dogfather_jr: Because something's a little more difficult doesn't mean it's still not a better idea.

I agree completely. I AM using them. I just hope that people recognize they're hazardous waste and don't contribute to the rise in mercury poisoning going on.

Meh.....dang hippies try to ruin everyone's good time. Next thing you're gonna tell me is that smoking cigarettes and driving my 13mpg V6 around isn't helping the environment.

In terms of oil not burned, or greenhouse gases not exhausted into the atmosphere, one bulb is equivalent to taking 1.3 million cars off the roads.

I call shenanigans. If a 15 room apartment building replaces all of their bulbs with CFBs it is like taking all the cars in the US off the streets?

Oh yeah. ANd you should all put another layer of insulaton on your water heaters: they use WAAAAY more electricity than your eletric lights. And get a solar water preheater.

Bo 'n Luke: The turn-on delay is annoying, and often forces me to stand and wait to enter a dark room, rather than stumble in while it's still dark and trip over something.

I've got a few of them, and they are definitely brighter a couple minutes after you turn them on, but they are at least 75% of normal brightness the instant they come on. Maybe yours are a bit older? I bought mine in the last 3 or 4 years.

I bought 2 of these in college. about 4 years later and one is dead. the other is still going.

When we move into our new home im planning on getting a bunch

Bladel: /waiting for LED Bulbs.

What are you waiting for?

http://www.thinkgeek.com/gadgets/lights/7aa8/

Not all contain mercury- some of mine do- and of these 2 lasted less than a year- iritating.
Does anyone in Farkland know how much power it takes to turn these CFL's(ha ha I said CFL (c*nt for lips))on? Old school flourescents took alot of power to turn on. If the CFL is on and off 10+ times an hour am I actually using more power?

1. If every one of 110 million American households bought just one ice-cream-cone bulb, took it home, and screwed it in the place of an ordinary 60-watt bulb, the energy saved would be enough to power a city of 1.5 million people.

Really? What type of use is this assuming?

2. Compact fluorescents emit the same light as classic incandescents but use 75% or 80% less electricity.

No, they don't. The color temp of the light is horrible.

3. A $3 swirl pays for itself in lower electric bills in about five months.

Save $something like $7 a year. Oh, joy.

4. Compact fluorescents, even in heavy use, last 5, 7, 10 years. Years. Install one on your 30th birthday; it may be around to help illuminate your 40th.

I've actually bought these things before. The one I used in my garage lasted about 1 year. I would suspect in that time it got about 50 hours of use. The second one I purchased for a bedroom lamp lasted about a year, but that had more use. Maybe 500 hours. I've not bother to ever buy one again.

5. The single greatest source of greenhouse gases in the United States is power plants-half our electricity comes from coal plants. One bulb swapped out: enough electricity saved to turn off two entire power plants-or skip building the next two.

What size plants? What are they using as the average light use?

6. In terms of oil not burned, or greenhouse gases not exhausted into the atmosphere, one bulb is equivalent to taking 1.3 million cars off the roads.

I'm calling BS on this crap.

7. Last year, U.S. consumers spent about $1 billion to buy about 2 billion lightbulbs-5.5 million every day. Just 5%, 100 million, were compact fluorescents.

Well, if they didn't produce such horrible light... And then they sometimes start with that awful electronic high pitched sound or even buzz. Blegh.

8. In the next 12 months, starting with a major push this month, Wal-Mart wants to sell every one of its regular customers-100 million in all-one swirl bulb.

Good luck. I doubt I will.

9. Early CFLs cost $25 per bulb (and still paid for themselves in electricity savings). The light they produced was bluish or pinkish, or varied; the phosphor coating had to be refined. The ballast-built into the bulb rather than in a separate fixture, as with traditional fluorescent tubes-hummed and didn't cycle the electricity quickly enough; it had to be made electronic and miniaturized. Costs came down, as did size. The same wizardry that gives us Hallmark birthday cards that play "Love and Happiness" makes possible CFLs at $2.60 instead of $25.

The color temp of the light is still horrid.

10. A 60-watt classic bulb and a 15-watt swirl are identically bright-the swirl just uses 45 fewer watts. Source: FastCompany

Well, I can't argue with this.

The article writer's points are all well and good, but he fails to mention the lousy yield CFLs produce when used as the sole illumination during 12/12.

Whenever an incandescent bulb burns out, I replace it with a CFB. I got tired of replacing incandescents every two to three months.

When I was a kid in the sixties, my mom would take burnt-out light bulbs to the local electric company and they would replace them one-for-one at no charge.
It seemed that the light bulbs lasted a lot longer back then, but after the electric company stopped replacing them for free and we started having to buy them ourselves, the average life came way down. Just a coincidence, I'm sure....

We built a new house last year, and I put them in all of our light fixtures. No flickers or delays on startup and plenty of light. Another plus that's not mentioned here, they are cool to the touch and don't throw off all the heat that a regualr bulb does.

Beemer - Yeah, but how am I supposed to dispose of them, since they have mercury? I currently have 3 bulbs that don't work (switched the house over this year), and won't throw 'em in the trash.

Call whoever picks up your trash and find out how they want you to dispose of electronics, like old computers and TVs, then dispose of them in a similar manner. If they have no answer, call your county's environment service dept. for an answer.

I actually like the lag in some places like the bathroom because I don't get blinded at night. Most better CFLs don't have the problem and some can be used with a rheostat. The only place I don't use them are in my motion-security lights and in the garage door opener. They do throw off RF, so keep them away from an AM radio, as well.

ribbit
New hotness: LEDs

I was just going to say that. Especially now that you can get them in a variety of formats. (no pop)

Assgasket
Flourescent light flickers at 60 HZ, gives me headaches

I have the same problem. They really suck for doing work on a standard CRT monitor, too. The newer, full-spectrum (natural daylight) versions aren't as bad, but there's still a limited amount of time I can deal with one.

fireclown Oh yeah. ANd you should all put another layer of insulaton on your water heaters:

Or if you're in a small household ditch the water heater completely and go with one of those units that heats up water as it flows through it. You save energy by only using it when needed, and you don't waste the 3 gallons that go through The Tubes when you start up the shower first thing in the morning.

/ doesn't have one

If you want to recycle them and not worry about the mercury, etc. there is an organization funded by the CFL manufacturers that can help you.

http://www.lamprecycle.org/

We are refitting the whole house with these now. Something called "Cool Light"... It is white light as opposed to yellow and I like it a lot. They're not as hot and therefore my room with all the electric shiat in it isn't as hot now. Great shiat.

My question is, if they save so much electricity and we're in such a energy crisis, why doesn't the government just require the phasing out of older bulbs and have these companies focus 100% on the newer style ones? That should lower the cost of the bulbs even more and bring gas costs down to like $1 again, right? ;)

on a side note. Where the hell are the LED light bulbs? dont they also use less power and burn out never?

I was in a hotel with several of these things. In the middle of the nite I realized they would flash every couple of minutes. VERY ANNOYING.
I unscrewed them and put them under something. Only thing I could figure is the hotel had wireless internet and mybe that was building a charge somehow.

I am waiting for Quantum Dot LEDs. Then I will rewire all my lighting to 1.5 volts or what ever.

Who the hell calls these things swirls or ice cream bulbs?! Everyone knows it's a twisty-cone.

My apartment building has them absolutely everywhere in the common areas, and I have them in my place as well. I've been using them for over 10 years now. I like the idea of saving electricity even though I live in an area with rather cheap rates as compared to the rest of the continent.

Bladel /waiting for LED Bulbs.

Me too. They'll outperform the compact fluorescents in efficiency much as the CFL's did in comparison to incandescents. Way cool stuff.

I can't even watch the CFL.

Beemer
I agree completely. I AM using them. I just hope that people recognize they're hazardous waste and don't contribute to the rise in mercury poisoning going on.

My post was not directed at you, more at people that would use the diffiiculty of disposing of mercury as an excuse not to use CFBs. As I re-read my post, I see how it may have come across differently.

Here's a question: do they ALL contain mercury? I've seen some packages that don't have the mercury warning.

Bladel: Utility companies should be giving these away during summer to prevent peak alerts.

The electric co-op to which I belong gives away 2 of these to each member attending its annual meeting each year.

I have accumulated 6 through these meetings, installed them in both ceiling fans and the 7-light fixture in my kitchen. When I installed the lighting fixtures in my basement, I put CFLs in all of them that use bulbs.

In the hottest part of the summer, my power bill was actually less than $100.

They have a short

CFLs are great; we have perhaps two dozen in the house. The only places we aren't using them is in dimmed fixtures and outside (they don't start when it's -20 during the winter). But the SERIOUS conservationists I know are already using LED bulbs, which significantly less power-- PAR 38 spots that draw 8 watts, for example. But they are still $35 each, so we mortals will have to wait for technology and volume to bring the price down.

I've got a few, but they don't light up a big room as well, and the color is different. I don't really like it, but I'm too lazy to switch back.

"Do the math."

I was told there'd be no math.

OH NOES!

The color temp! The color temp!

THE COLOR TEMP IS OFF!!!

Oh noes I can't stand it!

I need correct color temperature

ooooOOOOOOoooOOOOOOO color temp color temp color temp

dsmeyer: Stay away from those!

My front porch lamp would kill a standard incandescent bulb in 1-2 weeks. I replaced it with a CFL 3 years ago, and it's still going. Sounds like you just got a bad batch.

But hey, it's your power bill.

Assgasket: Yeah, but try reading by one. Flourescent light flickers at 60 HZ, gives me headaches, and generally makes people look like death warmed over.

Compact fluorescent lights have never, ever used 60Hz ballasts, you can't package 60Hz magnetics capable of handling 15watts in something that small. Their switching rate is somewhere up in the range of 10s of kHz, which is why they've only become economical in the past 10 years or so along with the introduction of inexpensive power switching components capable of handling the required power levels at those frequencies. Power electronics have progressed to the point that even many tube style fixtures use electronic ballasts now because of their performance advantages.

We bought a house about three years ago and every freakin bulb in it was a flourescent of some kind. Changed every single one of them out on the first day.

I sit under flourescents all day at work. Why would I want to do it at home too? To save $5 a year?

/shenanigans on the article

oh and for the thinkgeek linkage.

im talking REAL light bulbs. not

"These bulbs are generally not intended as a complete replacement for incandescents - these bulbs are lower output but more focused"

LED lights(pops) are out there, they're just still too expensive.

The better CFLs have greater lifespans than the cheepos. You get what you pay for.

Fark II: But the SERIOUS conservationists I know are already using LED bulbs, which significantly less power-- PAR 38 spots that draw 8 watts, for example. But they are still $35 each, so we mortals will have to wait for technology and volume to bring the price down.

They are not terribly practical. The "big" LED standard light bulb replacement puts out the same light as a 25 watt incandescent. It isn't much light.

Big_B: I sit under flourescents all day at work. Why would I want to do it at home too? To save $5 a year?


EXACTLY!

divad : on a side note. Where the hell are the LED light bulbs? dont they also use less power and burn out never?

You just answered your own question -- they never burn out, so the people who make bulbs never have to sell you more than (1 X n, where n=number of fixtures in house).

As the .com bust finally taugt everyone -- recurring revenue is the key to any sucessful business model.

I always hated the bluish light from fluorescents, but if you actually look at what you are buying, you can get ones that have a nice, warm color. Its especially hard to notice if you put them behind a lamp shade or mix and match in multi-light fixtures. I look at the extra price tag as a one-time thing. I can't recall replacing more than 2 CFs in the last 3 or so years, versus replacing regular bulbs all the time.

What the hell is "color temp"? I think you are talking shiat.
Oh, you are such a sensitive creature aren't you.

chiliboots : Compact fluorescent lights have never, ever used 60Hz ballasts, you can't package 60Hz magnetics capable of handling 15watts in something that small. Their switching rate is somewhere up in the range of 10s of kHz, which is why they've only become economical in the past 10 years or so along with the introduction of inexpensive power switching components capable of handling the required power levels at those frequencies. Power electronics have progressed to the point that even many tube style fixtures use electronic ballasts now because of their performance advantages.

Then how come they still flicker and look like ass?

Incandescent light bulbs lack the warm glow and intoxicating carbon monoxide emissions of good ol' gas lights.

They'll never catch on.

Feh,

I like em, but the color temperature is still off. Specifically its around 5,600K versus daylight of 3,200K

And naturally, most of the lights in my house are recessed and use a different style lamp, so I cant use CFBs for most of the stuff.

I switched over our porch light and it works nice, but that blue color gets annoying.

dj4aces: My front porch lamp would kill a standard incandescent bulb in 1-2 weeks. I replaced it with a CFL 3 years ago, and it's still going. Sounds like you just got a bad batch.

I did the same thing - but in the winter, there's not enough light to see to get up the steps unless they've been on for at least 8 hours.

How hard is to put a lampshade on one? I stuck one on the front porch and sometimes when it is really cold it takes awhile for it to come on, but then I get paid by the hour so it doesn't really matter I guess.

Where the hell are the LED light bulbs? dont they also use less power and burn out never?

It's just that once they burn out they are (by definition) no longer LED's. They simply "become DED's".

/did someone say LED diode?

Remember the Rock's oft repeated soliloquoy in terms of how he would taunt opponents in the WWE? Something about shining the SOB up, turning it sideways, etc. You can do that with your expensive ass CFB bulb.

And to imagine this is the same board where people ridiculed the 9/11 truth movement... How pathetic.