Do CFL bulbs really save money?

[Jeff Nicol]

I bought and tried about 40 different ones in different sizes for a number of applications. Out of all of them that I have used, I think I have 4 or 5 of them left that still work and they are ones I use for my photo box with the so called "Daylight" color. They work fine and are the newest that I have bought, all the rest of them have failed and some in very dangerous ways. I had some in a track light, and 2 of them got so hot before the burnt out the plastic started melting on the bases of the lights! So I do not buy them or use them and buy the incandecsents and have a lot of them stocked up just in case! I have been looking at the LED lights and if we can build them here in the US the quality should be better and they should last a very long time. I build some of my own flashlights and the new LED's are brighter, but the light they give off is still nothing like an old incandecsent and that is where most of the issues are. Also the LED's are so very bright when looked at directly so I suppose finding the best way to diffuse them and keep the light bright is going to be the next steps of the future.

Bottle the sunlight and let us just pour some out when we need it!

Jeff

[Jim Becker]

At this point, I can anecdotally say that CFLs have resulted in a meaningful decrease in energy usage in our home. Aside of a couple of fixtures that have special purposes, all of the bulbs inside and outside of our home are CFLs or low-voltage. My electric bills have been running noticeably lower for the past few years since changing them out. (not all at once, but relatively quickly as the incandescents failed) I have also only had to replace about three of them in several years.

LED offers further promise for energy savings once the cost decreases...which it certainly will, just as the cost of CFLs has also dropped noticeably.

[Brian Elfert]

I have an outdoor light with one of the pin type CFLs in it. It comes on every night even when the temp has been -30F a few times. I'm sure that saves me electricity since the old light had a regular bulb in it that ran about 30 watts all night and switched to full 60 watts if motion was detected.

[William Adams]

Depends on whether the closest electrical transformer is working properly or no.

The one nearest my house isn't, so CFLs won't last --- even replacing them on warranty it's too much hassle, so we broke down and started buying LEDs which are a significant energy savings w/ no failures yet.

[Ken Fitzgerald]

Like a lot of things......the quality of what one buys isn't always equal. While I have a CFL spotlight that has lasted well, I have had other CFL bulbs that failed after only a couple hours to a couple days. I don't like them in cold weather applications because the ones I have tried in those conditions were extremely slow to come on in cold weather. In some safety conditions, having a light come on slowly invites one to take unnecessary risks.

[Rick Potter]

I have a house full of them. The outside lights are on all night for six years or so, and only one of three had to be replaced about 3 years ago. Ceiling fan lights all have them and are used until midnite every night with no failures in six years, so I am happy with them. I have had a couple early failures, but only a few, and I literally have at least 80 around the house.

Costco had a deal on the 13W jobs, something like 5 for $1.98, and I have dozens of spares. I put them throughout my rental houses too, tenants appreciate the savings.

It's the LED night lites I have problems with. They seem to last about three months, then start to get more and more dim, till they are worthless.

Rick Potter

[Matt Meiser]

We bought a gross (not really but it was a ridiculously huge pack) of LED night lights at Costco and they seem good after a few years.

I forgot, I also replaced a 175w Mercury Vapor dusk to dawn fixture on my shop with a non-CFL fluorescent. The first failed within a year and Lowes replaced it with one of a completely different design. The second has been going strong since. I remember calculating back when I installed it that the payback on that was in the months range.

[Brian Elfert]

Perhaps it is the brand of CFL I am buying. All of my CFLs have been GE brand to date. The main reason for GE brand is because the hardware store sells them several times a year with a subsidy from the electric utility. The 26 watt version used to $1 with subsidy, but now they cost $2 with subsidy. (Regular price is a ridiculous $8 for one bulb!) I figured a name brand like GE would be better than one of the no-name brands.

[Dan Hintz]

I also replaced a 175w Mercury Vapor dusk to dawn fixture on my shop with a non-CFL fluorescent.

I'm trying to figure out what a non-fluorescent CFL is... ;-)

Perhaps it is the brand of CFL I am buying. All of my CFLs have been GE brand to date. The main reason for GE brand is because the hardware store sells them several times a year with a subsidy from the electric utility. The 26 watt version used to $1 with subsidy, but now they cost $2 with subsidy. (Regular price is a ridiculous $8 for one bulb!) I figured a name brand like GE would be better than one of the no-name brands.

I stay as far away from GE anything, and their bulbs are no different. My wife purchased some in bulk one year (when I wasn't around to consult), and each of them quickly died a fast death. There's a reason you can get them so cheap.

Try Philips... you won't be disappointed.

[Matt Meiser]

I'm trying to figure out what a non-fluorescent CFL is... ;-)

You read that backwards.

What I have is a fixture that has a ballast and uses a special fluorescent tube. I thought CFLs by definition had a built in ballast, but maybe that's not the case.

[Larry Whitlow]

..........I literally have at least 80 around the house.




Rick Potter

I thought "wow" when you said you had 80. Then I did a count here and stopped when I got to 50. I never appreciated that we had that many bulibs in various fixtures, though many are seldom used.

[Harry Hagan]

I routinely replaced bulbs (every few months) in outdoor lamp posts until substituting CFLs for incandescents. The CFLs have been coming on everyday from dusk till dawn for several years without a failure. CFLS have saved us money on electricity and bulbs.

I share Dan’s low opinion of GE bulbs. We tried a bulk pack of GE CFLs and half of them failed within hours or didn’t even work—none of them lasted more than a few months.

[ray hampton]

If the CFL bulbs are installed upside down in a globe, can someone measured the temperature of the bulb and its socket ? most of the lights assembled hang down when they are installed on the ceiling unless the ceiling are about 10 feet high

[Brian Elfert]

The weird thing is the GE CFL bulbs that are not in the one fixture last for years. I've only replaced one GE CFL that wasn't in this one fixture.

I'll get some Philips CFL bulbs at Home Depot, but not today. We are seeing our first real snow of the year with 10 to 15 inches expected. I expect the commute tomorrow will be terrible as it is supposed to get really cold overnight.

[ray hampton]

The weird thing is the GE CFL bulbs that are not in the one fixture last for years. I've only replaced one GE CFL that wasn't in this one fixture.

I'll get some Philips CFL bulbs at Home Depot, but not today. We are seeing our first real snow of the year with 10 to 15 inches expected. I expect the commute tomorrow will be terrible as it is supposed to get really cold overnight.

I had a similar problem with a ceiling fixture and the incandescent bulbs, I think that the fixture were being shaken by the furnace or fridge