[DB]

I have over 220 CFL’s in my home... Essentially all in recessed “can light” fixtures. In about 5 years I’ve replaced about 10% to 15% of them. None smoked or otherwise catastrophically failed.

Many of those 200 CFL’s have a lot of hours on them.

And “10 years” is not what is actually claimed. It is based on an “average” use of x number of hours per day. A good incandescent bulb is good for about 2000 hours. A good CFL is good for about 6,000+ hours.

I don’t buy the cheapest CFL’s I can find. I buy ones that work well with a good color temperature and are usable as soon as you turn them on (cold). The added cost, about $8 a bulb, is well worth it. They pay for themselves many times over in saved electricity costs over the life of the bulb.

[Question Liberal Authority]

I don’t buy the cheapest CFL’s I can find. I buy ones that work well with a good color temperature and are usable as soon as you turn them on (cold). The added cost, about $8 a bulb, is well worth it. They pay for themselves many times over in saved electricity costs over the life of the bulb.

I've heard that about CFL's - that there are "good" bulbs which are well-made and "bad" bulbs which are cheap crap. My general thinking is that an $8 incandescent would probably be pretty darn good as well. Plus, I'm suspicious of the folks who are trying to push CFL's onto us as part of their "green" agenda.

In your experience, how can you tell before purchasing whether a CFL is one of the "good" kind or the crappy kind? Besides the $8 price tag, that is. Are there any good brands that you would recommend, not made by GE?