I’ve been running a bit of an informal experiment in house lighting for the past seven or eight years.\u00c2\u00a0 Been using CFL’s since they first appeared in the local retail outlets.\u00c2\u00a0 Hate to think about how expensive they were before they became Politically Correctified.<\/p>\n
Some of the fixtures in the hacienda have sockets for two bulbs. I’ve gradually been removing the old bulbs and replacing them(simultaneously) with a mixed pair – a regular incandescent paired with a “name brand” compact fluorescent. Just wondering if the CFL longevity claims have any merit.<\/p>\n
The sample size is pretty small, but the CFL performance has been a lot less than the hype. I had high hopes for one of the outdoor fixtures, but the outdoors CFL crapped out before the incandescent. The CFL crapped out first in one of the indoor fixtures too.<\/p>\n
CFL Bad: <\/strong>The bad points<\/p>\n CFL Good<\/strong>:<\/p>\n I also had high hopes for the longevity claims – hopes were shattered by the reality.\u00c2\u00a0 Don’t see any improvements in either longevity or the light color with newer bulbs.\u00c2\u00a0 Wondering what the cause for the “early” failures might be. Is it:<\/p>\n Whatever the reason, the CFL’s are moving rapidly to the top of the “get rid of this crap” list.\u00c2\u00a0 Several reasons, besides the shorter than advertised bulb life.\u00c2\u00a0 Don’t much care for the light color when they are the only source.<\/p>\n The color can also be a\u00c2\u00a0 positive side to the CFL’s – if you like it. \u00c2\u00a0It seems worthwhile \u00c2\u00a0to combine a CFL and an incandescent for workshop lighting, the two together are good.<\/p>\n Conclusion<\/strong>: In general, for my purposes, CFL’s suck. The CFL’s absolutely suck for outdoor usages.\u00c2\u00a0 CFL’s really suck most in the winter outdoors.\u00c2\u00a0 They seem to be good for about half there rated output once temps drop into the 50’s.<\/p>\n\n
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