Do You Like CFL’s?

Topic submitted by:  Sam K from Denver CO

I am not a big fan of the CFL or compact fluorescent lamp. The mercury issue does not make my happy but I can live with disposing them properly when I am done with them.  I really don’t like the quality of light they produce.  There is not umph, no pizzazz.  The CFL’s produce a flat and bland quality of light.  These lamps do reduce energy consumption but at what cost?  If used in a home they rarely fit into the light fixture they are being installed into.  The CFL bulbs intended to have the capability to dim don’t work well.  If used commercially as a replacement for a halogen lamp they provide a flat light.  Halogen lamps at least have a “pop” factor to them.  There is something to be said about the intensity of incandescent sources.  I know being energy minded is a good thing but CFL’s are not the answer.  They really don’t last that long.  The manufacturers put many things in the small print.  In most cases, CFL’s long lives are only achieved when they are only turned on a couple of times a day.  If you turn them on and off all day long your pretty much burn out the starter in them.  The answer is most cases can be solved with better lighting control or by using a different source other than CFL’s.