratic start-up followed by drop-out/restart (flashing), or
running dim/hot.

Dave

 

[Kestrel]

I also find the failure rates of inexpensive CFL's frustrating as well.

When I rec'd an energy audit in my home a few years ago, one fixture is operated by a wireless remote control (which is piggybacked on the standard light switch), and the auditor mentioned that CFL's wouldn't last very long at all in it because of that. I tried it and found that he was correct – CFL's would fail in 3-6 months in that fixture, far faster than anywhere else in the house. That fixture has a dimming feature but is never used in that way, no that isn't the issue. :shrug:

 

[Dave_H]

I also find the failure rates of inexpensive CFL's frustrating as well.

When I rec'd an energy audit in my home a few years ago, one fixture is operated by a wireless remote control (which is piggybacked on the standard light switch), and the auditor mentioned that CFL's wouldn't last very long at all in it because of that. I tried it and found that he was correct – CFL's would fail in 3-6 months in that fixture, far faster than anywhere else in the house. That fixture has a dimming feature but is never used in that way, no that isn't the issue. :shrug:

Use of CFLs with these remote control systems (I'll refer back to
the older X-10 system) is distinctly problematic.

First, I'd avoid any use of CFLs with lamp dimmer modules that
use triacs, even if the dimming function is not used (sooner or later
it will be, if accidentally).

I tried CFLs with the "appliance" modules which have relay
switches. The load-sensing circuit, which allows you to turn
on the "appliance" by toggling its on/off switch, even when
the module itself is off, was fooled by the CFL's ballast. I'd
turn them off and less than a minute later they'd be back on
again! Eventually, gave up on that. Maybe newer remote-controls
have a way to get around this.

An aside, I found I could dim LED christmas light strings with
a triac lamp dimmer module. When they are off, the "sense" current
running through the string, which must be a milliamp or less, lights
the string to a dim eerie glow...


Dave

 

[Illum]

I'm underway to convert CFL sockets to running LEDs...
If LEDs die running without a hitch for ~2 years 24/7, it would still be worth it:shrug:

 

[rodfran]

I would suggest purchasing name brands. I have had excellent success with cold cathode fluorescent bulbs. They are more expensive, but they run cooler and last longer than other CFL's I have used.

 

[blasterman]

I found I could dim LED christmas light strings with
a triac lamp dimmer module.

Not 100% sure on this, but many LED xmas light strings I've seen don't seem to be running an active driver but are passive driven with just resistors and diodes.

 

[Dave_H]

I'm sure most Xmas light strings use resistor/diode for simplicity
and low cost; can't see the need for an "active" driver anyway.
That the LED strings can be dimmed is not terribly useful but
can be done and seems to cause no harm. Just avoid non-dimmable
CFLs.

Dave

edit: Colour-shifters must use some form of active driver; almost
forgot about them.

 

[zelda]

I made exellent experience with eletronic-starters for cfl. Especially if you switch much on/off, the cfl last longer than with a normal starter. The initial cost is high but its a pay off after 3 - 5 years. (in my case)

I also noticed that some cfl in air-conditioned data-center (24/7 constant temp.) are older than 10 years. The steady temperatur is maybe the key for long-lasting cfl's.