Over the past ten to fifteen years, compact fluorescent bulbs (CFL) have surfaced as a viable alternative to incandescent lighting that we’ve used since Edison first developed the tungsten filament lightbulb. It’s a great means to reduce our carbon footprint and lower our utility bills in the process. In cities like NYC where electricity costs a whopping 13+ cents/kWh with enormous delivery charges, you can reduce your electric bills from lighting by over 50% with CFLs.

I’ve been using CFL’s since college days. The bulb I have in the track light to the left has been with me since senior year of college. It still runs strong, and uses about 13-watts of power to generate luminosity equivalent to a 75-watt incandescent bulb. You’ve probably read some of the shortcomings of CFL’s, which includes flickering, delayed startup, and incompatibility with dimmer switches. While these problems have been mostly remedied with stringent quality control and built-in dimming ballasts, the one gripe I’ve had with CFL’s is that their intensities degrade over time.

My 13-watt CFL bulb is made by GE; I’ve had it for about 6 years. I recently bought a 9-watt NVision CFL bulb to place in my side table lantern. When compared to each other, it is clear that the 9-watt bulb is brighter than the 13-watt bulb. I don’t have a light meter to measure the luminosity of the light, but there is a perceivable difference in intensity.

The question now is whether my new bulb will degrade in quality over time. I guess that I’ll have to wait a few years to find out. In the meantime, I’ve replaced the bulbs in my living room area with CFL’s. They work well in general areas, but not as well for reading light. I’ve stuck with my mini-halogen desk lamp for that.

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