# Energy Saving Fluorescent Lights



## BruiseLee (Feb 8, 2005)

I bought a bunch of these cheap at Costco. I've bought their 100, 75, and 60 watt equivalent lights. I thought they were manufactured by Feit Electric, but looking at an actual 75 watt bulb I see "American Power Products" on the side. The 60 watters seems to be made by a company called "Conserv-Energy".

The packaging says these things are supposed to last 8 times longer than a standard 1000 watt bulb. O.K., so that's 8,000 hours.

I've got to tell you, I am very disappointed with these things. I've had bulbs last less than 2 weeks. I don't have these things hooked up to dimmers, nor are they being used outside. I'm not using them in enclosed fixtures, either, or any of the other places the instructions warn you not to use them. The worst ones are the 75W ones (actually 23W) made by American Power Products.

What have your experinces been with energy saving fluorescents? Perhaps these are just a bad brands? Or, maybe I just got a bad batch? I have to admit I installed some in an exit tunnel where I work. They are on 24/7 there, and definitely are lasting longer than conventional bulbs in that application. Perhaps turning them on and off, even if its only a few times a day, shortens their lifetimes? 

Can anyone recommend a good brand of fluorescents light?

Bruise


----------



## evan9162 (Feb 8, 2005)

I've had good success with Commercial Electric CFs (sold at Home Depot). All that I have bought have been safe for recessed or enclosed fixtures.


----------



## modamag (Feb 8, 2005)

I also got 20-30 at Costco ... 6 years ago. Only couple died on me thru out the year. It reduced my average electric bill from $120 to $50 for a family of 8.
I just recently retrofit couple of places with the quick start CFL version from Home Depot and found that it brighten up much quicker and slightly brighter than the ones at Costco.

If you want instant-on brightness these CFL are not for you but if you leave them on all night like I do they are the magic bulb.

Here's a thread of the different CFL other members used.


----------



## Lynx_Arc (Feb 8, 2005)

I got some ccfl screw in flourescent lights from a dollar store and 3 out of 4 work fine but the color tints are to the excessive. None were labeled for color and some are an ice white or very blue cool white while the others are a very warm white. I would say you take a chance buying any lights of unknown brand these days, especially flourescent since they are costlier. I have some GE and lights of america CCFL twister types and they have saved me a bundle especially when I was zotting incans every 4-6 months and a decent flourescent twister type seem to last about 4-6 years.


----------



## greenlight (Feb 8, 2005)

I bought 'Fe1t electric' Ecobulb at Walgrns. 75w. replacement uses 18w.. Pretty cheap. Works good enough, probably not the best for reading.


----------



## James S (Feb 8, 2005)

I've had bad luck with 100 watt equivalence or greater bulbs. Except for the more expensive brands (like marathon and even GE, those have worked good for me) all 100 watt plus equivalents have died an early death...

In addition to that, bad power will kill these bulbs in a big hurry! Check the fixtures that you're screwing them into, if they are loose or corroded in any way then the bulbs will die in a hurry. i lost 3 $10 bulbs in one lamp until i replaced the socket in the lamp after noticing that it was corroded a bit inside. After doing that the last bulb has burned perfectly for years. I always checkup the sockets before putting in a new CF bulb. Sometimes it's easy to just pry the connection up so that it makes a good contact but for some a new socket is necessary or you'll keep loosing the bulbs.

Turning the on or off a couple of times a day shouldn't decrease their life too much. but there is a point a diminishing returns, somebody around here posted some math once. I don't remember the details but it was something like if you're going to turn them back on within 2 hours or less, then there isn't any point to turn them off.


----------



## peskyphotons (Feb 10, 2005)

When I purchased some new lamps from an electrical wholesale distributer, I was told that fluorescent lamps need to be turned on and left on for a number of hours so that the lamp can burn in. these where the T8 lamps in an industrial fixture. The lamps that I treat this way and not turned off and on a lot appear to be holding up well.


----------



## Lynx_Arc (Feb 11, 2005)

I have some 100 watt equivelent name brand cfl lamps but I find many of them have to *warm up* before they get to max brightness, taking a few minutes and a few of the cheaper ones interfere with my intercoms. If you are not leaving the bulb on more than a few minutes at a time I wouldn't bother as much with flourescent. I tend to make sure I have flourescent in lights I use for more than 5 minutes at a time. I have a tiny 3watt flourescent light I use as a nightlight when I leave the house so when I come back I don't have to fumble for a light switch. You would be suprised how much light a 3 watt tube can put out and you can leave it on for 24 hours using less power of a 100 watt bulb for an hour.


----------



## Tom M (Feb 11, 2005)

I had poor luck with a pack of four I bought at costco. With moderate (not all night) use 3 of the 4 failed within six months. Other brands (from Home Depot or Lowes) seem to last better. I have some that have been running 24/7 for nearly two years and others that have lasted 5+ years in moderate service.


----------



## StuU (Feb 12, 2005)

I have been using CF lights for around 10 years. Some of my lights have seen 7-8 years of daily usage. These lights are on around 6 hours daily on average. I can only remember one or two that have burned out- and these were being used 24/7 for 3 years plus.

I'd recommend that you avoid the Walmart & Costco off brands and go with the good brands like Sylvania.


----------



## Darell (Feb 12, 2005)

My data point -

I have about 25 CFs from Costco. Most have been in service for 8+ YEARS. Not one of them has given me a problem. No idea who the mfg is, but I couldn't be happier considering the price I paid, the energy I've saved, and the life of the product. I seem to be in the minority here, though. I've been using CFs since they became a mass-consumer product, and if I remember correctly, I believe that I've replaced ONE of them in all this tme. I have probably put 60 of them in service in the past 15 years.


----------



## James S (Feb 12, 2005)

I just counted /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif I have no fewer than 70 CFL bulbs from all different manufacturers installed in the house at this moment.

I can't tell for sure how much they reduced my electric bill alone, But them coupled with loosing the heat that all the regular bulbs generated this summer my electric bill was on average a hundred bucks less a month during the prime cooling season than the previous summer.

I was VERY happy about this! so thats a combination of the lower electric use and the lower cooling costs from have thousands of watts of little heaters running all the time. Take away problems with bad sockets and the only ones I've lost with fewer hours than what they should were the high powered ones as I mentioned above.


----------



## BruiseLee (Feb 12, 2005)

[ QUOTE ]
*James S said:*
Take away problems with bad sockets and the only ones I've lost with fewer hours than what they should were the high powered ones as I mentioned above. 

[/ QUOTE ]
Pardon my electrical ignorance, but what is it about "bad sockets" that so adversely affect the life of these lights. What exactly constitutes a "bad socket?" Dirty, corroded, loose, all of the above?

Bruise


----------



## BVH (Feb 13, 2005)

STUu I completely agree that the Sylvania (or the Phillipps) are problem-free for me. The cheapies tend to be 2700K in color which I do not like. They also tend to have the 60htz hum. I understand Phillipps bulbs are 2700K and Sylvania's are 3000K which I like much better. 3000 is whiter than incandescent, but not like the typical fluorescent tube. Sylvania just came out with a 3500K, 13 watt bulb that is too white for the inside of the house but it is touted as a Daylight color - good for SAD sufferer's,


----------



## NewBie (Feb 13, 2005)

My boss even had nine *GE* CFL bulbs go bad on him in under a year, and we made frequent trips to Costco to get replacements.

More info in this thread:
http://www.candlepowerforums.com/ubbthreads/showflat.php?Cat=&Board=UBB22&Number=746315


----------



## BVH (Feb 13, 2005)

OK Newbie, did you have one of your boost boards driving this thing at 2 million Volts?


----------



## NewBie (Feb 13, 2005)

No.

Here is a recall on another different CFL (not GE) :

Manufacturer: Technical Consumer Products Inc., of Aurora, Ohio 

Hazard: The bulbs can overheat and spark, posing a burn hazard to consumers.

Incidents/Injuries: Technical Consumer Products has received 16 reports of overheating bulbs. No injuries have been reported. 

Description: The recalled 32-watt, 3-way (40-75-150 watt output) compact fluorescent bulbs were sold under the brand names Commercial Electric (Home Depot) and DuraBright (Orchard Supply Hardware). The bulbs are about seven inches high and have a white, spiral fluorescent tube attached to a white plastic base. The following item numbers, which can be found on the back of the packaging and the base of the bulb, are included in the recall: 283-924, 575-717, and 69032. 

Sold at: Home Depot and Orchard Supply Hardware nationwide from April 2004 through November 2004 for about $10 (single pack) or $19 (double pack). 

Manufactured in: China 

Website includes packaging photo

http://www.cpsc.gov/cpscpub/prerel/prhtml05/05064.html


----------



## wasBlinded (Feb 13, 2005)

Fluorescent bulb life is markedly reduced by use in temperatures deviating from normal room temperature, and also from frequent on/off cycling.


----------



## James S (Feb 13, 2005)

NewBie, thats hilarious /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif I have the exact bulb they recalled sitting right here. it was one that suffered an infant mortality condition about a week after I put it in.

Didn't overheat, just started flickering all the way off/on at about 120hz. very interesting effect. The smell of burning electronics was obvious in the room after I turned it off, and some fluid leaking out the cooling fins. I thought it was just a bad capacitor. Now I'l definitely be returning it.

I'm torn though, I really want to tear the ballast open and see what they did to make it so easy to overheat... But getting one that won't is probably more important, it was a rather expensive bulb.

Bruise lee: see my post a few posts upward. Yes, a loose or corroded socket will eat CF bulbs for breakfast /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif


----------



## NewBie (Feb 14, 2005)

Well James, I know GE went back and put proper temperature rated capacitors in their CFL bulbs. Supposedly it fixed their failure issues. So, I'd expect the same for these bulbs also, especially with your mention of fluid...

BTW, if you decide to open it, I'd sure like to hear about the manufacturer of the capacitor and anything else you can glean off the casing.


----------



## yuandrew (Feb 21, 2005)

I've used a lot of these and all of mine are still working; including my 8 year old Lights of America "The Bulb" model 2000. I'm still surprised; almost everyone here has a problem with Lights of America Products

I did have a GE one fail shortly after I installed it. It turned out one of the electrode filiments was bad. A quick tap near that area and it worked again. It will work as long as there's not a lot of vibration going around

For the cheap Chinese made bulbs, I'm having good luck with Top-Lite and Greenlite products as well as a bulb by Max-Lite. They've all made it past their first year without any problems.

The easiest way to open a CFL for the electronics is to cut it open at the joint. Work a hacksaw or a Dremel with a cutting disc at low speed all the way around until the top part comes free. Cut or unsolder the wires going from the bulb to the board and pry the board out of the base.

P.S. After you do this, try connecting the bulb part itself to a CCFL inverter. I've got one in a battery lantern that draws a lot of comments from people who see it.
"Hey, how can you run a 110volt bulb on batteries!"


----------



## lahjik (Feb 27, 2005)

[ QUOTE ]
*BruiseLee said:*
I'm not using them in enclosed fixtures, either, or any of the other places the instructions warn you not to use them. 


[/ QUOTE ]

I just picked some up to try them out in a few fixtures that tend to stay on a lot. The bulbs (Sylvania) refer to "fully enclosed recessed fixtures." Does that include anything with a glass bowl that fully covers the bulb area and is secured with screws but is dropped down from the ceiling area? 

What is the problem with these lights in the enclosed fixtures? Maybe I need to re-evaluate what I am doing...

thanks


----------



## Ken_McE (Feb 27, 2005)

>The bulbs (Sylvania) refer to "fully enclosed recessed fixtures." Does >that include anything with a glass bowl that fully covers the bulb area >and is secured with screws but is dropped down from the ceiling >area? 

No. If you have air flow you are not fully enclosed.

>What is the problem with these lights in the enclosed fixtures?

The manufacturer is concerned that they will overheat. I have found that if you burn them base up in an enclosed fixture sometimes the glue that holds in the glass will fail. They may still run, but now the bulbs are hanging by their wires.


----------



## paulr (Feb 27, 2005)

I've had mixed results from CF bulbs. I've used some with good color that burnt out very fast, and some dollar store ones that had awful color. Right now I'm using some Feit Electric ones that I'm very happy with. I got them for 4/$2.00 at Walgreens, subsidized by the power company. They have good color and output and have held up pretty well so far. There's another brand that I got also, that I haven't tried yet.


----------



## PhotonWrangler (Feb 28, 2005)

I saw one that was mounted base-up in an enclosed fixture and it failed in a manner where most of the phosphor coating burned up and the lamp was actually clear! Wow. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/ooo.gif


----------

