I do know that some people seem to have problems with them. Some people don’t like the light they give off.
I like how they’ve worked out for us. We have good wiring, our power coming into the house is clean and stable, and I like the fact that they don’t take 90% of the energy they use and turn it into heat. We don’t get hit by lightning strikes here so none have blown out. They don’t flicker and I can use them outside in enclosed fixtures. I even have floodlight shaped CFLs for my floodlight fixture.
So far I’ve been using them 3+ years, and so far none have failed yet.
I didn’t buy them because the econuts said to. I bought them to keep my energy costs down, and also to keep the house cooler, and cut potential fire hazards down. My energy rates have gone up every year but my bills are about the same so I consider that they have kept my bill from going up more than it would have if I stayed with regular bulbs. I also never bought these bulbs without them being on sale or getting rebates for buying them.
I have a problem with them because I have prescription lens replacements in my eyes. Whenever I go into stores like Meijers which has all the flourescents, it feels like I am looking thru a glaring fog..........
This is a recurring theme in the reasons people from southern latitudes like them.
For those of us practically on the Canadian Border, though, days are considerably shorter in the winter, the time of the year the "waste" heat is a welcome addition to our homes, and much longer in the summer, (IOW, who needs to turn the lights on?) in the summer. The 'extra heat' isn't wasted here, and does not work against the Air Conditioning when we do run it.
The only problem is getting the kids to bed at 11:00 PM in July while the sun is still shining.
("But Papa! It isn't even dark outside!")
So, as usual, we are stuck with a one-size-fits-all solution for a problem we did not have. YMMV