Energy efficient flourescent bulbs

[mac78]

I remember reading somewhere here about these, but couldn't find it. In the past 8 to 12 months, I have switched to all flourescent bulbs everywhere. I am not happy with them. I can not tell you how many have "blown" or quit working. They are supposed to last years....yea right. Not only do I not like the "light" they give off, they are expensive and I have not seen any change in our electric bill. The last batch I bought was at Ace Hardware, they had them for $1.97 each. I bought $20 worth, and at least 3 of that batch went bad.

On the other hand, I have one of those long flourescent bulbs in my kitchen above the sink, that bulb (long tube) has lasted many years. Why are they so different?

I am not sure if I will continue to buy them anymore.

[CohenCottage]

i totally agree with you marie...my husband keeps buying the cfls and i keep making him return them because the light they put off is gross. the tube lights are similar, but in the compact ones it is spiraled inside so the tube is long but it doesn't make the lightbulb any bigger. i think the gasses they have inside might be different too. can't quite remember.

[vintage girl]

My hubs insists on buying them also. Personally I think it is all a scam. Mine have blown also, and you are not supposed to dispose of them like regular light bulbs:confused: I also have seen no savings what so ever. I am going back to regular old bulbs. If I want to save money on my light bill, I will just turn off the lights;)

[memmey]

Hey you guys I am trying to save the planet :D so I use them all over my house. I haven't changed a bulb in ages. I get the ones from Loews. I notice that they do not get hot AND an ivy will grow huge if you sit it under a lamp.
I changed the bulbs in all of the house even the ceiling lights. I swear I can't see any difference in the lighting in house. Incandecent light always seemed a little to orange/yellow for me .
Vin, I read that birds see flourescent light in strobe . Out eyes don't catch the effect but birds do. Also Vin I wrote you a private message but your private messaging is disabled.
Anyway.......I am having my electicity averaged and they just lowered my bill to $118.00 a month including the security light....see it was the bulbs I tell ya ;).....:p

[vintage girl]

Memmey,

I will fix my private messaging:) I bought the bulbs from Lowes also. Maybe I got bad ones:p I heard the same thing about birds. Interesting. Speaking of birds, boy spring is definately here. My birds are noisy as all heck and I have to watch my fingers, as they are biting more also:eek::D

[RoseMary]

I kinda think it's a scam, too. I don't know anyone that really likes them. I really don't like the 'light' that they put out, either. I only bought a couple then switched back.

So many people have had problems with them going out or blowing out and they are supposed to be dangerous if they break. How many people have never broken a light bulb? I read you are supposed to air out the room for 15 minutes before you clean up. I can just see little kids trying to clean up so mom or dad won't find out they broke a light bulb:eek:.

[Carrie]

I've been using CFLS for about three years now or since I moved into this house.
I've had to change three in that time, but I have 36 of them. That's a lot of bulbs. Starting off wasn't cheap. I got used to the light too. It is dimmer than regular lights, but since I have an multiple lights in each fixture, I don't notice much. They are dimmer when they start off but much brighter when they warm up.
I think I save money. I only pay about fifty to sixty dollars in summer, with air and about a hundred and fifty in winter. I think I'll get a more energy efficent furnace and a tankless water heater before I replace the bulbs with the old rounded ones, because those things are the culprits for high electric bills in winter.