Recommend CFL

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linuxtechie

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Folks,

Need some help regarding CFL's. I had installed about 10 CFL (Philips) some 12 months back. Since then almost 60% are dead, as they are due of replacement, I was looking for some recommendations... atleast better lasting.

Please let me know.

Thanks

~LT
 
well i 100% agree that philips CFL sucks same as u most of mine are dead.
good ones are OSRAM ,crompton creaves.these have lasted infact still running even though they were installed the same time as the philips.
also from my own testing the philips ones gives out lesser lumens.

do note that a CFL will last longer if switch on for atleast 15 min.most of bulbs gone in my house are the ones which i used to switch on for a few seconds.

other brands i have been using are wipro and finolex,the finolex ones are realy bright, not a huge fan of wipros color tint.
 
adder said:
well i 100% agree that philips CFL sucks same as u most of mine are dead.
good ones are OSRAM ,crompton creaves.these have lasted infact still running even though they were installed the same time as the philips.
also from my own testing the philips ones gives out lesser lumens.

do note that a CFL will last longer if switch on for atleast 15 min.most of bulbs gone in my house are the ones which i used to switch on for a few seconds.

other brands i have been using are wipro and finolex,the finolex ones are realy bright, not a huge fan of wipros color tint.
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Thanks for the updates adder, well the most that have went dead are the ones that light up during night, hence definitely more than 15min.

How are the finolex doing? Hanging in there?

Party Monger said:
There are LED lights out in the market too, anyone tried?
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They are very expensive for sure, so not given a thought yet.

~LT
 
well the finolex is doing great,unlike philips which after a month or so where its starts to blacken.

the LED lights sold in india are at the best good for night lamp.they cannot give out the same lumens of CFL.although they have a higher lumens/watt,they can only get to about 10watts like the one from SSC called Acriche with quad die,just the emitter costs well over Rs1000+ the digital regulator is extra.
i have been researching on LEDs for quite a white,ever since i got a mag led back in 05 which again uses a LUXEON led a philips brand,again they suck compared to the competition from cree,ssc and now even osram is better.
i love the way LEDs are improving almost following moores law,but unless they are cheap,it ain't gone sell atleast in india.
pros of led is the long life more then 30000hrs to 50000hrs ,compared to cfl which is around 8000hrs or more,which i doubt.
cons is the narrow viewing angle unless u diffuse the light by optics,it ain't gone be a good bulb for lighting,but good for flashlights.
 
none of the CFL's are reliable these days, tried almost every brand available in market

what i did was, took bulk from bigbazaar during festive discount seasons :p
 
I have used Havell's - they are good. And yes don't use CFLs where you need to switch on/off the lights frequently. Use CFLs where you need the lights constantly - because you spend 130-150 bucks for a CFL - so to offset the purchase price and start saving on electricity you need to use these where you keep your keep your lights on for longer. Also, if CFLs get busted frequently at your place - don't use CFL at all. Because you can't save anything (actually you spend more) if you have to change them every 6 month. Just do a simple math.
Also, you can use PL lamps. These are two pin lamps which are to be fixed on a special holder along with a ballast. The lamps are much cheaper for replacing - as they don't contain any electronics. You only spend once for the fixture and ballant. The PL lamps costs around 70-80 bucks.

See this:

PL Type Lamps
 
archat68 said:
I have used Havell's - they are good. And yes don't use CFLs where you need to switch on/off the lights frequently. Use CFLs where you need the lights constantly - because you spend 130-150 bucks for a CFL - so to offset the purchase price and start saving on electricity you need to use these where you keep your keep your lights on for longer. Also, if CFLs get busted frequently at your place - don't use CFL at all. Because you can't save anything (actually you spend more) if you have to change them every 6 month. Just do a simple math.
Also, you can use PL lamps. These are two pin lamps which are to be fixed on a special holder along with a ballast. The lamps are much cheaper for replacing - as they don't contain any electronics. You only spend once for the fixture and ballant. The PL lamps costs around 70-80 bucks.

See this:

PL Type Lamps
Click to expand...

Well this thread is doing good for sure. @archat68, those ballast are noisy beast, how do you take care of those? Also are they energy efficient? Any recommendation for PL + Ballast?

~LT
 
malhotraraul said:
none of the CFL's are reliable these days, tried almost every brand available in market
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And thats because they all have the kite mark on the box, ie made in India ;)

So if you want better look for one without and preferably made abroad. You will be paying a premium for it tho.

Yes it will last longer, question is whether its worth it compared to replacing with locally made ?

GE used to do them for 500+ not sure if do them anymore as at that price point there won't be many takers.
 
linuxtechie said:
Thanks for the updates adder, well the most that have went dead are the ones that light up during night, hence definitely more than 15min.

How are the finolex doing? Hanging in there?

They are very expensive for sure, so not given a thought yet.

~LT
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They arent very expensive, a POP light with whole fitting costs abt 250rs, so i thing one with out any fitting would cost way lesser..I asked a few days ago, and the guy told that one that fits into the bulb holder is cheaper..how much that i dont know, but then again the light it throws is abt 1/4 of the cfl, but at 3wats, its worth it for lighting the stairs and such... 4floors u can light whole day at just 3*4=12 watts..

BTW, i heard individual leds come pretty cheap..

@adder:- ur talking abt the fancy ones, there are simple ones available..
 
linuxtechie said:
Well this thread is doing good for sure. @archat68, those ballast are noisy beast, how do you take care of those? Also are they energy efficient? Any recommendation for PL + Ballast?

~LT
Click to expand...

well every CFL as a built in ballast,its just that these have a detachable ballast,so that of the FL goes poof,u can replace only the lamp or vice versa.the ballast is like any other ballast u find in a cfl.

Party Monger said:
@adder:- ur talking abt the fancy ones, there are simple ones available..
Click to expand...
well i don't know they look like regular incandesant bulbs,with a LED inside.but if u know any LED thats different ,please let me know or a link to product spec.
 
linuxtechie said:
Well this thread is doing good for sure. @archat68, those ballast are noisy beast, how do you take care of those? Also are they energy efficient? Any recommendation for PL + Ballast?

~LT
Click to expand...

Phillips makes good ballasts for PL lampls- I've used a few - no noise. However some of the local ones that I purchased are noisy.

Yes they are energy efficient. Actually, in a CFL you get the ballast and the lamp in a single case (the bulge at the base of the lamp is the ballast) and you have to pay for the ballast every time your lamp fails - so the higher replacement cost. But in PL lamp you get these things separately, so you just change the lamp only and pay for it when your lamp fails (and save money):clap:.

Philips makes PL lamps, fixtures and ballasts in India.

Philips Lighting Asia Pacific

http://www.lighting.philips.co.in/in/en/Portal

Also check with Osram - in my experience they make better lights compared to Philips.
 
Guys I brought unbranded (labeled as GREEN but i think they were locally manufactured or chinnese) CFL's of 12 watts and 23 watts combined around 6 of them from chandni chowk, delhi in year 2000 for Rs. 25 and Rs.35 respectively.

not to mention the 12watts ones i used it for around 3 years and the 23 watts one i used it for more then 4 years.

Personally I have never used phillips, but i know that there is a lot of duplicacy in this bulbs and it is difficult to make out.

i have used osram and bajaj later on which are working nice and good.

Since I deal in LED Lighting, LED lighting is available but too costly at the moment but if manufactured well they have great life and brightness

Thanks
 
wow! i've been using cfl's from 10 years at my home and all of them were philips. they lasted me atleast 4 years on average. one lasted around 6 years and it was made in holland.

now most of the shopkeepers in my area stock osram and wipro, but both of them give out less light compared to the philips ones. the latest one i bought was a philips, made in china. hope it lasts two years since thats what is written on the box.
 
One advice from my personal experience - don't go for Chinese CFLs - they are crap. They have very short life, lesser light output than energy consumed and also are noisy and unsafe. In my house two Chinese CFLs had burst when they were operational.
 
adder said:
well i don't know they look like regular incandesant bulbs,with a LED inside.but if u know any LED thats different ,please let me know or a link to product spec.
Click to expand...

Exactly, LEDs don't emit yellow light just that garish white light which makes everyone look crap :)

I never understand why ppl would want white light instead of yellow light. For one it screws up colours totally being only 40% accurate compared to the 90% of an incadescent or even a similar CFL, all in relation to sunlight of course.

I don't buy the 'more light' argument either, its much more harsh in comparison to yellow light, you want more light get a higher wattage bulb !
 
Party Monger said:
Look wat i found
eBay India: Pack of 24 LED Bulbs : 1 Watt :Low Power Consumption (item 330363661943 end time 01-Oct-2009 13:01:45 IST)

Look like night lamps but still worth..consume just 1watt :shock:
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well but how may lumens / watt ,my guess is that its less then 60 lumens/watts ,since a good led emitter alone will cost alteast Rs200 then comes the circuit.even the highest rated LED emitter in the world which is commercialy available for OEMs is only about close to 120 lumens and that will cost around Rs400 each when u buy 1000 LEDs.
so with ebay 1 watt led u only get at the max around 60 lumes,which again will decrease once it diffuses.
where as a 5 watt CFL u are getting around 68lumens/watt i.e 340lumens, a 12 watt cfl bulb 816lumens,18watt cfl bulb will give around 1200+lumens.
only the SSC Acriche can give a light out put close to 1200lumens which cost well over Rs1200 without taxes.add a diffuser, a holder,heatsink,the price will jump + the cost of ready made and warranty.

@blr_p
they do sell led emitter with a yellow tint,but it has a lesser output compared to white tint and even less to cool white tint.
 
I have used Philips and Orpat. While most of the Philips ones lasted well over 4 years, Orpat could stretch just over an year. So, I am a little surprised to know other people's experiences with Philips CFL. It is possible that duplicate Philips CFLs are in the market. The ones I used were made in imported from Singapore (not that that mark cannot be faked)!
 
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