Has anyone actually tested Compact-Fluorescent bulbs for longevity? They burn out fast in my experience.?

Question

Has anyone actually tested Compact-Fluorescent bulbs for longevity? They burn out fast in my experience.?

Answer 1

I have had better luck with the longevity of compact flourescent bulbs. The main reason I get them however, is the reduction in heat they produce.

Answer 2

I had a lot of bad ones a year or so ago when I started to switch over. Luckily Home Depot doesn't argue when you return them.

Right now, I have about 10 in use, and none have died for about a year.

Consumer Reports is testing them, of course, and they had a brief preliminary report that said they had 2 brands with a high infant failure rate, but those brands are doing OK now, and the other brands are doing very well.

Answer 3

Yes.  Check this link out:  http://sound.westhost.com/articles/incan...

They are not all they are claimed to be.  Many early failures are due to heat issues with the electronics used to control them.  This is covered well in the link.

Answer 4

Most early burnouts are caused by people simply NOT READING the MANUAL! Compact fluorescents should NOT be operated base up. Most are designed to operate within 20 degrees of vertical base down. You are also not supposed to operate them in totally enclosed fixtures either. Excessive external heat and vibration are also no-no's.

Check before installing fluorescents to see if all or most of these requirements are met. If not, then forget it!

Answer 5

I have had the same experience.  

It is the electronic ballast that burns out.  The 'tube' might be rated for 20,000 hours MTBF, but they use commercial components in the ballast and some of them obviously get overstressed, which leads to early failure.

I plan on doing a reliability analysis on the CFL electronic ballast -- it's on my "to-do" list.

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