Pigtail light bulbs
 

I have been dissapointed with the pigtail style flourescent bulbs I have been using for the last couple of years. They seem to last a long time and are supposed to be more energy efficient, but that is where the pros end.

Cons
Start off dim and get brighter - a very annoying feature in a light bulb.
Do not work in electronic light switches like modern dimmers.
Have an unusal light color - I have tried (3) different colors and do not really like any of them. Yellow - blue - bright white.

I have been mostly using the HD brand - n:vision.

Anyone real happy with their expensive light bulbs?

I am all for energy conservation, but I haven't yet found a CFL that I can live with. The light is too cold and "bleachy"

Just the same, my wife insists on using them in some of the lamps downstairs. When installed, I've found they give a remarkeable 100% energy reduction.

Ugh, I couldn't agree more. We bought a bunch of them and started replacing bulbs in the house with them. I hate them. We've spent a lot of time and money on furniture, paintings, house paint, etc. all to make our home look the way we want it to. Screw one of these POS flourescent bulbs in and no matter how nice a paint colour the wall is, it looks like a frickin morgue. I too have tried all the different colours available. Washed-out white, nauseous green and autopsy-table blue.

We're a pretty green family - quite energy conscious, not wasteful, separate all our recyclables, compost, throw out 1 or 2 grocery bags of garbage a week, etc. (mostly to ease my conscious about my 72 911 with badly tuned carbs coughing up a cloud of poison gas every time she starts up :) ) but I'm not using any more flourescent bulbs. If they can make one that doesn't make me look dead when I stand under it, ok then, but until then, forget it.

They work great for the decorative outdoor garage lights.

I bought some "soft white" CFL's at Home Depot several months ago and have been very happy with them.

I use them in a large number of nice lamps, some of them antiques, with lamp shades - the lights I use the most. The lamp shades (mostly fabric some mica) further soften the light and it looks no different than an incandescent bulb, IMO. No flicker or buzzing at all.

I have also put CFL flood style bulbs in closets where I have cans; only small problem here is that the light takes a while to warm up and closet lights are usually on and off for short periods of time. No big deal though. Also have some CFLs on the outside - lights I keep on all night.

Everywhere else I have cans, I use halogen spots - these are the lights I use when I have guests and gatherings. Their light is very nice, but not used much.

All of the "everyday/night" lights are CFLs.

I have cut my electric bill by 50% and these CFL bulbs paid for themselves after three months - big savings since then.

Looking forward to LED "bulbs" when they get them right!

FWIW.

Best,

Kurt

edit: In lamps where the "bulb" can be seen, I use the n:vision 9w "soft" CFL that looks like a regular bulb. Everywhere else I use the same brand "soft" 14w "pig tail".

expensive? You get 6 for $10 at Sams. 100w

On the 3-light fan fixture, I put one 40w incandecent and two 11w florescents(ikea) in. Pretty good light.

+1 on waiting for LEDs.

Light-bulbs don't really use all that much energy in the first place. Put some better insulation on your house or turn the heat down a degree or the A/C up a degree, and you are making a much bigger difference.

Fluorescent light will ALWAYS look like hell, and I will always be able to hear that god-awful 60cycle buzzing. My last apartment had fluorescent lighting in the kitchen. Solution? Cook in the dark. Yup- I hate them THAT much.

I guess my situation is somewhat unique. Here in coastal SoCal I only run AC a few days a year and heat a few days a year.

My biggest home energy costs are LPG (water heater) and electricity.

Lighting IS a major part of my electrical costs and switching to CFL cut an honest 50% off my electric bill. - from about $200/mo to about $100/mo. If I really watch my usage, I can get that bill to $85.

Have you tried the new bulbs?

Best,

Kurt

I put CFLs everywhere I can, except the dimmer fixtures. n:vision soft white from Home Depot.

The light color/quality is fine for me. Our walls are painted vivid and warm colors (ochre, red, brown, etc) which makes a difference to the color. Can live with the brief warm up period. Hear slight buzzing only when put a non-dimmable CFL in a dimmer circuit. Like saving the energy, also like not having to replace burned-out light bulbs so often.

Looking for affordable dimmable CFLs, to finish replacing the rest of the light bulbs.

We have a lot of lights (e.g. dining room ceiling has 8) and using 100w incandescents we burn a lot of juice (dining room 800 watts).

Next step is some full-spectrum lights, as experiment during the long PacNW winter.

Wow- you really saved 50%? That's pretty darn significant.

The last time I had the newer pigtail-style replacement bulbs was in 2003. I think for me, maybe it makes less of a difference because I generally keep my place pretty dark. I am not a fan of brightness- I relax a lot better in dim light. Plus, I think I look better that way too :p

It was tough to know the difference back in '03, because where I lived (Boston) we had NO insulation, and electric heat. Can you say $600+ electric bill?!?! And that was with the heat off in every room besides the one we were in.

I can tell you, if the light didn't bug me (it doesn't bug you I am guessing) and it would save be $100/mo, I'd do it too! That is a LOT of scratch.

Thats' where I use them. They are on six hours per day in the winter, and they seem to have a long life. The pigtail cheapies are pretty good, but the enclosed globe type have lasted several years now.

It's worth the extra cost just for the long life, nevermind the energy saving.

I only have one or two indoors, I can't stand the ghoulish colour.

I do use them in all my exterior lights and they work fine for that application.

My main problem as stated above is the dimmers, I recently remodeled most of my house and put dimmers on all major light sources.

Are there specific CFL's for dimming?

The slow startup really sucks in the bathroom where I am in and out before the bulbs get fully lit - those will come out tonight.

Randy:

There are some specific CFLs that work on dimmers, FYI.

Here is a good CFL FAQ I came across from GE:
http://www.gelighting.com/na/business_lighting/faqs/cfl.htm#3

Best,

Kurt

they are super cheap around here, subsidized by the electric company. 50 cents each or even less. I still don't like the color or quality of the light, suppose you could put some sort of colored filter over it to improve that. You also are not supposed to use them with photocell(auto on when it gets dark, not sure why.

They make a special photo-cell that works with CFLs - I have these photocell adapters on my outdoor bulbs.

Another HD purchase!

FYI.

Best,

Kurt

P.S.: Geeze, I know way too much about these bulbs and such - my friends and family back home in Texas would think I have gone totally "tree hugging" nuts here in SoCal. :D

For those complaining about the color - are you guys buying the "warm" or "soft white" CFLs? I perceive very little color difference between those CFLs and traditional incandescents - there is a little, but to my eyes not a lot.

I have a lot of these in my house, and they work well. My electricity bill is CHEAP!