Compact Flourescent bulbs with good light output? Also mercury concerns?

[martygreene]

I'd love to switch entirely to CF's, but there's one main thing holding us back- the light quality, or lack thereof.

All the ones we've tried so far have very poor throw and dim, off-color light. The warming period for some is also downright awful, taking almost an hour. I can't imagine they're all like this, but we're wasting so much money buying bulbs which are useless for anything other than a closet- and our closets don't even have sockets in them! A huge bonus too would be to find ones with good throw, bright, true-color light, which don't give off as much UV. As an individual with a UV allergy, I'd like to not have to wear as much sunblock indoors as outdoors if possible.

I'm also curious how everyone feels about the mercury content of the compact flourescents? How do you dispose of yours to prevent mercury from entering our waterways and soils when they are landfilled?

[LisaInN.Idaho]

We pitch them into the river with our used motor oil.

[LisaInN.Idaho]

Just kidding. We save them up in a container and will take them to a state approved collection center when we have a bunch. They last a good long time so even after 5 and a half years...we don't have many in that container.

[RichieC]

CFBs are one of those things that are new enough for brand to make a difference. You still really do get what you pay for.

This will doubtless change as the off-brand manufacturers figure out the technology, but for now, be prepared to pay for a quality brand like Sylvania. It makes a difference.

[CGUARDSMAN]

Originally Posted by martygreene

I'm also curious how everyone feels about the mercury content of the compact flourescents? How do you dispose of yours to prevent mercury from entering our waterways and soils when they are landfilled?

i saw and interesting factoid on hgtv the other day that said the mercury content in a cfl is less than what a coal fired power plant puts out to generate the power to power a incandecent light the additional watts. plus they last a lot longer!

[daytrader]

They make a LED light bulb. That has better light out put and use even less then the CF bulbs. They do cost much more. They do have a much larger life span.

[martygreene]

how does an LED lamp work? one would think they'd not be very useful in-home, as LEDs are an omnidirectional light source (which is what makes LED flashlights so good for stagehands). Interesting.

[highlands]

Quality of most florescent bulbs and the mercury both bother me. Most of our florescent lighting is from my fish tanks which use high quality 4' tubes powered by a high quality electronic ballast. It makes a difference and the light is much better.

Still doesn't solve the mercury issue. My understanding is they're working on eliminating the mercury. I will be glad of that.

We also have a few compact florescent bulbs. They are not nearly as good although they are far better than they were 10 years ago.

Cheers

-Walter
Sugar Mountain Farm
in the mountains of Vermont
http://SugarMtnFarm.com/blog/
http://HollyGraphicArt.com/
http://NoNAIS.org

[Alice In TX/MO]

Mercury is minimal.

So is the light output.

I hate florescent bulbs. Can't spell it either.

[daytrader]

Originally Posted by martygreene

how does an LED lamp work? one would think they'd not be very useful in-home, as LEDs are an omnidirectional light source (which is what makes LED flashlights so good for stagehands). Interesting.

I have no idea how they work. I have seen some at a home show. They were VERY bright.

We updated our trucks lights to LED's they are much more bright and last much longer.

C. Crain Used to sell some. I will go online and see if they still do.

[daytrader]

http://www.ccrane.com/lights/led-light-bulbs/index.aspx

[WisJim]

Seems like the subject of CFLs and mercury comes up every couple of days. In my opinion, it is better to have the mercury in the bulb (and it is a minute amount of mercury), than to have much more mercury in the atmosphere. A coal fired power plant puts lots more mercury into the air making the electricity for an incandescent bulb than is contained in a CFL. And a CFL uses so much less power over its lifetime (assuming you got one that puts out equal light amount) than incandescent bulbs would use over that period of time, that the total mercury involved in the bulb and in generating the power is much less for CFLs than for incandescents. And if you don't like the bother of properly recylcling a CFL or other flourescent bulb, remember that technically your old incandescent bulbs should also be recycled as they have lead in the solder in the base of the bulb.

So far, the LEDs that I have are either too blue of light for my taste or are too focused, like a spot light. We do have a few in the house, and they work fine for some situations.

There are new types of CFLs available, too, that are warmer colored light, light up quicker, and last even longer. Do a search for "cold cathode compact flourescent".

[Beeman]

I went and replaced every bulb as they burned out with CFL's. If you research my previous post you'll see what a joke they are. I have the big name brands and the store brand bulbs. Every brand both big and store brand have been burning out. Store brand has an 800 number you call and they send you a replacement, big brand offers no info on replacement even on their web site. I just brought back a Sylvania to Lowes because it burned out, they did replace it with no questions. When I asked if they had a recycle bin for them or what they did with them it went all of the way up to the manager to get the answer,"we just pitch them in the trash". I haven't found anywhere to recycle the burned out ones I have that the store brand replaced over the phone that I didn't have to return.

[martygreene]

From what I can find about the cold cathode lamps, they don't come very bright- equivalent to a 25 watt incandescent.

I wish I had more lighting fixtures around the house to make up for the low light output from CF lamps, but unfortunately I'm very limited with outlets. Hrm.

[LisaInN.Idaho]

Originally Posted by Beeman

I went and replaced every bulb as they burned out with CFL's. If you research my previous post you'll see what a joke they are. I have the big name brands and the store brand bulbs. Every brand both big and store brand have been burning out. Store brand has an 800 number you call and they send you a replacement, big brand offers no info on replacement even on their web site. I just brought back a Sylvania to Lowes because it burned out, they did replace it with no questions. When I asked if they had a recycle bin for them or what they did with them it went all of the way up to the manager to get the answer,"we just pitch them in the trash". I haven't found anywhere to recycle the burned out ones I have that the store brand replaced over the phone that I didn't have to return.

I wonder why some people have such problems with them burning out or not providing enough light and other people don't. Our CFL's last a long time; we have a couple CFLs that we've had for 5 years. Maybe theree is something wrong with your power?

[wy_white_wolf]

I started replacing my bulbs with CFL's about 5 years ago as the incandesents burnt out. About 90% of our bulbs have been replaced with only 1 CLF burning out. I think that one may have been my fault in tring to run a CLF and an incandesent in the same fixture. The only one I have a problem with is the special bulb I got for my reading lamp. It takes about a minute to warm up.

I not conserned about the mercury. If I was I would rather see the mercury contained in the bulb than released in the air by a Coal Fired Plant.

[WisJim]

the cold cathode CFLs that I saw at a trade show a few weeks ago looked good to me. Not as bright white as other CFLs, looked more like incandescents.

I have heard (from knowledgale electricians) that a cause of early failure of CFLs is that they aren't screwed into the socket as tight as they should be. Not sure if it is that they are more sensitive to an intermittent or poor contact, or if they might gradually loosen over time because they might be in the socket longer than an incandescent bulb. But--check your CFLs regularly to make sure they are screwed in tight.

I have had some last over 7 years, and then I lost track due to remodeling part of the house.

[Michael W. Smith]

I've been replacing the old incandescent bulbs as they burn out with the new ones. And the new ones are far superior to the ones of 5 years ago - they light up immediately (no warm up period) and I haven't noticed where they get dimmer as they get older. I still have one of the old, old bulbs that puts off a sickly yellowish light that I just can't bring myself to replace until it actually burns out. (But luckily it is in the back laundry room and not used very much - probably why it's lasted so blasted long!!!)

They do seem to make a difference in the electric bill and they do last a long time.

I also wonder about those who say their new bulbs keep burning out? Perhaps they have an incorrect flow of electricity in the correct amount?

[ldc]

I,too, have been replacing the incandescents as they burn out with the CFL's. In six years I've never had a CFL burn out - yet! This has been the only change I've made that saved $ on the electric bill immediately! ldc

[martygreene]

We had CFLs at our previous place, where they burned out faster than the incandescents we had. That- coupled with the shoddy light quality and throw, plus warming period, and I got sick of them. I'd LOVE to help reduce our electricity usage, but at what expense? Quality of life isn't bettered by lessened electricity usage if it's worsened by shoddy light.

For what it's worth, I tend to use the "reveal" type bulbs which give a natural daylight toned light, and would prefer something along those lines with a CFL.