CFL lamps becoming obsolete ??

[Marctrees]

What is going on out there?

I have not bought lamps for a year or so, need some basic screw in CFL's for household general use.

Two things - First, it seems they have really gone up in price ALOT.

Secondly, I look at my local Ace hardware (no big box close, live very rural) and they have all kinds of LED lamps for basic use, and almost no CFL.

I have not done deeper search, that's just after one store trip, and also Walmart online.

So after going to two representative places it seems this market drastically changed recently?

Or am I just needing to look a bit deeper?

Again, I just checked a bit so far, but it seems to me things have really changed ALOT in last year or so.. Marc

 

[Musicinabottle]

LEDs are the big thing now. Far and away better. Instant on, last far longer, less energy........

 

[The Cobbler]

led is taking over. I have a lot of cfl and incandescent so I'm out of touch too. recently bought a dozen LED's. I like them better than cfl so will switch over as the cfl die.

 

[rsanter]

Yes they are on their way out.
LEDs are getting better and cheaper all the time.
When it is easier and cheaper to make an LED over a CFL then the manufacturers are going to do away with them.
Same happened with the old magnetic ballasts. They staid around as the cheaper alternative until it became cheaper for the manufacturer to make the electronic ones. Then there was no point in keeping something that costs more to make and sells for less.

CFLs have gone up in price since all the government and utility before sale rebate programs have ended. The rebates are not all going toward the LEDs now.
I bought dimmable LED bulbs on sale for $1 each in the multi pack.

Bob

 

[American Locomotive]

CFLs are pretty much dead, there might be a few niche applications where they're better than LED, but I'm unsure.

 

[jchetty]

Daylight leds is where it is at. I have one bulb that is cfl- cant believe how yellow the light is- almost looks orange. If you are going leds and dont need dimmable, the 3 pack 60 watt daylight GE bulbs from Home Depot are hard to beat for $9 for a 3-pack.

 

[American Locomotive]

Daylight leds is where it is at. I have one bulb that is cfl- cant believe how yellow the light is- almost looks orange. If you are going leds and dont need dimmable, the 3 pack 60 watt daylight GE bulbs from Home Depot are hard to beat for $9 for a 3-pack.

To be fair, CFLs come in a variety of flavors too. I have some 5k CFLs that look just as good as LEDs.

 

[Norcal]

Yes they are on their way out.
LEDs are getting better and cheaper all the time.
When it is easier and cheaper to make an LED over a CFL then the manufacturers are going to do away with them.
s.Same happened with the old magnetic ballasts. They staid around as the cheaper alternative until it became cheaper for the manufacturer to make the electronic ones. Then there was no point in keeping something that costs more to make and sells for less.

CFLs have gone up in price since all the government and utility before sale rebate programs have ended. The rebates are not all going toward the LEDs now.
I bought dimmable LED bulbs on sale for $1 each in the multi pack.

Bob

The ballasts were removed from the market because of Federal law not allowing popular models to be manufactured or imported.

 

[Socket Pounder]

Used to have to buy lightbulbs all the time then switched to CFLs and I hardly ever buy bulbs. But yeah, went into Lowes the other day to buy CFLs and it was 90% LEDs, caught me off guard but I'm okay with it.

 

[four.cycle]

After reading several online articles about Chinese-made CFL bulbs starting house fires I yanked them all out and replaced them with LED bulbs.
In addition to not being something that will burn your house down, LED bulbs don't contain mercury.

 

[MushCreek]

I never bought into CFL's, and we only had a few of them in the old house. In our new house, I went all-LED, and we love them.

 

[Hankoh]

I say good! I never liked CFL's. Maybe I had some bad luck, or bought the wrong brands, but they never lasted very long for me. I have almost completely switched to LED's and I think they are a very big improvement.

 

[bczygan]

Pulled all mine.

 

[theoldwizard1]

Please recommend brands of screw base LED bulbs.

Anyone making a 3 way LED bulb that is equivalent to 50/100/150 or higher ?

 

[vavet]

Our house, built 18 months ago, had all CFLs (except for the fluorescent utility lights in the closets and pantry and halogen can lights).
I've changed several fixtures to LED bulbs so I can use a dimmer so I have quite a supply of CFLs. So far, I've used 3 of them - 2 for the additional bulb holders I installed in the attic and one for the outside light over the garage door that is on a dusk-to-dawn switch - and I recently learned, thanks to GJ - that it probably failed prematurely because it is installed upside down. By premature - I mean it lasted well over a year.

 

[reader2580]

I noticed a while back that Home Depot no longer carries any CFL bulbs that I could see. I won't buy CFL these days so no loss to me.

 

[American Locomotive]

After reading several online articles about Chinese-made CFL bulbs starting house fires I yanked them all out and replaced them with LED bulbs.
In addition to not being something that will burn your house down, LED bulbs don't contain mercury.

The cheap LED bulbs these days run just as hot (if not hotter) as CFLs.

 

[AntonLargiader]

I have a dozen or so CFLs I'll send you for the cost of shipping. I bet a lot of people do. BIL took them out of his new house after a few months.

 

[Specracer]

Horrible, I luckily never bought a one. Terrible color temp, warm up cycle, non dimming. LED solves these (well almost, dimming is not quite like incandescent, but is close).

 

[CoogarXR]

I noticed this too. I have a few CFL-based floodlamps, and one of them got broken. I went to replace it and couldn't find one anywhere. So I replaced them all with LEDs.

 

[theoldwizard1]

I have gone back to incandescent on table lamps. I could not find a 3 way CFL that would fit under the harp.

 

[Falcon67]

Threw all the CFLs in the trash, we're all LED. Oops, now the EPA Cops are after me.

 

[the gypsy]

I believe that it is because of the mercury content that they are not being sold anymore. If you research "How to dispose of CFL's" you will soon realize what a pain in the *** it is to dispose.

 

[yeldogt]

The days are numbered.

I never liked the twisted CFL, although I did use the ones that looked like a standard bulbs to replace incandescent in fixtures with globes that also did not need to be dimmed... have moved to LED replacements for the most part in those .. especially outside, including floods.

Inside I have not found a LED bulb that I like for the MR-16's, recessed or tracks ... and I still like my "reader" bulbs in table lamps.

 

[NitroGarage]

I found a four pack of 100w LED's at walmart for $20, very impressed with them. Twice as much as a CFL was, smaller format, half the power (so half the heat), and instant on. Can't remember what the lifetime is but I moved into our house 4 years ago and I still have CFL's I bought when I re-lit everything with those originally.

 

[Super Sport]

I've never liked CFLs. We have a few in the house, but I have had more than a handful "burn out" prematurely. I also don't like the warm up cycle.

Admittedly, I still use a lot of incandescent bulbs. Until LED prices come down a bit more and the technology improves, I am waiting to switch.

 

[NitroGarage]

There's been a lot of halogen "energy saver" bulbs around lately.

 

[American Locomotive]

I believe that it is because of the mercury content that they are not being sold anymore. If you research "How to dispose of CFL's" you will soon realize what a pain in the *** it is to dispose.

It's mainly the efficiency - most CFLs are only 60-70 lumens/watt, while LED bulbs are generally around 100 or better. LED driver circuitry is also simpler and cheaper

There's been a lot of halogen "energy saver" bulbs around lately.

It's pretty much the only way they can sell incandescent now.

 

[tvtaurus]

Yea, they are becoming obsolete. Cfls come wth Hg (mercury) in them. That is why you are not supposed to just throw them away. I have been changing over to LEDs myself.

 

[four.cycle]

The cheap LED bulbs these days run just as hot (if not hotter) as CFLs.

The bulbs that caused the problems were made in China and sold through mass-merchandiser retailers.

I'm sure that a Google search will turn up more information on it.

 

[Jeepster04]

Ive got a gallon size freezer bag full of bad CFL's. Things lasted less than a year before burning out. Ill never buy another one even if they dont quit making them.

Ive yet to have an LED go bad and I leave 1 on outside 24/7. Been on for over a year now.

 

[American Locomotive]

Ive got a gallon size freeze bag full of bad CFL's. Things lasted less than a year before burning out. Ill never buy another one even if they dont quit making them.

Ive yet to have an LED go bad and I leave 1 on outside 24/7. Been on for over a year now.

It's strange how that works. I have have some CFLs that only lasted for a few months, while I have others that are nearing 5 years old that get used every day.

Some people have had LED lights last a while, other people have had horrible luck with LED lights - even with brand names like Cree.

 

[TK-421]

CFLs have been obsolete for a while now, ever since LEDs have gotten better and cheaper.

As your CFLs die, replace them with quality LEDs. They might seem stupid expensive, but they last a lot longer. So, in the end, it's actually cheaper to go with LEDs, it just takes a bit more to stomach the upfront cost.

 

[Mad Dog]

This thread has me thinking about my shop lighting if CFL's are going away. I went with about 14 of the big 105 w 6500K CFL bulbs on a 4ft grid. I am very satisfied with the light quality and quantity, the lack of heat in summer, and generally, the longevity (2 have failed in the past 3 years). Does anyone know of a good LED that could replace those monsters? I gave about $15 each for the CFL's in that size...

 

[NitroGarage]

This thread has me thinking about my shop lighting if CFL's are going away. I went with about 14 of the big 105 w 6500K CFL bulbs on a 4ft grid. I am very satisfied with the light quality and quantity, the lack of heat in summer, and generally, the longevity (2 have failed in the past 3 years). Does anyone know of a good LED that could replace those monsters? I gave about $15 each for the CFL's in that size...

https://www.amazon.com/Hyperikon-10...elpful&formatType=current_format&pageNumber=1

 

[Showkey]

CFL maybe obsolete but they will still be around for years to come. Right now they are dirt cheap.........often in multi pack they can be found for 25-30 cents each.

Even LED are getting real cheap.........GE 6 pack 60 watt equivalent were priced at $2.88 ( 48 cents each) at Sams club.

 

[Marctrees]

??
Other than the Sam's example...

Where do you see them anywhere near that cheap ?? Marc

 

[Marctrees]

https://www.amazon.com/Hyperikon-10...elpful&formatType=current_format&pageNumber=1

$400 each for a fricking light bulb??????????????

I realize it's a bigun, but what the hell ???

 

[American Locomotive]

$400 each for a fricking light bulb??????????????

I realize it's a bigun, but what the hell ???

You'd really only need a ~60-70 watt LED bulb to be equivalent to a 105 watt CFL.

 

[LS6 Tommy]

AFAIC, CFLs were almost obsolete on Day 1...

Tommy