Extend the Life of CFL Bulbs

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Extend the Life of CFL Bulbs

Submitted by: frugalgramma 04/20/2009 9:36 AM

We recently received this tip from a professional electrician who was recently at our home wiring lights and switches.

To extend the life of a CFL bulb, condition the bulb the VERY FIRST TIME YOU USE IT by leaving the bulb on for at least 20 minutes. This allows the ions in the gas to charge fully. This will "set" the bulb to come on at it's brightest each subsequent time, and it will operate more efficiently each time.

We asked him about the CFL over our kitchen sink as it appears dim when first turned on and has to warm up to it's brightest. Unfortunately, the bulb cannot be "re-set" now. Now we know!

Photo credit: Clean Wal-Mart

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Comments:

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To extend the life of a CFL it is recommended to use it for periods of 15 minutes or more - in other words, no quick on/off. This is due to the small surge current when first turned on. As for "conditioning", I am not sure if that would make any difference - applies to every use.

Reflector CFLs will take longer to "light" up since they have more heat eventually and it just takes longer because of their design. Also depends on the brand and the ballast. Some CFL bulbs are rated for instant on, others are not. Cold temperatures also affect the warm up period.

Posted by anonymous on April 23, 2009 6:33 PM

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Hi, I shop from time to time at IKEA. I started using CFL's after seeing their display. They have an incadescent light bulb and a cfl in identical sockets and both hooked up to a meter that measures kilowatts. You don't have to be a high school graduate to see the remarkable diffence in usage.

Posted by Bea Helf on April 23, 2009 8:05 PM

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There are two main reasons I will never use CFL�s

1-They are florescence and I am highly sensitive to the �flicker� in florescence lights.
I can�t even go into Wal-Mart without getting dizzy and disoriented. The cheaper the bulbs, the worse it is or if the ballast needs to be changed. I went into a dollar store once and within 3 minutes I was wiped out because they chose to use cheap bulbs. And yes I have been around CFL�s in others homes� I still get sick with them even when I don't know at first they are there.

2- When one accidently breaks in your home you just about have to call in hazmat teams to clean it up right.

Posted by Llacey2001 on April 24, 2009 3:11 PM

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The 4-23-09 post by Bea Helf struck me as kind of odd ...... that must be a pretty big bulb to be read on a kilowatt meter. I think, if anything, it was probably just a watt meter at most. But, then again, I did not see the display. Maybe there was a bank of a couple of hundred bulbs being measured on a kilowatt meter. Am I being too anal here ????

Posted by anonymous on April 24, 2009 3:58 PM

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Llacey, it's not true that you "practically have to call in a hazmat team" to clean up a broken bulb. Here's what you do:

1. Open a window.
2. Take a paper towel or rag and pick up the pieces.
3. Seal them in a zip-top bag.
4. Wipe up dust or small fragments with a damp paper towel and add the towel to the plastic bag with the broken bulb. (Or, if it's on a rug, vacuum it and then put the vacuum cleaner bag in a plastic bag.)
5. Put the plastic bag or bags in the trash, or dispose of them with household hazardous waste.

It's more of a hassle than cleaning up a regular bulb, but it's not that bad.

Posted by haverwench on April 26, 2009 8:05 AM

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I love CFL bulbs. Last year I replaced all of the ones in my house in every fixture. My first love, was the lower electric bill, I saw a difference right away. My second love was a year later when I realized I hadn't had to replace any bulbs in more than a year. That was the one thing I hated about regular bulbs, they were always burning out.

Posted by anonymous on April 28, 2009 5:29 PM

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Actually I don't mind that the ones in my bathroom come on slowly at nite, less of a shock to my old system LOL. At least now I know why. Thanks.

Posted by anonymous on April 29, 2009 9:46 PM

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On the broken bulbs, the mercury bit is real, but perhaps a bit overplayed.

Good advice from haverwench.

There's a bit more info over at snopes.com:

http://www.snopes.com/medical/toxins/cfl.asp

Posted by money-saving-tips on May 03, 2009 10:58 AM

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CFL's are great energy savings lamps, and there are a larger variety coming onto the market with higher watt output. Many of these lamps have adapters for challenging fixtures such as table lamps and floor lamps where shades are used. With the hazard possibilities of released gasses when they sometimes burn out in the sockets I would recommend that if the lamp begins to have dark rings at the base when the glass tubes attach into the plastic base its near the time to replace the lamp. At times, these lamps can produce harmful gas when some lamps burn out in the socket. If this happens you must exhaust this gas right away.

Posted by Dave Rongey on May 14, 2009 7:25 PM

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My dad also told me that if you don't touch the bulb it helps. By not touching it I mean directly. Use a cloth or paper towel to handle it and put it in and it'll last longer. It's something about the oil in our skin. Even if you wash you're hands first, you'll still have oil on your hands.

Posted by Little Miss Alicia on July 27, 2009 12:57 PM

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One of the most common causes for premature cfl burn-outs is excessive heat build-up. Fixtures that trap heat (A sealed globe point down for example), have been the culprit in my home. I've rotated or replaced some of these, and greatly extended the life of cfl's in my home.

Posted by Solar Johhn on August 11, 2009 12:06 PM

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electronic ballast quality is very important for the life of CFL , a programmable ballast should be preferred in applications where frequent on/off happens

Posted by sachin fufagar pune india on August 15, 2009 9:26 AM

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I have purchased numerous CFLs and they all claim to last 3 years up to 6 years on some. Yet they never last any longer than 2 months in my apartment. That is less than the regular one last. Does anyone have any ideas why this is happening?

Posted by no-cheap-energy-in-texas on October 03, 2009 10:16 PM

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There is more mercury in the vaccine they inject you with when you get a swine flu shot than there is in 1 CFL bulb so I wouldn't worry about accidently breaking it.

Posted by Jayshon on February 19, 2010 2:04 AM

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