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 Jeff P. Henderson:

I’m using 6 of these in my back yard in place of 100W incandescent par38 bulbs. They output approximately the same amount of light and only use 26% of the power of the incandescent model. What’s not to like?

Review by L. Lustenberger:

Bought several for outdoor lighting. Beware of the very wide base just above where the bulb is screwed into the light socket. My outdoor lights have shields that protect the bulb, and in this case the shield base width was not wide enough to allow this bulb to fit. Other notes 1) takes 2-4 minutes to reach full brightness 2) light color is nice & warm

Review by fatmav:

I have one from an original Verilux’s fixture and the included bulb burned out in less than 2 months. Then I replaced it with another brand’s bulb.

In terms of form factor, as long as it has a GX10Q-4 base (sometimes called “linear quad” or “4 pin F quads”), any replacement bulb should fit *EDIT* but please see the discussion in the product “comments” below for a brand that works and another that doesn’t. I do not know why there can be so much variation in a socket specification…

In terms of light quality, as long as it’s 6000K, you may not see a difference unless you do a side-by-side experiment. Sure, Verilux will claim that they are “full-spectrum”, but you can read the spectroradiometer output yourself if you search for “solux verilux”. I won’t go so far to claim that all 6000K Compact Fluorescent Light bulbs on the market are the same. They may vary in the chemical composition and hence the color temperature. (Verilux measures 5700K in my experiment and a competitor’s at 5900K. Note that most people prefer warmer temperature so indeed 5700K is more preferrable.)

Having used a different brand’s replacement myself, there is very little difference in Verilux’s bulb to justify the much higher price (more than double if you shop around) when compared to competitors. Your choice.

Review by James Townsend:

The “first” bulb I received from the Website lasted approximatey 45 minutes before burning out. I have not been able to determine if the bulb was incorrect for my lamp or not. When I called the 800 number and explained this,the person at the other end was apologetic and offered to send me a replacement. When the replacement arrived, it was cracked and broken in several places. I gave up and vowed never to order anything so fragile through the mail again.