CFL bulb burnout damaging fitting

The Feb. 2012 issue of Consumer Reports had a sidebar about new hybrid halogen/CFL light bulbs as part of a review of light bulbs. The sidebar includes a picture of a two-pack of GE Energy Smart 75W equivalent bulbs.

These bulbs have a halogen bulb inside the CFL swirl. The theory is that the halogen is used when the light is first turned on, providing instant light. The waste heat from the halogen bulb helps to warm the CFL, allowing it to reach full brightness quicker. The halogen is turned off after the CFL has warmed up, so you're getting the energy savings from the CFL from that point on. The drop in brightness you're seeing is when the halogen turns off.

The CR review said that these bulbs didn't last well in a 2 minute on / 2 minute off rapid cycle test, but were otherwise very good to excellent. It also pointed out that once the CFL fails, you'll have a bulb that lights for a minute, then turns out on its own.

Yes, you're looking for lights with a high lumen output. Since LED/CFL bulbs don't convert heat to light, the wattage isn't directly proportional to the light output. As an extreme example, consider that a 2 watt laser is powerful enough to burn some materials, or blind you!

What you'll likely find is that more expensive LED bulbs from lighting specialty stores are brighter than the cheap bulbs you find at your local home improvement store.

There are other characteristics of the bulb other than power which impact the perceived brightness - reflectors are a good example. A bulb with a wide spread will seem less bright (in a room) than a bulb with a narrow spread since the light is being diffused more.