Anyone use these

[billbill1]

I have used them for many years with pretty good results. Yes, I have had several burn out. It seems if they are enclosed, with any kind of a tight globe, they don't last as long. We use them everywhere but the wife prefers an incandesent in her reading lamp (she says it is better/brighter reading light)

 

[LMTC]

Maybe it's the recessed receptacle that's causing it. I have 8 recessed lights above the kitchen island. They have all blown from there. Maybe that's the problem, not the bulb.

I have been using CFs for several years...maybe 5 (have they been around that long?) and have seen noticeable improvement in both color and lumens. I have a can/recessed light right over my desk that is on 16-18 hours a day. Seems I replace that CF about every 3 months, which would mean 1500-2000 hours, at a cost of app. $2/CF bulb, and the bulb is pulling 23 watts when on. I used to have a 100 watt indoor flood in the can, costing app. $6-7 bulb and pulling 100 watts, which seemed to get replaced less often, but still 2-3 x year. My other CFs, in lamp fixtures in the house and open ceiling fixtures in the back of the barn, go for years. Hard to say how many hours though....could be the same, or maybe more. I tend to believe the consistently hotter environment of the recessed can causes premature failure....but I cannot back that up with any facts.

 

[SnowRidge]

I have been using CFs for several years...maybe 5 (have they been around that long?)

Longer. I know I bought some well before I moved to this area almost six years ago.

 

[dbdartman]

CF's, in their primitive simple round form, have been around for more than 20 years. We had a couple in the cellar of our old house. The new "twisted" form has only been around for about 6-7 years. What I've found is that when I replace a 40 watt incandescent, I need to use a 60 watt equivalent CF to get the same amount of light. I have one in my desk lamp, next to the computer. When it has 40 watt incandescents in it, I'd be replacing the bulb every 4-6 months. The CF has been in that lamp for almost 1 year now. About half the bulbs in the house are CF's. Incandescents are used only where they are out in the open, or where the CF's won't physically fit in the fixture. BTW, the newer the bulb, the better they are, IMHO. The new bulbs are much less "harsh" than the OLD ones, & even the CF's from 5 years ago.

 

[kenmac]

I use lots of compact fluorescents. Buy GE bulbs at any box store and I think you will be surprised how much better they are. I have a few of the slow starters and I hate them. The same GE bulb is much faster to full brightness.

Jim, I do have the ge brand bulbs. But, they are still alittle slow about warming up .