WHO has converted to CFLs??

[lwheelr]

And for those of you with kids or hubbys that only turn lights on your just turning them off wrong! I only turn them off at the switch and chew them out once, after that I turn them off at the bulb, as in take the bulb out and put it back in the box in the laundry room. If they have to reinstall the bulb each time they get 'lazy' and learn to turn the light off.

Oh, wow. Shades of childhood! Only my dad would also tell us to NOT turn the light off if we were coming right back. We used florescent lights that had a ballast, and it takes more energy to turn them on than it does to just leave them on, so he'd normally not get upset unless we left the light on in a closet, the basement, our bedroom, etc. He preferred that they stay on in the livingroom, kitchen, diningroom, etc, throughout the evening, since people were in and out all the time.

If your CFLs are flickering, it is likely an electrical problem in the home. They should not do that. I'm very light sensitive, and have had no problems at all with them giving me headaches.

Regular lightbulbs here burn out in about two or three months. We switched some lights over about three years ago, and have not changed the bulbs since. It was hard to do, but we did so gradually as the old ones burned out.

LEDs out here are WAY expensive. I can't pay $50 for a lightbulb, no matter how long it lasts.

We are getting ready to move, and I'm packing up my lightbulbs to take with me, so I don't have to invest in those all over again for another house! We still have a few remaining incandecents that I'll leave for the new owners.

 

[adoptedbyachicken]

If your coming back to the room your Dad is right, leave them on. All our CFLs in locations where they are turned on and off have failed, so they get left on, and all the outside ones have to be left on or they will not come on. That's where I don't see the savings in these bulbs except if you plan to leave that light on anyway.

You can't see a CFL flickering, but they all do, and for some people that's a headache trigger. Nothing wrong with the power here, brand new house 4 years ago and 400 amp service. I get the same reaction any time I'm with those bulbs, regardless of where or what powers them. Hubby was sure it was just cheep ones so he got the really expensive ones once. No change.

 

[AnnaRaven]

You can't see a CFL flickering, but they all do, and for some people that's a headache trigger. Nothing wrong with the power here, brand new house 4 years ago and 400 amp service. I get the same reaction any time I'm with those bulbs, regardless of where or what powers them. Hubby was sure it was just cheep ones so he got the really expensive ones once. No change.

Yep. They're definitely a problem for some people. The LEDs don't seem to have the same problem though. Might wanna try those. And they're instant on. Really loving them. Our Yule lights this year are all LED as well - so I know they're cold tolerant.

 

[Javamama]

I still don't like CFL bulbs. The ones that give the light I need won't fit in most of our ceiling light fixtures unless we leave the domes off. That's attractive I bought some of the new tiny sized ones for bedstand lamps and they still won't fit through the lampshade. But since that's a light that I turn off an on alot, it wouldn't be worth it anyway.
Now, most of our houselights get turned on in the morning and off at night. But I still have not had a CFL last more than a year WTH good is a lightbulb that you can't turn off and on?
I'm looking into LEDs but the ones I'm finding are very low light output. Unless I want to pay 20-30 bucks per bulb.

 

[aggieterpkatie]

If your coming back to the room your Dad is right, leave them on. All our CFLs in locations where they are turned on and off have failed, so they get left on, and all the outside ones have to be left on or they will not come on. That's where I don't see the savings in these bulbs except if you plan to leave that light on anyway.

That's what I always thought too, but Myth Busters did a test. They found that unless you're going to be gone less than 1 second, it's cheaper to turn the light off. And they did a test to check durability (because some say turning the light on and off is harder on the bulb) and it made no difference! But I will say that I've found our CFLs do not last like "they" say they will!! Arent' they supposed to last for a few years? Hardly.

 

[Bethanial]

For those of you, who like me, get migraines from CFL's - check this out: http://selfrelianceadventures.blogspot.com/2010/10/fluorescent-light-induced-migraines-and.html I bookmarked this, and haven't done anything about it, but I have SO got to order me a pair of rose-colored glasses!

 

[Stitchsfj]

I'm not a big fan of cfl's. They don't cast the quality of light that an incandescent does, but by 2014 our wonderful government plans to outlaw incandescent lighting. Then only cfl will be available much like the way of cheap freon to the new much more expensive product, but continue to sell r12 overseas

 

[reinbeau]

There isn't an incandescent light left in my house. I don't mind the CFLs, they don't flicker the way the older ones did. As for durability, I've had many of them now for well over five years, the only one we've replaced recently is one of the outdoor ones on the garage, and that was at least five years old. We've had good luck with them, and I thoroughly enjoy the enormous savings on our electric bill, CFLs and hanging laundry has brought our electric bill down to an average of $60 a month.

 

[valmom]

We have mostly CFLs now- we have been converting for years. We have a stash of old ones (that flicker or are too dim) to recycle. If we ever find out where in this state we can recycle them. There are fixtures though, that we just can't find bulbs to fit or look decent in- like the kitchen. They are also not really bright enough to be a good reading/work light for me. I like bright lights!

I can't wait until the price comes down and the quality goes up on the LEDs.

 

[FarmerChick]

I said thru the whole thread, the savings on CFL are fine by me, the light, hmm...but can live with it....except in master bath Tony gets up at 4-4:30 and said it was kinda dark with them so I put in 4 incandesent back in and he is fine now.

but as everything changes, like the "old 8 track" some products must be changed to help the environment and cost savings to consumers and electric consumption.

LEDs are on the innovative chopping block now so who knows what kind of lights we will have inthe future...lol...will be interesting to see where the technology leads.