Philips manufacturers compact fluorescent lightbulbs some of which come with a very generous warranty and a promise of a long life. Mouse Print* reader Chet M. sent us the packaging on one such bulb with a seven year life expectancy that he thought was misleading.
That little dagger symbol leads to a tiny disclosure on the back of the package.
*MOUSE PRINT:
The problem with basing this bulb’s life on only three hours of use daily is that this is a special purpose bulb, with a built-in light sensor. It is meant to go on automatically when it gets dark, and then turn off at daybreak. In most parts in the world, the night is always longer than three hours.  Typically, it might be nine hours or longer, meaning the actual life of the bulb might be just over two years — not the seven promised.
Mouse Print* brought this issue to the attention of Philips. A senior manager of the lighting division replied:
“The company was by no means trying to be misleading, just following accepted industry practices, and as soon as we were made aware the issue, we quickly updated the packaging. Philips stands by its products and services and we take all consumer inquiries/feedback seriously, using it as an opportunity to improve our offerings.”
True to their word, the company sent us a picture of their new package which removed the seven year claim on the front, and incorporated into their warranty that under normal usage, the bulb was guaranteed to last for two years.
In this instance, Philips is a shining example of a company fixing a legitimate consumer issue in record time. We salute them.
I’m impressed.
If I were you, I’d be a little less impressed. I purchased a set of Phillips bulbs, specifically because of their guarantee. When one died immediately on first use, I tried to use the “warranty”. I had a receipt, original packaging and sent all information to Phillips multiple times. Nothing. Nada. ONE reply email asking for information already provided. Follow up information ignored completely. It was horrible customer service. I’ll be avoiding their products completely in the future.
I’ve never tried to use the warranty because I’ve never had one of these bulbs (only use Phillips brand)fail in less than the expected time frame. I have one (regular, not sensored)in the back porch light, which stays on 24 hours/day. Its been back there for almost 4 years now. In fact, since I started using these bulbs 4-5 years ago, I haven’t replaced one yet. I don’t know about anyone else, but I’m happy with the conversion.
My CFLs, not necessarily Phillips brand, seem to burn out frequently, before 6 months, and certainly before I’ve recouped the higher cost of buying them. Then I throw the mercury away in the trash. Our local recycling facility has no special procedures for CFLs. They told me to wrap it in a plastic bag before putting it in the trash.
Question, am I really saving money or helping the environment?
I use CFL bulbs from GE Energy Smart and Home Depot’s EcoSmart and 2 or 3 bulbs burnt out about a year in use. They claim 5 and 9 years, 8000 and 10,000 hours usability which those two bulbs were never used that much. I called/emailed and I received coupons to replace the bulbs. So, that was great. One thing they mentioned to me is that CFL bulbs have a higher chance of burning out if they are turn on and off a lot. E.g. I use them in the bathroom which has no window in my apt, meaning if I go in and out for 10 sec and turn on and off the lights, that will shorten the life of the bulbs dramatically. The bulbs need a couple of minutes to achieve full brightness, I wonder if that has something to do with it.
I have had horrible luck with CFLs – I have had 5 burn out quicker than the regular incandescent bulbs. They need to be improved.
I’ve heard you should only use fluorescent bulbs in places where the light will be turned on for 15 minutes or more, because constantly the light turning on and off will greatly shorten its lifespan. I replaced all the lights in my apartment with CFLs and they are all still working three years later, except for the one in the refrigerator, which I suspect is because of the reason above. I replaced it with a regular incandescent bulb.
Personally, I’m going back to using regular light bulbs. CFLs have been a waste of my money.
Did the fine print mention that these CFL bulbs must be recycled – they contain mercury. It really annoys me that the everyone thinks they are so great but fail to mention the mercury. We will have a huge environmental problem in the future if all these bulbs get into the environment.
On the mercury issue, I found the following that seems to put it in perspective:
http://www.energystar.gov/ia/partners/promotions/change_light/downloads/Fact_Sheet_Mercury.pdf
Recycling CFL bulbs is a great idea. But where? There are no recycle centers for CFL bulbs in my area(rural Oregon).
Any Home Depot should have a recycle box in their entrance area to drop CFL, provided you’ve got those in Oregon. It looks like Lowes does this too.
http://search.earth911.com/?what=CFL&where=oregon
jt
The nearest Home Depot is approx. 140 miles away. I don’t think it would be environmentally sound or economical to drive that far. Any other ideas?
Here are some suggestions for CFL recycling: http://www.mnn.com/your-home/at-home/stories/5-ways-to-dispose-of-old-cfls
Hopefully, as CFLs become more popular, recycling will become more available.
I got sucked in to the whole CFL thing when it first started, and they were using a “10 year life” ad with them.
Within a YEAR I was already replacing bulbs, in the exact same place that the old bulbs would last 4 years.
I’ve since gotten rid of ever CFL when they go out and gone back to the old bulbs.
Current CFLs have decent life. Older CFLs – the ones that lit up a second after the switch is flipped – had shorter-than-advertised life and I definitely lost money on these. I calculate my break-even point for current ~67-cent-CFLs to be just a few months so conversion’s definitely worth it now. For the folks returning to incandescents, heard a news story that CA has or will ban their sale because of their higher watts/lumen and a guy who’s planning to save enough for his lifetime use. Where CA goes, the nation may follow.
I don’t think a company that makes false claims UNTIL they are consumer refuted deserves any accolades. Sounds like their way to make a killing until caught. Call it their “bubble profits”.
I prefer companies that don’t make a practice of fleecing the public until caught. It proves they don’t test claims they make, hoping to get by with them – cheat until proven wrong. Not MY kind of company – for ANY product EVER.
In the past I have also had the CFL light bulbs burn out way earlier than the claim advertised on the package. I have since read online that when you buy new CFL bulbs, when you put them into the lamp for the first time, leave them on for at least 4 hours to allow the vapors in the bulb to travel to the top of the bulb. Supposedly this will make the bulb last longer. Since I decided this was worth a try, I did indeed leave the bulb on for 6 hours. I cannot say if this is true or not because I only tried it a few months ago.
Kudos to Phillips for correcting the error!