There has been only one CFL which has actually saved us money and performed well and that's a very old design with an external ballast which has NEVER failed in 17 years of use, approximately 34 of these devices made by Philips (U-tube 13w 827/2P PL-S type made in Poland) for approx $3.00/ea. Pairs are plugged into recessed fixtures in the office of my company. We write on each the installed date on the base with a Sharpie pen (easy to do as its white plastic). They last typically 5 years and are used 8-10 hours a day x 5 days a week. They no longer state the lifetime on the boxes they are packaged in. On the web I found a statement that they last 10,000 hours. (8 hrs/day x 5 days/week x 52 weeks/year = 2080 hrs/year so the 10,000 hour figure seems to be about right)
They are used in place of standard incandescent lamps which produce much more heat and don't last nearly as long and raise the cost of air conditioning the office (due to the amount of heat radiated).
They are easy to re-lamp (they plug in) and are not at all fragile. Never have broken one. We take them to our town's recycling facility to dispose of them; what they do with them, frankly, I don't know (but I'll stop by today and ask).
Also use them in Luxo magnifier bench inspection lamps and there too they have lasted for at least 15 years (of occasional use).
I went to a seminar on the very odd looking new Philips high efficency lamp (the yellow/blue gadget). I was not impressed. Its so odd looking I can't imagine putting it in any of my home lighting fixtures.
Oh, and one more item, dimability - there's a nice warm glow from incandescent lamps which are dimmed which CFLs and LEDs can't begin to duplicate. I own an 1878 Victorian home and have reproduction lighting (they look like gas lights) which cannot take CFLs (candelabra bases). If the incandescent lamps become unavailable, I'm in deep do-do! Fortunately, I think they will last a very long time as they are normally dimmed and I've found that reducing the voltage even 20% greatly increases the life of the lamps.
I recall that many years ago we owned a condo that had a hanging lighting fixture in the stairway leading to the second floor. The lamps didn't last and it was a royal pain to get a ladder to safely be placed so I could replace the bulbs. What to do.... I took the lamp fixture down and inserted in series with the mains hot lead wire a suitably sized silicon rectifier diode which dropped the voltage to 50% (approx), of course, as the result is a half wave voltage. No more bulb replacements were needed in the 2 years we owned the condo (1974-6). I'll bet they are still working.
I haven't seen any supply house here in the USA like Leroy-Merlin, which carries such a large choice in lighting. 5 years is half the life they promise
Bob
-----Original Message-----
From: TechNet [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Steven Creswick
Sent: Wednesday, August 29, 2012 4:26 AM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: [TN] what is the reliability of CFLs and LEDs as incandescent light bulb replacements?
Brian,
Wow! The only 'early ones' that I could get were made to the West of the US [across a large pond], and they were not cheap!
I remember in one purchase, I had 50% mortality just getting them home. The store asked me what I had done with them? ... took them out of box and screwed into socket. Didn't work!!! Here I am! Had to expend an Additional significant amount of fuel and time to return them. Suggested that they take the rest of the shipment and put them back into the shipping container and send them back to point of origin. My 'environmental savings' had long since been flushed away.
I prefer the cool white [daylight] bulbs vs the dim 'warm' ones myself...
I remain cautious about putting them in enclosed fixtures and/or continuous use applications. Certain brands are on my do-not-use, or use-with-caution list.
I still remain skeptical about how much additional Hg was released into the environment by less than intelligent, frustrated consumers in the maddening rush to 'save the environment.'
Even though prices of CFL's have come down and reliability has gone up, they are still not particularly cost effective for many of my 'typical' home-use applications. Your situation, on-the-island, could be different, however. IMHO, 'Feel good' still remains a large factor in many cases. LED luminaries are just way too expensive yet!
Steve
-----Original Message-----
From: TechNet [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Brian Ellis
Sent: Wednesday, August 29, 2012 2:42 AM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: [TN] what is the reliability of CFLs and LEDs as incandescent light bulb replacements?
I agree that early CFLs were terrible for domestic use. Several years ago, being a professional environmentalist, I changed nearly every bulb in the house. I was disappointed because of 50 Hz flicker (well, 100 Hz really!), poor lifetime, cold light, long start-up time, poor reliability and high cost (about the equivalent of $10 each). They were all made in the USA (I was told the European ones weren't available). I think I must have taken 20 back for guarantee replacement.
Little-by-little, they were replaced by European and Chinese ones with warm phosphors, faster start-up, high-frequency (flicker-free) "ballasts" with minimal mercury and 1/3 of the price. These seem to be lasting their advertised lifetime -- can't really say, as I've replaced only one in ~5 years. I'm now entirely satisfied. I'm also amazed at the great variety of shapes, styles and sizes that are sold now, including traditional bulb-shaped ones. I recently installed a new light and went to Leroy-Merlin for a decorative CFL; it took me half-an-hour to find what I was looking for, such was the choice. I would guess they must have had 200 or more different types of CFL on their shelves, which occupied a whole aisle.
Brian
On 29/08/2012 00:29, Bob Landman wrote:
> A very interesting discussion about what's inside these new devices. Have any of you torn one of them apart to see how well they are made? You'll be amazed at the poor quality of the components in a lamp that's supposed to have a 10 year life.
>
> -Bob Landman
>
> IFTLE 98 Lester the Lightbulb vs CFL and LED : the Saga Continues By
> Dr Phil Garrou
>
> In IFTLE 63 [ see IFTLE 63, "Bidding Adieu to Lester Lightbulb http://www.electroiq.com/blogs/insights_from_leading_edge/2011/08/iftle-63-bidding-adieu-to-lester-lightbulb.html] back in Aug 2011 IFTLE attempted to make the case that our little 25 cent friend Lester the incandescent bulb had gotten a bump rap as he awaited extinction on death row.
>
> It's not that the claims of the newer technologies (CFL and LED) using less power than incandescent bulbs are invalid, but rather what appears to be the bold faced lie that their much greater cost is compensated by their decades long lifetimes that upsets all Lester supporters.
>
> http://www.electroiq.com/blogs/insights_from_leading_edge/2012/04/iftl
> e-98-lester-the-lightbulb-vs-cfl-and-led-the-saga-continues.html
>
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