In Defense of the CFL: A Retrospective

Comments · 10K

• TE

  @TechnologyConnections · 5 years ago · pinned

  Maybe I&apos;m reading the room incorrectly, but a lot of people don&apos;t seem to appreciate these wonderful little pieces of lighting history. They certainly had flaws (one I overlooked here was that larger wattage equivalents required the lamp itself to be physically larger) but so does any stepping-stone technology.<br>I want to clarify regarding the flaws fixed by their successors that LEDs can still be prone to premature failure, but it seems more often than not that happens thanks to a manufacturing defect. If you buy a whole bunch of the same lamp perhaps after a few months some will have failed, but the rest will likely stay in operation for years. Look up the bathtub curve if you&apos;re interested in that phenomenon.<br>And, somehow, I missed perhaps the most important thing about them. Compared to incandescent lamps, they used 1/4 the energy! LEDs are routinely besting that today, but being able to cut lighting costs by 75% made a big difference. And when you found a sweet-spot application for a CFL, you probably didn&apos;t need to replace that lamp for years. So stop hatin&apos; on them!

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• CA

  @Carlos-ux7gv · 5 years ago

  I&apos;m from a poor country. My first job was near a lamp hardware store (it sold bulbs and fixtures). Every paycheck I got there and bought one or two CFLs to replace the incandescent bulbs we had at home. The change in the electric bill was measurable and it was among the first things I did to improve my parents home.

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• BI

  @bigclivedotcom · 5 years ago

  The most admirable thing about CFLs was the circuitry, which managed to keep running an electrically horrible load while being baked to the point of turning brown.

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• BA

  @BartWillems1969 · 1 year ago

  Their ability to self-replicate is also impressive

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• MM

  @MmmmmmmmEarHair · 3 years ago

  I remember growing up and feeling so excited when i could replace a normal bulb with the &quot;fancy ones&quot; that were better. Felt like a milestone to me or something

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• CH

  @ChannelSho · 5 years ago

  &quot;When used within their limits, they&apos;ll last quite a while&quot; <br><br>The life lesson for everything.

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• EX

  @exobyte0 · 5 years ago

  What astounds me is we had filament bulbs &apos;forever&apos; and when CFLs hit, i replaced all my filament bulbs with those as they died. But by the time my CFLs started to die off, LED bulbs were here.

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• KR

  @krillza · 5 years ago

  I love how, over time, more and more CFLs remain on his table.

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• AA

  @aaronshipley5594 · 2 years ago

  My parents have a lamp in the main living room that, I kid you not, has been illuminated for probably 10-15 years with the same CFL. It&apos;s never turned off and has been lit for over a decade.

  143

• ST

  @Steets · 5 years ago

  Oh, god. The &quot;power of buying two of them&quot; is finally getting to his head. By next week, Alec&apos;s going to have an entire room full of CFLs.

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• EY

  @eynorey · 5 years ago

  TIMESTAMPS: <br><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_AdBcTMHG0Q&amp;t=5">0:05</a> 1 CFL bulb on set <br><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_AdBcTMHG0Q&amp;t=68">1:08</a> 2 CFL bulbs on set <br><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_AdBcTMHG0Q&amp;t=304">5:04</a> 4 CFL bulbs on set <br><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_AdBcTMHG0Q&amp;t=339">5:39</a> 6 CFL bulbs on set <br><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_AdBcTMHG0Q&amp;t=351">5:51</a> 8 CFL bulbs on set <br><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_AdBcTMHG0Q&amp;t=384">6:24</a> 10 CFL bulbs on set <br><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_AdBcTMHG0Q&amp;t=435">7:15</a> 12 CFL bulbs on set <br><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_AdBcTMHG0Q&amp;t=474">7:54</a> 13 CFL bulbs on set <br><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_AdBcTMHG0Q&amp;t=566">9:26</a> 15 CFL bulbs on set <br><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_AdBcTMHG0Q&amp;t=606">10:06</a> 17 CFL bulbs on set <br><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_AdBcTMHG0Q&amp;t=637">10:37</a> 19 CFL bulbs on set <br><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_AdBcTMHG0Q&amp;t=739">12:19</a> 20 CFL bulbs on set <br><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_AdBcTMHG0Q&amp;t=768">12:48</a> 21 CFL bulbs on set <br><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_AdBcTMHG0Q&amp;t=852">14:12</a> 23 CFL bulbs on set <br><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_AdBcTMHG0Q&amp;t=893">14:53</a> 24 CFL bulbs on set <br><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_AdBcTMHG0Q&amp;t=900">15:00</a> 26 CFL bulbs on set <br><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_AdBcTMHG0Q&amp;t=954">15:54</a> 27 CFL bulbs on set <br><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_AdBcTMHG0Q&amp;t=1063">17:43</a> 30 CFL bulbs on set <br><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_AdBcTMHG0Q&amp;t=1101">18:21</a> 32 CFL bulbs on set <br><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_AdBcTMHG0Q&amp;t=1142">19:02</a> 34 CFL bulbs on set <br><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_AdBcTMHG0Q&amp;t=1219">20:19</a> 37 CFL bulbs on set <br><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_AdBcTMHG0Q&amp;t=1245">20:45</a> 39 CFL bulbs on set <br><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_AdBcTMHG0Q&amp;t=1278">21:18</a> 41 CFL bulbs on set

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• PI

  @pilotpr0jekt883 · 3 years ago

  The best use for slow starting CFLs is in the bathroom when you get up and are tired and your eyes hurt and you start your bulb and it takes 2 minutes to get bright and your eyes can adapt to that better than 0,01 sec. LED.

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