Aren't CF Bulbs Supposed to Last 5 Years?

[rucky]

I'm so sick of all the bullshit businesses use to market "green" products. You spend three times as much for a CFC bulb - expecting to get a long-term savings out of using it. But in my experience, they don't last any longer than than conventional bulbs. Great that I'm using less power in my home, but can't help feeling duped every time a bulb goes out.

Marketers know a certain segment of people are willing to pay a premium for environmentally friendly products, and the sharks are out in full force - touting overpriced crap and calling it "green". It it's a better product, I don't mind as much, but I've had too many experiences buying "green" products that are both lousy and costly. This is more hurtful than helpful to environmental causes.

If we're really going to get people to be greener consumers, people need to see the value in it - and it can't just be for the people who can afford to pay a premium. Environmental practices are also about efficiency in production. If they source natural, process less, and use less energy in it's production - they should also be passing savings onto consumers, or this trend will never go mainstream. Instead, they seem more interested in cashing in.

[ingac70]

1. They don't....

that is just some bullshit they made up in justifying the price. Scam!

[PADemD]

13. My CF lightbulbs didn't last long, either.

And they require special recycling. I can't just put them on the curb with my other recyclables.

[TheWraith]

26. I'm not sure where you're getting your bulbs, but...

In the couple years since I switched over to CFLs, I've only had to replace two bulbs. With incandescents I was replacing probably ten a year.

People need to remember that those figures for how long the bulbs last is an AVERAGE. That means that some are going to quit after 6 months due to manufacturing errors or whatever, but some others will go years beyond their rated life. But of course, most people never pay attention when a product works better than advertised.

[time_has_come]

2. Not my experience at all. Changed every one in the house three years ago...

...and it's been over a year since one burnt out. I think only two out of at least 20 went on me. Ordinarily, with the incandescent, I'd be changing one a month.

Maybe you got a bad batch...or maybe you're putting them in pot lights...dunno. Let's not assume your experience is the rule though. And bring on the LEDs, then you can really pay through the nose for a bulb that will never burn out!

[madokie]

3. I've got 26 cfl's in the house alone

most of them have been in here for better than three years and I've replaced only one and it was in the bathroom with a fixture that has two more just like it. Over all I'm way ahead so far in money saved. I'm not counting the ones in my shop either where they've been there even longer.
Methinks maybe you want to bitch about something. color me :confused: :hi:

[rucky]

4. maybe I should get my wiring checked.

[madokie]

5. Not so much the wiring checked as the voltage checked

The reason I say that is a few years ago, 10, we were going through light bulbs like crazy so finally one day I checked to see what our voltage was and it was 126 volts. I had the electric company come check it and they corrected that and no more burned out light bulbs like we were having. Sorry about the snark, my bad.
:hug:

[Dead_Parrot]

19. ^ What Okie said

Some CFs are very fussy about about power: The grid around here goes up and down like a yo-yo, and causes me all sorts of grief. Interestingly, the best ones I've found are the no-name generics from the local store whereas more expensive brands crash and burn after a few months. Try some different makes if there's nothing you can do for the power supply.

[rucky]

22. I'm also part of a rural co-operative

for electric. Power seems to go up and down like that here, compared to the cities I've lived in.

[Dead_Parrot]

25. You might do better to stick with incandescents for now

and switch straight to LEDs when they reach a sane price. It sucks, but there you go...

[AndyA]

6. CF bulbs last much longer than incandescent bulbs in my experience.

I have a lamp in the office that is on a timer. It comes on at about 8:00 in the morning, and goes off at around 10:00 in the evening. We did this because the light switches aren't just inside the door, you have to walk in a bit to get to them. They're hard to find in the dark, even if you know where they are.

We used to replace that bulb a couple of times a year. Since putting a CF bulb in, it's been a couple of years without burning out.

CF bulbs have a shorter lifespan if they are turned on and off frequently. So, if you have a light in a location where it's frequently turned on and off, you might be better off not using a CF in that location. But for lights that are normally left on for a period of time once turned on, they're great.

[Nihil]

9. Seconded.

> CF bulbs last much longer than incandescent bulbs in my experience.
+
> CF bulbs have a shorter lifespan if they are turned on and off frequently.
> So, if you have a light in a location where it's frequently turned on and off,
> you might be better off not using a CF in that location. But for lights that
> are normally left on for a period of time once turned on, they're great.

Even the "shorter" life CFLs in our house have lasted a good long time but
the ones that are most likely to fail are those in rooms/areas where they are
switched on for a comparatively short time (vs living room where once it's on,
it stays on the the rest of the evening).

:hi:

[RC]

7. CFC bulbs work best base down in open fixtures.

Even so, I have 4 in a fixture above my dining room table that are base up in enclosed fixtures and they last much longer than incandescents there. I have an old one from when they first came out in the light in the hood over my stove that is on and off daily with no problems. The base is too big to fit in most fixtures.
I noticed the change out in my power bill also.

I like the color of the "daylight" CFC's. Those that mimic incandescents, don't. Too yellowish orange.

[madokie]

8. Thats my experience also with the daylight cfl

[ElboRuum]

10. Mine have been burning for three years now.

Manufacturing defect in that batch? :shrug:

[The Croquist]

11. Generally they do last years but there are a few issues

I've been told by a friend that there is a real quality control issue. I'm very happy with mine but I have no idea of the brand.

Another friend replaced most of the bulbs in his house and the ones in the garage door opener kept blowing. He decided that there was a vibration issue and finally put the incandescents back in.

As another poster said they are voltage sensitive but that means more then having your voltage tested. It can also be because they are on a dimmer switch and being dimmed. When dimmer switches lower the lighting they do it by lowering the voltage. My next door neighbor lost about 10 of them before he finally believed me that he either couldn't use them or had to leave the dimmer on full.

I've lost just one of the 20 or so (I'm not going to count them) in years and that one was a 3 way bulb. It didn't last long but that was one of 3 I've got and the other 2 (plus the replacement) have done just fine so maybe that's just a coincidence.

[Kolesar]

16. ^Good stuff. And note that "Lights for America" made a lot of crap

CFLs about ten years ago.

[TheMadMonk]

23. Beg to differ on the dimmers. they work by chopping up the AC current.

AC current is a sinusoidal (wave shaped) wave that has a cycle time of 1/60th of a second in the US and 1/50th in Aust.

What a dimmer does is interrupt that wave so that for some proportion of each cycle so no current flows at all.

CFCs will work on a dimmer, just badly and not for long. Just like you CAN drive a Ferarri at speed over badly laid cobbles, but the susspension will not thank you for it afterwards.

[The Croquist]

24. My bad

I looked it up and you are correct. I sit corrected.

[Ian David]

12. It depends on what kind of fixture you put them in. n/t

[kestrel91316]

14. When I lived in the house, I put in all CFL's in 2000 or 2001, and when I moved out

in late 2007 none of them had burned out or even dimmed yet.

I moved into this apartment almost 3 years ago, immediately put in CFL's everywhere, and none are showing any signs of wear yet. I expect them to last a decade.

[Statistical]

15. Couple of ideas

1) maybe crappy brand/model
2) maybe just back luck you got a bad batch (defect in that batch of bulbs)
3) CFL tend to not do well in lights that are not used very long (like bathroom).

I would use track CFL bulbs in areas you use light for long period of time and maybe try a different brand.

Of course you could always go LED but that is even more money.

[Nihil]

21. Slightly OT ...

> 3) CFL tend to not do well in lights that are not used very long (like bathroom).

I've found that standard fluorescents work just fine in bathrooms & similar.
We've been in our house for over 15 years now and it uses a 30" (or so) tube
in the WC, the bathroom and the shower "room". I've only replaced two of the
three tubes in that time ...

:shrug:

[Snarkoleptic]

17. Dunno...but please dispose of them properly.

Each CFL bulb contains around 5mg of mercury, which is sufficient to poison 6,000 gallons of water.

[JohnWxy]

18. mine last longer. Make sure you don't buy any from China. They don't last.

5 years? don't know about that. THey are supposed to last longer, but it depends on how you use them.

[zytime]

20. same here

We replaced pretty much all of our bulbs with cfl's. In our bathroom, we have a five-bulb light over the sink. They lasted for about a year, then three burned out over the course of several months. We didn't bother changing them because of the cost of the new ones, disposal of the old ones, and that four bulbs is fine, three is still fine, but just having the two was a little too dark. Anyway, I took them back to the Home Depot where I bought them and said I had bought them within the last couple years (less than the 7 given for the warranty), and that they had burned out. They only sold two packs of the type I had, but they just said to grab two two-packs and took my three burned-out bulbs. No receipt, no cash, no forms. It was really easy and nice to have them back up their product. However, I still don't like the fact that all of these burned out bulbs are just getting disposed of well before the end of their supposed useful life.

[bhikkhu]

27. I switched in 2001 - 60% are still working

back then they were usually pretty expensive, but IKEA had them for $1.99 a bulb. I don't know if they still sell the same kind, but if they do they are very good bulbs.

[tom_paine]

28. Can't explain your problem - but my personal experience with CFR bulbs is the opposite

8 years ago, I changed over my entire home to CFR, at least two dozen bulbs.

Since that time, I have replaced maybe 5 of them.

I have two very old CFR bulbs in my garage (they use to be my only CFR bulbs and thus were in the heaviest-use fixtures prior to that) that are now more than 15 years old and work perfectly.

I can't understand why your CFR bulbs are burning out so rapidly. Maybe the problem is your house electrical?

[guardian]

29. CFL bulbs last longer for me.

I've been using CFLs regularly for about 6-7 years now. The ones you buy now are much better and last longer than early versions. And prices have come down quite a bit too. I find they actually do last quite a long time....much longer than incandescent bulbs. Will they last 5 years? It depends on how many hours/day you run the CFL. Look at the hours lifetime on the package. I think in general they will last 5X-10X longer. That is especially nice if you have a fixture location that is inconvenient to reach (I have high ceilings). I tend to buy them in big packs on sale at Home Depot or Costco--whatever brand.

Another plus is the energy savings and drop in electric bill.

Another plus I find is that I can use higher lumens equivalent than what a fixture is rated for with incandescent bulbs. For example, I have a enclosed ceiling fixture in my office that is rated for two 60W incandescent bulbs. As I wanted brighter light in the room I use two 100W equivalent CFL bulbs that pull 27W each...also with less heat emitted.

I haven run the numbers to see what the cost trade off is. The bulbs cost more, but use less electricity. I think I'm saving. But there are other factors for me that weigh in my decision to use.

I think in 5-10 years LED technology will have improved to the point that CFLs will no longer be commonly used.