The bathtub curve applies. As long as you don’t buy the cheap ones you should get a decent lifetime out of them. I don’t mind the light they give off. As Secret Agent said to me, the big deal here is that there is much less wasted energy. So it saves on cooling costs in the summer, in addition to saving energy costs year round.
If you ever have to jump to generator power, you’ll be able to run your CFLs much longer than incandescents.
SAM: I agree with everything you said. I don’t want to be forced to buy them. But I want the option. On the other hand, nobody sells Pentium I’s anymore do they? Sometimes things need to get thrown by the wayside.
Yes, but the fact in your example is is that the market made that change happen, not a forced government policy. It’s one thing when people (the market) wants a better processor voluntarily, it’d be another thing when government says ‘you can no longer buy Pentium 1’s anymore’ and the Pentium II’s are still very expensive because the market hasn’t adjusted their prices down naturally....
I am a retired maintenance mechanic with a strong electrical background BTW so I know all about bulbs. I simply buy the brass base incandescents for about 50 cents a box more and no problem. The 128/256 voltage was a far larger issue on my electric bill and bank account in general due to replacing things like water heater elements and pumps etc than my lightbulbs ever were.