Are CFL bulbs gone from Walmart stores now?

Lynx_Arc

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I went to a Walmart super store (has grocery section also) yesterday and occasionally I drift into the light bulb section just to see what new offerings and prices are and saw halogen incan bulbs (standard screw in) for $4 or more a pair on a separate aisle apart from the on bulb aisle (one side) with an end cap of other halogen incan bulbs and at the other end of the aisle (not on the endcap) there was the fluorescent tube lights plus in there a few LED strip lights and a sign peering out over the top "Fluorescent" or something like that. I spent a half hour going back and forth it seems (maybe it was 15 minutes) and went to the aisles on one side which was the electronics (video games) and the other side... tools paint etc.

To put it simply I couldn't find a single CFL based light in that area not even a CFL based "flood" light there was over half the aisle of LED lights with a few halogen incans in the mix and some smaller screw in incan bulbs for things like vanities and night lights etc. ARE CFLs becoming history in favor of expensive halogen incans and LED bulbs? A year ago or so I bought a 4 pack of CFLs from walmart for 88 cents and the cheapest (subsidized partially) LED bulb was close to $2 EACH. Now I'm not putting down LED bulbs but CFLs costing me a quarter a piece vs LED bulbs costing 8 times or more as much speaks volumes they should do away with incan halogen bulbs more than CFLs IMO. I guess if I need more CFL bulbs either Walmart hid them in another area or I'm going to have to go to Home Depot or Lowes or Target to get cheap CFLs till LED bulbs to me get more efficient and/or cheaper.
 

iamhacked

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GE stopped producing CFLs. Weird you couldn't find Great Value ones though. Walmart is never the best place to buy light bulbs anyway
 

Lynx_Arc

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GE stopped producing CFLs. Weird you couldn't find Great Value ones though. Walmart is never the best place to buy light bulbs anyway

I didn't find any brand CFLs at all... of any type the only fluorescents were linear tubes.
 

Lynx_Arc

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I just checked Target today and they have GE CFLs on clearance and only have a few of this generic brand UP&UP I think (arrow). It is beginning to look like CFLs may be history a year or so from now if not sooner as they can sell LED bulbs for a little more money if they drop CFLs maybe it is more profit for bulb makers and sellers. The bad thing is that 100 and 150 watt CFLs were not impossible to find but try to find a 150 watt LED bulb and see how far you get.
 

Going_Supernova

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I hate CFL's, they have been a total disappointment to me. They don't last nearly as long as they say they do on the packages, and the light quality is inferior in many instances to incan. bulbs. I have had several malfunction and heard stories of them starting house fires. I just received 4 LEDs this week that I ordered off Amazon to test the LED market--so far I like what I got. Time will tell. Yes, they were a little expensive, but these use less energy than the CFL equivalent, and hopefully will last longer--they are certainly brighter!
 

jthj

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I get why someone would still want incandescent or halogen but CFL? I won't be missing those. I think LEDs are MUCH better. The main problem is probably totally enclosed fixtures that I bet EVERY house has plenty of and are in fact required by code here in rooms for storage. What are were supposed to put in those?
 

Lynx_Arc

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I get why someone would still want incandescent or halogen but CFL? I won't be missing those. I think LEDs are MUCH better. The main problem is probably totally enclosed fixtures that I bet EVERY house has plenty of and are in fact required by code here in rooms for storage. What are were supposed to put in those?
The one reason for CFLs still is cost mainly as the prices of them used to be around $1 a bulb or less than 25 cents a bulb subsidized. Compare that to 1.82 a bulb subsidized for LED bulbs and $2-$5 a bulb otherwise and LED bulbs (cheap ones) aren't that much more efficient than the CFLs IMO... you would have to have one last a lot longer in use to get energy savings back due to the cost difference and I'm hesitant to think a cheap $2 LED bulb will last any longer than a cheap $1 or less CFL.
 

Lynx_Arc

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Not many CFLs at Lowes or Home Depot anymore either. Good riddance.

I'm not pleased myself as 4 100W equivalent LED bulbs cost about $20 when you could get 4-6 CFL bulbs for about $10.
In other words people with not a lot of money may be forced to use Halogen incans instead of LEDs because there are no CFL's available and Halogens are a lot less energy efficient.
 

Going_Supernova

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I'm not pleased myself as 4 100W equivalent LED bulbs cost about $20 when you could get 4-6 CFL bulbs for about $10.
In other words people with not a lot of money may be forced to use Halogen incans instead of LEDs because there are no CFL's available and Halogens are a lot less energy efficient.


Ace hardware has 60 Watt equivalent LED's for less than $2.00 each, unlimited quantities.
 

Lynx_Arc

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Ace hardware has 60 Watt equivalent LED's for less than $2.00 each, unlimited quantities.
You are trying to compare 60watt bulb prices with 100 watt bulb prices. I bought a 4 pack of 60 watt CFLs a year or so ago at Walmart for 88 cents you can't even buy 1 60 watt LED bulb for that price. Prior to all this bulb shenanigans you could sometimes find a 4 pack of 100 watt incans for about $2-$3 now you have to pay that for 1 incan (halogen) bulb and can't find an 100 watt LED bulb for anything around that price.
Essentially we are being forced into buy less efficient incans to get 100 watt bulbs unless you want to pay $6+ a bulb for 100 watt LED bulbs. To be honest I don't readily trust the cheap LED bulbs to last much longer than the decent quality CFLs do.
 
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idleprocess

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In other words people with not a lot of money may be forced to use Halogen incans instead of LEDs because there are no CFL's available and Halogens are a lot less energy efficient.

If a few dollars on the front end purchase cost is the single determining factor, you're going to get hosed on the back end operating cost every single time.
 

Lynx_Arc

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If a few dollars on the front end purchase cost is the single determining factor, you're going to get hosed on the back end operating cost every single time.
Yes, if the bulbs hold up long enough to pay back the difference in cost in savings. I think some people that were using CFL bulbs will backtrack to Halogen incans over LED due to price shock when they have no intermediate option (CFL).
 

idleprocess

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Yes, if the bulbs hold up long enough to pay back the difference in cost in savings. I think some people that were using CFL bulbs will backtrack to Halogen incans over LED due to price shock when they have no intermediate option (CFL).

The cheap LED's from known brands are closing in on the CFL pricing of a few years back and seem to last about as long - only without high-voltage circuitry to kick-start that arc and maintain it.
 

Lynx_Arc

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The cheap LED's from known brands are closing in on the CFL pricing of a few years back and seem to last about as long - only without high-voltage circuitry to kick-start that arc and maintain it.
While I agree LED bulb prices on the low end are dropping dramatically the incan bulb prices have skyrocketed do to laws outlawing non halogen (less efficient) bulbs in standard socket types and CFLs are still attractive in cost and use even though we are finally seeing LED bulbs more efficient such that they are able to finally pay for themselves over CFLs it still takes awhile of heavy use to do so as they are perhaps 50% more efficient that CFLs. The big issue is IMO the higher output LED bulbs which would save MORE electricity over CFLs (total, not percentage) are still too costly to compete with CFLs in the market. A 4 pack of 100 watt CFLs with 69 lumens/watt is about $6 while a 4 pack of 100 watt LEDs at about 107 lumens/watt is over $20 a 4 pack. unless you are leaving all 4 bulbs on constantly it will take awhile to get back the $15 difference as when you include tax you add another 1.70 vs about 50 cents here in oklahoma. If you have one LED bulb not last the distance you lose 5.50 savings while a CFL is less than $2 lost in savings you can almost buy 3 CFLs for the price of 1 LED in 4 pack pricing but in single bulb pricing you can buy a 4 pack of CFLs for the same price as 1 LED 100 watt bulb.
 

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It's a marketing decision by a major manufacturer that will use their clout, and the ability of the largest retailer to limit consumer choice.

From National Geographic's article:

GE says it's partnering with Walmart and Sam's Club to promote the shift to LEDs. Others in the industry are following suit. Ace Hardware emphasizes LEDs over CFLs and halogen bulbs on its website. A spokesperson for manufacturer Philips says that while it has a "healthy" CFL business, it is "leading the shift toward" LEDs, and its sales figures reflect the trend.
 
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Lynx_Arc

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It's a marketing decision by a major manufacturer that will use their clout, and the ability of the largest retailer to limit consumer choice.

From National Geographic's article:
I wouldn't doubt that Walmart was involved in using clout to limit choice as recently you could still go to a major home improvement store and buy CFLs although I noticed the prices of them seems to have gone up some. I use light bulbs up so rarely now with the exception of 100 watt bulbs I have enough for the rest of my life as I use low level LED lighting and flashlights and headlamps so to invest in LED light bulbs for me makes little sense at all.
 

degarb

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Walmart has led bulbs over 100 lpw for $2, for a while. Not sure why i woulf want a 55 lpw cfl. The 800 lumen version is bright. Out of 30 purchased, 2 were bad. I prefer the 4.5 watt ones. . Flaming comment removed.
 
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