Tuesday, December 11, 2012

CFL Bulbs • 9 Years? Really!

My post today is a quick shout out to Stacy over at Not Just a Housewife.  She did an excellent post educating us on the pros and cons of the myriad selection of light bulb variations we are confronted with anytime we buy. It is a very confusing aisle in the home store. Her article is well worth pining for reference.

But I have a pet peeve about the information been shared on longevity of CFL bulbs - you know the ones that look like little pig's tails. Not too many years ago there was a massive push to get us all to switch. There were two main selling points - using less electricity and a very long life - 9 years more than the old fashioned incandescent bulbs.  I am here to report that it just isn't so! Those little pig's tails seem to burn out just as fast as the old bulbs. Here to prove my point are two terrible photographs. (Sorry, I do not yet have the skill to take a photo into a bright light in a windowless room. Lessons would be gladly accepted!)


This first one is over the sink in the bathroom. Notice- two lights burned out. And these have been replaced several times. Nine years of life? Not even close!

And in the office, notice one of the bulbs in the track lighting is also gone.


We find ourselves replacing these just as often as the old kind. Yes, we do use them because of our carbon foot print, but I am skeptical when they say the LED lights will last even longer.  I will not throw away my collection and buy new. I will see what time demonstrates!

Sorry for the mini rant. I don't do it often. But do check out Stacy's post. She has collected useful information.

©2012 Ashbee Design, Marji Roy


5 comments:

  1. Sooo true!
    And a lot of my friends will attest the same thing.
    Also, LEDs are soooo dim. I don't know if this is the case with all LEDs but this fixture http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/00209151/
    that I bought from IKEA should really NOT be used as the main lighting in a room!

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  2. This is just a thought ... I remember seeing on the package that some of these bulbs are not meant to be hung upside down. I don't know if that's still the case, but you might want to check the next time. I agree - the whole subject is so confusing now. I have only switched out a few CFLs that are in tough-to-reach places and so far so good.

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    1. Din't know that. Guess I shouldn't use them in my track lighting then.

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  3. We've experienced the same thing! We thought we wouldn't have to shop for bulbs for quite some time, but we keep having to replace them.

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    1. They say the same thing about the expensive LED bulbs. I am waiting.......

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