Are all twisty light bulbs created equal???

Question

I was just wondering if all CFL light bulbs are the same because home depo sells them for almost $5 each and i found them in target selling 4 bulbs in a pack for $3 and they had a energy star symbol on the pack... so are they the same

Answer 1

When I install mine I write the date on it.  The ones that burn out fast I don't buy again.  Hey it works for me.

Answer 2

Theyre all the same...

lol I'm sorry but I have to comment, I love how you put that

"Twisty light bulbs"... sounds like me!!

Answer 3

No not all CFLs are equal.  You have different tube diameters (the width of the tube) and phosphor coating (the chemical on the glass wall that excites the UV into visible light.)  These matter in 2 ways.

The Tube size matters because the closer you are to the stream in the lamp the more Lumens per watt you will get.  (This means it is more energy efficient)

The Phosphor coating matters because if it is poorly coated it will not excite the UV into Visible light and thus you will not get as high of a Lumen per watt output.  

There are also different kind of Phosphors (Rare earth, Tri Phosphor, and Uva, Uvb)  Most lamps at Home Depot only use Tri Phosphors so you will only get a CRI of 80 – 85. (CRI=color rendering Index, which is a measure that shows how true colors will look under the light.  100 = sunlight anything lower than 100 will have a distortion of color.)  Most CFL are 80 – 85 however there are some that get up to 92.  You can see a varity of them at http://www.Earthmatelighting.com They have full spectrum with a higher CRI and regular ones at 80 -85 CRI.  This company seems to be the most green that I have come across.

Answer 4

Yeah they are all equal, I thought the same to be quite honest, but my cheaper ones actually lasted for 7 years!

Answer 5

Not all compact fluorescent light bulbs (CFLs) are equal.  They are all more efficient than incandescent bulbs, but the similarity ends there.  More lumens, or light output, per watt will increases efficiency.  The best CFLs have 70-75 lumens per watt.

Another thing to consider is the size of the bulb.  A lot of CFLs are very bulky and don't fit in the light fixtures at home.  I found this company, Litetronics, that makes their Neolite CFLs with smaller tubes.  The smaller tube makes the CFL shorter in length and skinnier in diameter, so it fits in all of my lamps at home without sticking out like other CFLs did.

Check them out for yourself - http://www.litetronics.com