Review by J. Pawlowski:

At a little over 10 bucks for 8 of these, you can’t go wrong.

These are just your basic CFLs, at the 2700 kelvin temperature range. That means they’re about the same shade as your basic ordinary 60W incandescent bulb. A pale yellow white, not pure white (5100 Kelvin), or daylight (around 6300 Kelvin).

Pure white or daylight CFLS cost more because the phosphors in them are more expensive, but they do have the advantage of being more natural light, rather than imitating the poor quality light of an ordinary light bulb.

So if you’re thinking of upgrading to CFLs these bulbs are a great deal to start from. But do take advantage of the technology & get a higher quality light at a higher color temperature for some of your areas, & enjoy better quality light, rather than just using CFLs that imitate the poor quality light of old fashioned light bulbs.

Winter depression can be triggered by lack of natural light because of less hours of daylight, & more cloudy, overcast days in winters. In northern climates when it’s cold, people stay inside more, use heavy insulating window curtains, further reducing their exposure to natural light. 5100K-6700k CFLs help with winter depression by exposing you to more natural light. Colors look more rich & vivid. Things look more cheery. It’s even easier to read under natural light.

I find I can read just as easy under a 4-watt 5100k CFL than a 13 watt 2700k CFL.

The backlight in your LCD display that you’re probably reading this from is probably a 5100k-6700K bulb.

Look at the white areas on the screen & then look at your lighting in the room. Doesn’t that ordinary light bulb or 2700K CFL look a lot more yellow by comparison?

Review by George B.:

Things to look on the package:

1. Kelvin temperature (K): The only accurate measurement for the kind of light or “color” of light you’ll get. 2700K is pretty close to the “warm” incandescent we are all used to, 4100/4200K is known as “Cool White” (you might look “ghostly under that) and 5,000+ is the daylight/sunlight. If the lamps do not have the K designation, do not buy them – they are the cheaper variety since establishing the K temp. costs more.

2. Lamp Life (Hrs): The life of a light bulb is the MEAN life, that is at the stated hours HALF of them will be dead and HALF of them will still be working. Life can be affected by many factors, one being how many times a day you turn them on and how long they stay on. As a rule, the more on/off’s, the less they last.

3. Initial lumens: If it is not listed try another brand. For the typical 60W equivalent it ranges between 700 and 900 lumens. Try for 800+ In general the highest the K temp. (see #1 above) the higher the lumens.

4. Make sure you read what they say about DIMMERS, as well as photocells, timers, etc. Avoid costly surprises.

5. Make sure they are rated for outdoor use – if that’s where you want to install them. The environment’s temperature has a lot to do with the CFL performance.

6. Buy as few as you can first and redo, say one room. See how YOU like it (allow 90 seconds warm-up time). If you are a male, have your female with you…she might have some objections you can’t even think about!

HAPPY HUNTING!

Review by A. Dent:

The 40W fluorescents (150-200W equivalent) are hard to find in most brick and mortar stores (they like to sell the smaller 40W and the 100W equivalents) so I was double-happy when I saw this one at Amazon. First, because Amazon carries it and second because it’s available under super-savers’ shipping.

Talking about the item itself:

- you WILL experience some delay when you turn it on but it’s hardly noticeable, like maybe 1/10 of a second

- once it’s on, unlike the ‘cheaper’ fluorescents that need to warm up, it shines at or close to full brightness immediately

- it’s a bulky, significantly wider and longer than the 150W incandescent equivalents and it may not fit all fixtures where a regular 150W bulb used to fit

- does not work well with a dimmer – it’s either on or off [I tried it with one and it did come on at full brightness but something is telling me that you may shorten its life when used this way]

- the light is bright, so bright, I would not stare at it directly – I did once and I saw ‘ghosts’ for the next 15-30 minutes

- the color of light is closer to ’solar’ than what our ‘incandescents’ deliver, less yellow, more blue

- unlike neon lights, there’s no flicker

- it consumes less power when compared to an incandescent

The above were my subjective comments. Here are the specs, as the manufacturer lists them:

- Light output: 2800 lumens

- Energy used: 42W

- Life: 8000 hrs.

- Color temperature: 6500K

- Electric charge: 610mA

The major issue I have with the fluorescents is their lifespan. Maybe I am unlucky but, after replacing nearly all my light bulbs in the house – a few dozen – they seem to burn out more often. My first couple 40W I bought a few years ago (a different brand), in fact, died after about one year, I hope this is not the case again because we are paying top dollar for these environmentally nice devices.

So far, I see no reason not to award this bulb 5 stars but, if it dies on me before 2-3 years, I promise to come back and update my review. For the record, the maker promises a 7-year lifespan and 2 (???) savings per bulb.

______________________________________________________________

March, 2010 update:

On their 10th month, they (I bought a 2-pack) are as bright and shiny as on ‘day one’ and they’ve been on for many hours because I telecommute most of the time and my office is in the basement. I haven’t done the math but it’s likely that they’ve paid for themselves already.

I bought 2 more in December, 2009 and no burnouts yet.

Review by iix:

I ordered these and some Alzo 45 watt CFL 5500K. The Feit bulbs came first so I used them first. They were very bright, in fact, too bright for me. I was hoping for a more pure white light so I was disappointed with the bluish light. The following day the Alzo bulbs came in. I changed the Feit bulbs out with the Alzo bulbs and they were just what I was looking for in a CFL. They turned on quickly (as did these Feit bulbs) but also were a pure white light like I’ve never seen in a CFL before. I’ve moved these Feit bulbs in the other room for kitchen duty. They are now in the fixture above my sink and they do a fine job there.

Review by WilliWu:

I tried to replace the original bulb in my Verilux desk lamp with this and discovered that the base is slightly different. As a result, it does not snap in when fully seated as the Verilux bulb does. At first it appeared to be working OK, but I later discovered that the loose fit causes frequent failures. You can get it going again by twisting it in the fixture, but it is likely to fail again the next time you turn it on. Verilux has you just where thay want you.

Review by K. Lai:

I have been using this desktop lamp for over 3 years. I love it. When the light bulb finally burns out, i change it to this FML 27W bulb. It functions great. No complain at all

Review by R. Ploehn:

Great idea to combine the larger harps with the CFLs. Work great and installation takes less than a minute.

Review by Ron van Hoof:

The harp and bulbs were easy to install. They are a definitely brighter than the regular 3-ways I used to use though, even on the lowest setting. The lowest setting has the brightness of the middle setting of a regular 3 way.

Review by Jay L. Ring:

I purchased six fluorescent black light bulbs. They all worked very well with the black light posters I ordered soon afterword. They are not a bit like the black incandescent bulbs of the past. These fluorescent black lights work every bit as well as the tubes with the exception that they screw into yout average light socket. I plan to purchase a rack lighting system and filling it with some more fluorescent black lights. I’m very satisfied with my purchases of these lights.

Sincerely,

Adrian Alexis

Review by Bill Nicholas:

I’m reading all these positive reviews and saying to myself, Something’s not right here. I bought one of these and it DOES NOT work well. Sure, if you compare it to an “incandescent bulb,” which too many other reviewers suspisciously do, it is marginally better. But if you compare it to a full size black light fluorescent tube, this CF version is sorely lacking. This bulb, used with or without a shade, does not make white, like your teeth or on your clothes, glow brightly. It only marginally makes bright colors pop. The black light effects are not obvious; you have to really look for them. If you think you’re going to use these at a party and everyone freaks out, forget it. I think the problem is the bulb is too bright. You would think it makes sense that a fluorescent light, even in CF form, would make black light work better, but it is a poor substitution for “real” black light fluorescent tubes.

Review by Y. Alemadi:

This is my second set of lights. The first one lasted 6-7 monthes. Then they started to dim and keep flashing a little. I bought another set and it’s been like 5 monthes now. I have a two light fixture mounted on a wall above the main door that gets you in the house. Well these lights work everyday from sunset until the morning. I keep them on so the house looks occupied at all times except mornings.

9-watts i believe are like 40W in Incandescent.

Regards,

Review by Tolkien Fan:

I just got this, so I don’t know how long it lasts. Looks fine, does the job.

However, note that each bulb is 1 3/4 inches in diameter and a bit over 4 inches in length. That’s quite a big bigger than the bulbs I’m replacing. Also, the bulbs are frosted, not clear. Worked for me, but YMMV.