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There were skeptical people who got burned hard by being forced into using squiggly light bulbs that were supposed to last forever and that you can't throw away
by mbg721 5y ago
There were skeptical people who got burned hard by being forced into using squiggly light bulbs that were supposed to last forever and that you can't throw away because they're full of mercury. Now, I have a box of burnt-out ones that I'm saving for a disposal day, and I've had two repairmen from separate companies bash their heads into an overhead one at the bottom of my basement stairs, shattering it. Pile that on top of various experiences with phone and laptop batteries...is it "different this time", or were the previous promises just lies?
- seoaeu 5y agoWho ever claimed that CFL light bulbs were going to last forever? I've never seen any marketing for any light bulb that said they would never burn out
- _ph_ 5y agoI used CFL light bulbs for like 2 decades and they were extremely long-lasting. I got rid of the last one some months ago, it wasn't dead yet but got a bit weak. I had installed it like 15 years ago.
- oldsecondhand 5y agoWhen CFLs were new, I had cheap CFLs that wouldn't last even half as much as an incandescent bulb while still costing 4-5 times as much.
- _ph_ 5y agoI never had this experience. My first CFL lasted at least 10 years of daily usage as my desk lamp - I think I got rid of it not because it was broken but truly outdated. It is possible that the quality of the grid plays a role as voltage fluctuations might reduce their life time.
- marssaxman 5y agoIf I remember correctly, there was also an issue with the orientation of the ballast - some CFLs expected heat to rise in a certain direction, and if you installed them upside down (in a ceiling fixture, for example), they would overheat and die. I remember being very disappointed with CFLs and abandoning them quickly.
- Johnythree 5y agoDepends which ones you bought. I had Philips CFL's which lasted forever, but cheapies which would die in a few months.
- ClumsyPilot 5y agoYeah but how is it different from people that got burnt by any random new tech they bought without understanding it, like a smart dishwasher that bricked itself because of a failed update, or folks huying bitcoin at the peak
- mbg721 5y agoThose people's old tech didn't get outlawed at the same time.