GE 26 Watt Energy Smart CFL - 6 Pack - 100 Watt Replacement

The seller was great but the bulbs left something to be desired.

I got them around September 4th 2009 and here it is November 4th 2009 and half of the bulbs are dead.

The package says they are 5 year bulb's well if so that 5 years just blew by.

I contacted GE about this but don't expect to hear anything back from them.

I would say stay away from these GE CF bulbs.

The bulb was great when I first installed it. But then 3-4 months later, it's dead. This is a bulb that should last 4-5 years with normal usage.

Compact fluorescent light bulbs (CFL bulbs) do use significantly less energy than incandescent bulbs (IC bulbs), so if you eventually replace all your burned out IC bulbs with CFL bulbs, you will see a decrease in your electric bill. However, CFL bulbs are more expensive, so it will take a while to recover the few dollars more that you pay for a multipack with your savings in electricity (and then start saving real money).

And there are some other considerations:

1. These GE CFL bulbs do NOT last five years in normal use like GE claims, so their long-term cost advantage over IC bulbs is not as great as advertised, especially if you already have a supply of spare IC bulbs. The five years is a dubious GE advertising claim which is apparently based on continuous usage, that is, never turning the light off. I have bought a few packages of spiral GE CFL bulbs over the last few years, and at least half of them have burned out - well before the five year claim...Read more