I am happy with the CFLs I have installed so far. The reliability and wattage and output are fine. I got the bulk of them at a Kings supermarket in NJ. Due to an instant rebate by the NJ Clean Energy plan, I paid 99c each for them. I hope they restock soon!! I use the 60watt replacement with the plastic globe and the exposed 75 watt replacement which are rated 15 watts and 18 watts. I snuck a few into my girlfriend's light fixtures and I had to tell her they were there to be noticeable.

I am experimenting with LED bulbs I get from eBay. The 1.8 watt spots are awesome as reading lights. The others are still a little better than night lights. vk

CFL's are pretty mature products at this stage. They still provide more efficient light than LED's. (although this may be changing very soon) They are also much cheaper than LED's at the moment.

So why aren't they more accepted by the public? IMHO, several reasons.

1) The quality of light.
2) Inability to fit many fixtures that will accept a small 60 watt incandescent.
3) A high variance in performance between models and brands.

Why doesn't Treehugger put together a comprehensive test of CFL's to identify the best consumer choices?

I've been angered several times by CFL's that burn out after less than one month on the job. Some CFL's "claim" to be instant-on, but their initial light output is a fraction of their rated output, that is, until the unit warms up for over a minute, not good for a closet or garage where lights stay on for short periods. Paradoxically, I've bought other CFL's that start up instantly with virtually 100% output.

And then there's the quality of light issue. I understand there are CFL's that put out a pleasing yellowish light similar to incandescents, but I can't find them in stores.

Treehugger could do the nation a great favor by highlighting the bulbs and manufacturers that produce superior CFL's. Increased demand for these products would "urge" other manufacturers to adopt these desired traits.

I've seen a study somewhere that ranked the reliability and efficiency of popular brands, but this needs to be expanded to rate other valuable traits as mentioned above.

I personally use Home Depot's n:vision bulbs, which give off, in my opinion at least, an identical light to incandescents, if you have them behind something, you would never know the difference.

I have also noticed that the colder the bulbs are, the less light they give off. I am in the process of moving to a new house, which is kept at a temperature just high enough to keep the pipes from freezing. When you first turn the lights on, they give off a purple light, until they generate enough heat to function properly, and get to full color and brightness in about 10 minutes.

How long before they offer UV shielded CFLs? I have lupus and the UV from CFLs and fluorescent tubes makes me ill when not shielded.

We have installed them in places in the house where I don't spend a lot of time, but we'd like to switch all of our lighting over to more efficient bulbs.

I think the technology (CFL) is amazing. I use them in my room at UNC and I use them back home. They apparently last forever, except my roommate broke one pretty easily. If it's my only complaint, it is that they are pretty fragile. Besides that, cost-effective and they use so much less energy.

I'm using CFL for about 5 years, I use it as replacement for 4 feet flourscent, we rarely use incandscent lamps here in Sudan. For more than 20 years we are using 4 and 2 feet flourescent lamps, and we called it neon lamps. 4 feet lamp consumes 40 watt. Now CFL are spreading every day and many brands and shapes are exist. We prefere white bulbs.
These days LEDs torches appear in every market, and we still waiting 220V LEDs bulbs, unfortunately most of sellers do not know any thing about it.

I also use N:vision Cfl's and like them better than any other cfl.they give off even more light than the incandescents they replaced and they come on instantly.

I've been using Home Depot CFLs (n:vision) for five years, but I've recently been introduced to FEIT Electric ecobulbs. The Sierra Club offered them at a meeting to discuss the rape of the West Virginia mountains by the coal industry. FEIT offers a 100 watt bulb (uses only 23 watts) and a wide variety of "curly" and enclosed bulbs, icluding indoor and outdoor floodlights..

Does anyone know how to measure the amount of heat created by a CFL vs the amount created by an incandescent? Does a 23 watt = 100 watt equivalent CFL produce the same amount of heat as a 23 watt incandenscent or the amount as a 100 watt incandescent?

For an enclosed ceiling fixture and for my recessed fixtures, max 60 watts is recommended. A three bulb fixture attached directly to the ceiling, enclosed all around with vent slits in the sides and a sold glass "bottom" plate recommends 60 watt bulbs for a total of 180 watts. II'd like to put three 75 watt CFL bulbs in or even three 100 watt CFL bulbs, but I'm concerned about heat build-up in the enclosed space, especially attached directly to the ceiling, or in recessed fixtures.

I cannot seem to get this question answered by any of the CFL manufacturers I've emailed. So are there any treehuggers who can discuss heat issues with CFLs?

FWSRDH