I have a couple dozen Panasonic CFL (EFG15E28 15 W "capsule" type)
installed (upside down!) for about 5 years now. Had 2 or 3 failures
only. Like any fluorescent they don't really like to be turned on &
off, they take a minute to come to full brightness, especially in cold
weather outdoors. Best if they run for extended periods IMO.
Overall, CFL's have been a very good experience at this QTH. No
detectable RFI. Exception: I have had a couple of cheap CFL "torchiere"
floor lamps that put out copious HF garbage, but that has to do with the
cheap 3 way switching circuit. They emit RFI even when turned "off"!
CFLs are fairly cheap now, and they do save a lot of energy. But come
back in a few years and LED lighting will be the obvious choice.
73 Martin AA6E
Kelly Johnson wrote:
> I have 2 CFL's in my outdoor walkway area. They've lasted several
> months so far. No RFI.
>
> On 10/18/07, Larry Burke <wi5a@sbcglobal.net> wrote:
>> Thanks for passing this along, Alan. Good info in the link. I got a big
>> chuckle when it arrived, as I had just come inside from replacing two CFCs
>> in recessed cans on our patio. They had only been in service since July.
>>
>> These things have a very high infant mortality rate -- particularly the
>> higher wattage (120 W replacement) outdoor types. I have popped 3-4 of them
>> (out of about 15) just turning them on the first time. Until today, I had
>> not had a problem with anything other than infant mortality. But it's
>> beginning to look like they won't last anywhere close to 7 years even if
>> they pass the first power-up.
>>
>> If we are going to outlaw the incandescent bulb, as some jurisdictions have
>> suggested, the manufacturers better do something quickly about CFC
>> reliability.
>>
>> On the plus side -- since this is an RFI forum -- I have not noted any noise
>> from them so far on the bands I frequent (160 - 40 m).
>>
>>
>> - Larry Wi5A
>>
>>
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: rfi-bounces@contesting.com [mailto:rfi-bounces@contesting.com] On
>> Behalf Of Alan NV8A
>> Sent: Thursday, October 18, 2007 10:30 AM
>> To: Rfi
>> Subject: [RFI] How cost effective -- and safe -- are CFL bulbs anyway?
>>
>> See the following sampling of user and installer reports:
>>
>> http://www.mikeholt.com/newsletters.php?action=display&letterID=464
>>
>> Note the warning against using them base-up.
>>
>> To add my own 2 cents' worth: We replaced as many as possible (those not on
>> dimmers) of the incandescent bulbs in this house by CFLs when we moved in
>> just under 4 years ago. Most of them have had to be replaced already.
>>
>> 73
>>
>> Alan NV8A
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