Your experiences with CFLs and other efficient light bulbs

As far as the light goes, I don't think either is necessarily better. I like incandescents for general lighting, but I think fluorescents are better for detailed work or studying. CFL's are definitely more energy efficient, and depending on circumstances can be cost-efficient as well. Whether they are eco-friendly is rather debatable, since CF Ls are toxic if improperly disposed of, while incandescents burn more power and thus indirectly put more smog into the sky.

Ah, my bad, sorry.

edited 23rd May '11 1:15:04 PM by EdwardsGrizzly

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No, those long tubes are not necessarily high-frequency electronic ballasts, and even if they were, they could be cheap ones that suck. Or they could just be getting bad mains power.

LE Ds are nice, but they do have problems, even aside from the upfront sticker shock. The biggest problem is the form factor can be iffy. New houses probably have an easier time than old with that.

We're deliberately not discussing the lightbulb laws.

edited 23rd May '11 1:03:16 PM by blueharp

We're not? Awww. And I wanted to lick to a Fact Check article about how "INCADESCENTS ARE BANNED YOUR FREEDOM IS BEING TRAMPLED" are Pants on Firey.

I've never had a negative experience with a CFL. I've had negative experiences with LE Ds, but only because they're not bright enough and are too expensive.

Heh, whatever happened to that story about the dude in Germany who was buying 75 and 100-watt incandescents from outside the EU and reselling them as "portable heaters" to people who were doing the, "You can't make me buy CFLs — RAEG," bit?

"It's Occam's Shuriken! If the answer is elusive, never rule out ninjas!"

Because I don't want a derail or Flame Bait. And I just know if that topic is open, it will go there.

Authorities said "We're not Literal Genies" and rejected his attempt.

I've noticed that some CF Ls in public buildings flicker. But it is for the most masked by placing them in clusters of 4 and 4, as they usually do over here.
As for normal home use: I doubt I can actually aquire cheap CFL pipes that flicker.
As for "color"? In most cases it is the lampshade that ruins the light.

A guy called dvorak is tired. Tired of humanity not wanting to change to improve itself. Quite the sad tale.

Oh, I forgot to mention another way to stop the flicker, switch to DC mains power!

Good luck with that.

I can see you Americans complaing with only 120volt at 60 hertz. :P

A guy called dvorak is tired. Tired of humanity not wanting to change to improve itself. Quite the sad tale.

You're happier at 50hz?

I'm happy as long as everything functions without exploding.

Ok, hand over your internal combustion engine!

Though really, with the way gas prices have gone, maybe you won't mind.

I don't exactly have a car ;P

But this joke is a derail.

Back on topic...Traffic Lights.

Anybody with experience or preferences about them? I actually prefer the LED traffic lights, they're easier to see a change in color I think, than the old style lights, especially if the sun is at the wrong angle.

Agreement with blueharp.

Fight smart, not fair.

CFLs are those weird looking curly bulbs, right? My experience with 'em has been nothing but positive— They seem to be brighter than regular light bulbs, and while they take half a second longer to come on, it's not so particularly noticeable. One odd thing I've noticed about them, at least the one in my room, is that they don't glow full brightness right away—it seems to take a minute to warm up all the way.

They lost me. Forgot me. Made you from parts of me. If you're the One, my father's son, what am I supposed to be?

CF Ls: not all they're cracked up to be. I've had them burn out waaaay ahead of schedule, they flicker, there's a substantial delay between switch-flipping and lightbulb-lighting...and when they break, there's a bunch of microscopic shards of glass everywhere. That, and they're damned expensive.

And the light they put out make people look half-dead.

All that said, they come in colors and "blacklight", which is kind of neat for parties.

If I were to write some of the strange things that come under my eyes they would not be believed. ~Cora M. Strayer~

Never had any problems like that with CF Ls personally.

I wonder if the flicker thing is one of those weird things that only some people notice, like the high pitched whine a TV makes when it's on and stuff like that.

They lost me. Forgot me. Made you from parts of me. If you're the One, my father's son, what am I supposed to be?

That sounds like you have issues with the fixtures, or your mains power. Or possibly your switches.

Maybe the quality of the bulbs you're getting, with the color issue especially.

But don't forget, you don't just pay for the bulb on purchase.

It is a bit of individual bias, same with display refresh rates, as some people are indeed more sensitive than others to the flicker. But it's caused by the power supply, you can even produce the same kind of flicker in incandescents if you lower the AC frequency sufficiently. There are ways to compensate for it, and good bulbs do, but not everybody gets them.

edited 23rd May '11 9:06:01 PM by blueharp

@blue: I'll grant you my power system sucks *

, but I've had less issues with the colored bulbs than I have with the ones we use normally.

And, since they burn out about as fast as the old ones, I personally find them more expensive rather than less. A few fuzzy animals can choke on some smog so I can find my pants in the morning...that's natural too.

If I were to write some of the strange things that come under my eyes they would not be believed. ~Cora M. Strayer~

Dude, the wattage the bulb uses costs you money too you know. Unless you don't pay for your own electricity.

1970s? I hope you don't have aluminum wiring then. Ah, who am I kidding, you probably do.

And then they probably didn't use AL rated fixtures, so...yeah, you're in a death trap! Run! Run!

edited 23rd May '11 9:13:56 PM by blueharp

@Tomu: my electricity bill did not drop any noticeable amount when I installed CFL bulbs in my entire house...but my wallet did take a big hit. I think the entire thing is hype wrapped up in hippie bullshit, but there's got to be something to it else why else is everyone buying into it?

If I were to write some of the strange things that come under my eyes they would not be believed. ~Cora M. Strayer~

Do you have a budget plan? If so, your electricity bill only resets at the end of the year. Also, energy prices have been rising, meaning that if your bill doesn't go up, that effectively means that it actually went down.

Still, yeah-it's pretty difficult to perceive unless you have a LOT of light bulbs.