Re: Compact Fluorescent Noise

["Robert Green" <ROBERT_GREEN1963@xxxxxxxxx>]

"Dave Houston" <nobody@xxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote in message

<stuff snipped>

> It's also another factor to consider when considering CFLs. For
> those into HA the cost of filtering CFLs really changes the
> economics of switching from incandescents.

Another thing that I've found changes the equation is that none of the CFL's
I've purchased have come anywhere near lasting their rated lifetime.  It
seems that the early "lifetime" guarantees given when CFL's first hit the
market have been slowly replaced by ten and then five year guarantees and
some packages I've seen have no warranty at all.

FWIW I've experienced far more CFL failures in fixtures where the lamp base
is pointed up.  Probably the heat from the bulb contributes to the early
deaths.

Also annoying is most CFL's inability to be dimmed.

A secondary, but still non-trivial annoyance is the lengthening amount of
time it takes for a bulb to reach full intensity.  That seems to occur far
too early in the life cycle of the bulb and makes it hard to compare costs
accurately.  My wife insists that they be changed when the delay becomes
hazardous, as in stairways, hallways, etc.

One plus:  CFL's have never burned out and taken an X-10 switch along with
them, something that I can't say for incandescents.   We've ended up using
CFL's in the summer, where the rates are higher because they are so much
cheaper to run.  The cooler running means less A/C used, too, so it's a
double benefit.  In the winter, the waste heat helps warm the house and the
electrical rates are lower so the benefits aren't as spectacular.  We're
also far more likely to use dimmers during the darker winter months so it
works out quite well.

--
Bobby G.