Terrible CFL's

[sdowney717]

CFL can make you sick, perhaps skin cancer.
others complain of headaches.
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_and_style/health/article4915472.ece

http://blog.hasslberger.com/2009/02/i_just_got_rid_of_all_those_en.html

we are under attack by those in political power who know what is best for us.

 

[sneezer41]

ummm yeah, whatever you say

if you spend 3000 hrs a year 2 inches from a cfl it will increase your skin cancer risk by .000000000000001 percent

we are under attack by the no-nothings and troglodytes, no one else

get a grip

 

[Dragster Racer]

I'm pretty sure the power company charges me for everything I use.

 

[Grumpy365]

My cfl's come on right away. I just bought 10 43 watt ones for my shop. They are full spectrum 5100k, its like high noon in there. I think some just don't like change and some watch too much fox news. Rip

not sure what crappy brand of lights you're buying but all my cfl's come on right away and i can see fine. or are you just playing the part of your username and overexagerating?

Y'all got me wondering, so i did a web search and i think y'all are not being truthful.

When i went went to cfl's i bought a case of expensive dimable cfl's. They all warm up. I eventually phased out a lot of them (because cfl's ****).

All CFLs i have been around warm up, and after searching, i believe it is a characteristic of the bulbs.

 

[sdowney717]

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/asia/article6211261.ece

I actually use CFL's. About half the house.
But these bulbs do make people sick.
A few 10,000 Chinese workers might get seriously ill, but that should not bother anyone who buys them. After all, It is their own fault for choosing to work there and the government might prefer to get rid of some of them, considering their aggressive population control measures. While I observe the increasing usage of CFL everywhere none of that is a concern. Just simply doing the right thing, lowering energy costs and following the government guided mandates are the only concerns to follow. After all, the Chinese will make all the bulbs we will ever need.

 

[Dragster Racer]

It's hard to tell through the sarcasm, but what I think you are saying is that we shouldn't be required to use CFL's because the manufactuing and environmental practices in China ****. What if our government grew some testies and told China that none of their bulbs will be allowed into the US until they take care of these issues? In fact, why not tell China that none of their products will come into our country until the companies there pay their workers more in line with what is paid in most developed contries? Of that we will only allow a trade deficit with China any longer. The fact that those goofballs take shortcuts at the expense of their workers and the environment has little to do with the benefits or lack thereof for CFL's.

 

[draglink]

It's hard to tell through the sarcasm, but what I think you are saying is that we shouldn't be required to use CFL's because the manufactuing and environmental practices in China ****. What if our government grew some testies and told China that none of their bulbs will be allowed into the US until they take care of these issues? In fact, why not tell China that none of their products will come into our country until the companies there pay their workers more in line with what is paid in most developed contries? Of that we will only allow a trade deficit with China any longer. The fact that those goofballs take shortcuts at the expense of their workers and the environment has little to do with the benefits or lack thereof for CFL's.

We cant tell China ****- they have us by the balls- scary!

 

[Dragster Racer]

True, but...We need to grow some bigger balls. Should have done it years ago. I will keep voting for new people until we find one that actually does what he says about jobs and China. For me, this is the most important thing Congress needs to get figured out.

 

[Ohio Auto]

True, but...We need to grow some bigger balls. Should have done it years ago. I will keep voting for new people until we find one that actually does what he says about jobs and China. For me, this is the most important thing Congress needs to get figured out.

Your political views crack me up. First you have no problem with government expansion to the point of infringing on your civil liberties. Your willingness to change your lifestyle and hobbies due to an ever growing and expanding government is contradicted by your stance of wanting that same government to deal firmly with China.

The very reason China owns our debt is because this government is out of control. It simply cannot fund the vastness and ever increasing scope of their spending and lack of fiscal restraint.

The answer is painfully obvious. A smaller government. A government that spends less and a government that regulates less.

And..for the record..we simply cannot bully China. The second they stop funding our debt, the very second they get the dollar canned as the world's monetary standard we are in very grave danger.

 

[jmh21586]

Your political views crack me up. First you have no problem with government expansion to the point of infringing on your civil liberties. Your willingness to change your lifestyle and hobbies due to an ever growing and expanding government is contradicted by your stance of wanting that same government to deal firmly with China.

The very reason China owns our debt is because this government is out of control. It simply cannot fund the vastness and ever increasing scope of their spending and lack of fiscal restraint.

The answer is painfully obvious. A smaller government. A government that spends less and a government that regulates less.

And..for the record..we simply cannot bully China. The second they stop funding our debt, the very second they get the dollar canned as the world's monetary standard we are in very grave danger.

 

[Dragster Racer]

No more politics for me on this thread. This is supposed to be about cfl's. Start a new thread if you want to talk politics.

 

[PhantomEB]

I am avoiding those CFLs just for sentimental reasons and I rather the warm yellowish leumenence (sp?) from the old school bulbs.

Recently brought a case or 6 of 40s, 60s and 100s just to stock pile since they were 50 cent on the dollar. Shop gets flourescents as well the bathroom has Flourescents as well sconces and the Halogens over the vanity.

 

[slickgt1]

I didn't say my bulbs were going out did I?
So now I have to buy new dimmer switches to match the bulbs? Wow CFL's save money.





I guess we should ban dimmers too.

I love dimmers. I use them constantly. I have twenty can lights in my house, all on dimmers.






I don't care about efficiency. I care about light quality and light control.



Or I can have regular bulbs and dim them the way I like.


But more power to you if you like what you got.
I just don't want someone telling me what to have.

I completely agree. I have digital Lutron Dimmers. And yes I have a shower CREE LED can, which does dim to 1/4 power. In the shower it is fine, bright, but very, very expensive. I have 36 cans total on the second floor alone. All are on the same Maestro dimmers. Each dimmer cost me something around $20 (bulk buy). There is just no way in hell I will replace those dimmers, with new ones that will now cost me $30. I like having the ability to have just enough light not to get owned by my couch. When I need more light, I can make it brighter, or turn on more. I really like the flexibility of my lighting setup.

And yes, every time a new dimmable CFL or LED bulb comes out, I give it a shot. So far, the very expensive LED CREE units are the only ones that respond well enough to use in some areas of the house, but still not acceptable if you want really dim light.

When the tech, or dimmers, or whatever gets more cost effective, I might start replacing. Till then, the cost of dimmable CFLs, LEDs or new dimmers is just NOT COST EFFECTIVE FOR ME.

As far as saving energy, I got that covered too. I have R44 roof insulation, R30 walls, sun tunnels, solar panels, split system AC, on demand water heaters, LED TVs. and more.

You want to save energy, replace your old appliances first, insulate your house, replace your windows, and you will see and feel your energy use reduction.

 

[Busted_Knuckles]

I'll bet the original poster is watching all this and laughing...they came in here, made one post and left, and six pages later people are punching each other in the nose.

I posted early on this thread, have read the whole thing, what I find most interesting, is that if "Jeanie" posted this to "stir the pot", I cant believe that such a benign subject as "CFL's" would be such a controversy. How would he/she know that ?

Is Jeanie psychic ?

 

[Rixter58]

Cant believe how passionate this debate hes become. At the end of the day, the stakes really arent that high. We have only had a couple step forward and say their light bills have come down....and even they dont offer any proof. I have approx 50% of my screw in bulbs CFL. I have no real opinion either way. My stance on them is exactly where I stand on ethanol. All either one has to do is become credibly, tangibly economically viable and I'm on board. I suspect there are many others here with the same thoughts. The louder people beat their agenda drums, the less people will listen.

 

[Ohio Auto]

:All either one has to do is become credibly, tangibly economically viable and I'm on board. I suspect there are many others here with the same thoughts.

You absolutely hit a home run, it's called capitalism. When the free market can bring a product to the marketplace that is viable the American consumer will do what they do best....consume. Legislation not needed.

 

[A_lights]

ive used many CFLs over the years, id say stick with the "big three" which are Phillips, GE , and sylvania and you wont have short life guaranteed. Phillips invented the CFL in the 1976.
ive only had a few fail in the last 11 years,(they were all off brand) far less failures then any incandescent could/ would do
another thing that kills CFLs is using higher then 40W sizes base up! the ballast overheats and frys usually, so read the manufacturers warnings!
CFLs from phillips generally do NOT have to warm up! also home depot and lowes take CFLs for recycyling free!

 

[jmh21586]

Fine and dandy. But reall y the argument gets down to choice vs regulation.

 

[highballxs]

I have replaced almost all my incandescent bulbs with CFL's... at least 40. I have no issues at all with light quality. there are different spectrums you can buy--- daylight, warm, etc. Pick the right one for the situation and they work as good as incandescent.

As far as energy-- truthfully I havent really noticed a difference. Maybe I leave them on more now subconsciously?

As far as longevity-- These things last waaaay longer. About the only place I wont use them is frequent on/off applications like garage doors. I did burn a few out doing that. you need to properly warm them up, and cool them down.

There is a learning curve, but they are OK in my book.



Back to the politics: Ohio Auto is dead-on with his political opinions on our gigantic government. We have a major problem--- loosing our freedoms to our glutinous government. We need less regulations, less govt spending, less control of our lives. trying to heard us like cattle...

 

[Grumpy365]

you need to properly warm them up, and cool them down.

There is a learning curve, but they are OK in my book.



Back to the politics: Ohio Auto is dead-on with his political opinions on our gigantic government. We have a major problem--- loosing our freedoms to our glutinous government. We need less regulations, less govt spending, less control of our lives. trying to heard us like cattle...

I appreciate your honesty on the cost savings & i agree with the infringement of government.

BUT

I don't need a light bulb that the term " learning curve" is associated with.

 

[bill9860]

I use CFL in selected location including some outdoor fixtures. It has been 5 years and I have yet to replace one. Can't say I have noticed any substantive difference in the bill but I haven't really looked.

 

[EvenTheLoosest]

I switched to CFL's exclusively several years ago and am happy with their light output and savings.

For those that think the light quality is poor, try a good brand name. In some cases the light quality can now exceed that of incandescent bulbs. I have been using Home Depot's Ecosmart bulbs recently after seeing the Consumer Reports test of CFL's and I can say that the light quality is excellent, they warm up seemingly instantly (except in very cold conditions) and they last a long time. I do not feel like I am sacrificing anything by using CFL's.

Yes the standard ones don't do well in the cold and don't work with dimmers, however there are CFL's available that do these things.

I object to governments forcing people to use them but I do think that we need a good information campaign. The comments in this thread alone show us why. The light quality is now on par with or better than incandescent bulbs. The life of the better quality CFL's is long. The amount of mercury exposure from breaking one is tiny and less than eating tuna, and using them actually puts less mercury in the environment because less electricity has to be generated to power them.

IMO most of the objections to them are myths or people not wanting to work and find the dimmable kind, or not knowing they exist.

 

[jmh21586]

IMO, most objections to them are not about the bulbs themselves, but the government forcing us to use them.

 

[buening]

I have nothing to add really and is a typical polical thread, but I wish the LED technology would advance a bit quicker that what it has been. Regulations or not, I feel the future is in LED lighting and not the CFLs. You will actually see less power usage with LEDs and the Killawatt monitor. Too bad the LED lighting is, IMO, subpar at the moment. Once LED's get better, the gubament will claim CFLs are horrible and will try to ban them as well. The whole mercury complaint is moot, its such a small amount in a bulb.

I laugh when I see instant rebates on CFLs at the stores (Menards for example) from the local power company. Kind of a misnomer, so to speak. What is claimed to use less energy is being promoted by the power company. We don't have power grid issues/brown outs like you Cali people do, so thats not the motivation. Someone's hand is in someone elses pocket most likely

 

[sneezer41]

read your electric bill

you are already paying for the rebate

led's at higher power levels are no better than cfls


prices for LED will drop, but I don't see them 'improving' much

I have a bunch at the house now

complaints of cfl's have little to do with their performance[when was the last time you saw someone complain their 4 foot fluorescents took too long to turn on?] an everything to do with narrow minded politics

I checked, I have 2 incandescent bulbs left on the property, they will not be replaced.....

 

[chewy7]

I switched my entire house over to CFLs about 7 years ago and love them. So far, not one has failed yet. No more replacing bulbs all the time like I did with incandescent lights.
My garage is too cold for CFLs so I use 4' T8s there and like them.
I even use outdoor florescent lighting for my dusk to dawn outdoor lights where it drops to -40 and lower. They work at those temperatures if they are rated for it.

Celsius or Fahrenheit?

 

[jvitez]

The two scales meet at -40, so -40F is -40C.

 

[chewy7]

oh yeah i forgot lol

 

[FThera]

We have about 90 recessed can lights in our house all with incandescent floods, ranging from 75-150 watts each. We run them on electronic dimmers and rarily do they get run at 100%. After living here for 21 years, 90% of the bulbs are the originals we put in 21 years ago. The ones we've had to change are the highest use areas, like over the kitchen and master bath sinks, and the kitchen center island. I will say that the newer Sylvania bulbs don't have near the life span that my originals did.

I've tried some CFL's and hate them. They end up giving me headaches and making me dizzy.

I'm trying some Halogens as replacements, but they really don't like to be dimmed like incandescents.

 

[Sharps]

I hate buying them and finding that three are broken in a pack of four when I go to install them. Damn Lowes packaging.

 

[jvitez]

We have about 90 recessed can lights in our house all with incandescent floods, ranging from 75-150 watts each. We run them on electronic dimmers and rarily do they get run at 100%. After living here for 21 years, 90% of the bulbs are the originals we put in 21 years ago. The ones we've had to change are the highest use areas, like over the kitchen and master bath sinks, and the kitchen center island. I will say that the newer Sylvania bulbs don't have near the life span that my originals did.

I've tried some CFL's and hate them. They end up giving me headaches and making me dizzy.

I'm trying some Halogens as replacements, but they really don't like to be dimmed like incandescents.

Dimming an incandescent bulb about 10% will reduce lumen output by ~25% but double the life of the bulb. The more you dim, the longer the filament lasts. I don't know if this holds true for halogens, but I suspect not because of the halogen regenerative cycle.

 

[slickgt1]

We have about 90 recessed can lights in our house all with incandescent floods, ranging from 75-150 watts each. We run them on electronic dimmers and rarily do they get run at 100%. After living here for 21 years, 90% of the bulbs are the originals we put in 21 years ago. The ones we've had to change are the highest use areas, like over the kitchen and master bath sinks, and the kitchen center island. I will say that the newer Sylvania bulbs don't have near the life span that my originals did.

I've tried some CFL's and hate them. They end up giving me headaches and making me dizzy.

I'm trying some Halogens as replacements, but they really don't like to be dimmed like incandescents.

Dude, Philips Halogena bulbs dim, and work perfect. They are also rated at lower wattage for the same output. Work great with electronic dimmers. Bright as hell too on full power.

 

[FThera]

I agree that halogens do work with a dimmer. They just are not designed to be dimmed as much as incandescents. The lower heat output will turn them black over time.

 

[ddawg16]

FYI.....Halogens are not really designed to be dimmed.....the principle behind the Halogen is that the gas helps to redeposit the tungston back onto the element....to do that, they have to be at a certain temperature....the temperature you get at full voltage (that is one of the reasons they are so hot).

Below that temp, that halogen bulb is nothing more than a regular bulb...

 

[slickgt1]

Yea, but is does work. And I had them for a while now with no issues. Halogen bulbs are really the way for me, for now. When LED tech improves, I will give them a shot. But for now, thats what I have, and to re-invest in new dimmers for CFLs is just not cost effective.

 

[lwlobo]

I have a mix of CFL's and incandescents, depending on where they're used and whether I want to dim them or not. It's my experience that not al CFLl's are created equal. I bought a bunch of Greenlight cfl's at the Dollar Store and have replaced a lot of them in in less than 6 months. I have others that have gone for years with no issues. I've not payed a lot of attention to what brands they are.

I recently took a bag full (qty 10+?) of bad ones to recycle at HD.

I'm fine with CFL's if they save me money and are convenient. There aren't any real silver bullets for our energy issues, and I suppose things like CFL's can help. Those who attempt to make using CFL's a moral issue are way off base.

Adding up their true environmental benefits vs. drawbacks is pretty much impossible.

 

[AndysMBgarage]

In Australia we fortunately don't have the issue of cold weather giving us poor lightup performance with CFL's, but that doesn't mean I love them.

In July we moved into an old 1950's home and replaced the existing single incandescent globes [60w average] with CFL's [15w]. As our last house had halogen downlights, it was a shock to go back to single globe/CFL illumination in each room so we looked for an alternative and found an LED downlight that is new to our market called a Halers Lighting EVO-LED.

The original dodgy 1950's wiring had to go so I arranged for a complete re-wire of the house to replace the old power points and fit the new LED downlights. This is a remarkable light. It has instant illumination, low 7.9w input, great colour, high fire rating and has a low temperature transformer thats cool enough to hold in your hand after 30mins. This allows it to be covered by insulation preventing thermal holes in your ceiling insulation. They also have a 7 year replacement warranty.

We went this way to complement our solar PV system which now generates enough power to ensure we don't pay a gas or electricity bill. [the last gas/elect bill had a credit of $137]
I'm so happy with this lights performance that I am getting them fitted into the ceiling of my new garage.

Cheers

 

[jvitez]

BTW, after incandescent bulbs are banned, will we be able to show photos of them? Maybe not. You know, seeing a pic will make you want to get one, and we can't have that now, can we? You know, just like cigarette ads.

So here it is, the first ever incandescent ****. It's a biggie. And my dastardly collection of immoral material too.

 

[jmh21586]

Do you have any multi colored bulb ****? Midget bulb ****?

 

[jmh21586]

Where do you hide your bulb ****?