The Electrical Safety Authority Responds to Consumer Concerns About

Compact Fluorescent Lamps - Revisited

 

 

We decided to revisit this newsletter since it was such a popular one – many of you commented and had some strong opinions about compact fluorescent lamps.

 

Some of the main points that emerged:

 

• Frequent failure of lamps well before the 5-7 year life claim.

• When failure occurs a strong burning odor is emitted and the plastic base melts.

• The mercury in CFL's remain a concern for safe handling and disposal.

 

Click here to read the full safety advisory released by the ESA.

 

 

Here are the comments that were submitted:

Most compact fluorescent bulbs that are on the market that do not have a second layers of glass can be used outdoor in an enclosed fixture. Nevertheless, some outdoor fixtures block the cooling holes is the base blah blah blah.

I have used compact fluorescent bulbs for years and in some cases a 23 watt or 26 watt bulbs to goose up and a fixture that is rated only 60 watts incandescent.

They seem ( on average ) to withstand the stresses of moving from Cleveland, Ohio to Akron, Ohio even the cheap ones.

Mike Cole

Michael R. Cole 

For years I used 40 watt incandescent bulbs in a recessed "can" light which has a covered trim ring (located in a bathroom). If it was left on for more than an hour or so the thermal reset on the can would trip and then reset when it had cooled off for a while. About 6 months ago I replaced the bulb with a 40w equiv. (9w?) CFL and the thermal has not tripped since. But now ya'll have me worrying. In recessed can lights shouldn't the thermal reset (required in all can lights, I believe) prevent any hazardous temperature build up?

Tim Wissman

what a cop out! if i had a outlet, a connector, a light bulb socket ,fail in this way it would be a hazard! in their zeal to save energy are they really willing to sacrifice lives smoke and charring is not an acceptable end of life condition !!!!!

ted 

I have had 2 of these bulbs fail (end of life) while in use. The first bulb emitted a STRONG burning odor and the plastic base started to melt. The second bulb emitted a STRONG burning odor only. Users should be aware of this. No warning was listed on the package concerning the odor or base melting.

William J. Yeagley

We have noted several U.L. Listed lighting fixture failures at one of our clients numerous residential facilities that appear to be directly related to the heat from the CFL lamp base.

The particular fixtures were installed as part of a utility retrofit rebate program prior to our involvement and are not of the quality that we would normally recommend.

No fires have resulted, however the heat has caused the lamp base holder to fail and allows the energized lamp to fall against the lens which in turn gets hot and deforms. This is not occurring just at the end of lamp life.

My belief is U.L. needs to review their fixture standards for CFL lamp application.

Don Renbarger

My experiences are similar to all the above, especially with base-up installs. I have however installed some CFLs that are housed in a floodlight housing and so far they are lasting longer than the open coil style

Rhine Meyering

I have been using CFLs almost exclusively in my home since 2002. I have witnessed a CFL leaking fluid (I assume from a capacitor) when it failed. And a second CFL shattered when it failed.

My experience is that CFLs appear to fail much sooner and much more violently when installed horizontally (e.g., in a bathroom vanity) than when installed vertically (e.g., in a table lamp).

My recommendation is to remove power and replace a CFL as soon as it starts flickering, especially if it is mounted horizontally.

Paul A. Harouff, P.E.  

After replacing all my old incandescent light with CFL I have been noticing a popping sound on all the switches when turning them on. An ark can be seen at night when switches are activated. I have the suspicious that something is wrong with the electronics inside the CFL.

Michael gonzalez 

Reply from: Mark Prairie Michael, When you changed to a CFL, you changed the switch load from a resistive to an inductive load which (provided there are no wiring, lamp or switch defects) may produce the arc and popping sound. The age of the switch is a factor in this. The GE site recommends that they be used in a base down position. At the most a horizontal position, their packaging indicates this also. The life expectancy is greatly reduced in a base up position and they do not recommend there use in enclosed, "canned light" configurations, as this will also decrease their life. This will severely limit there usage as I see it. Ed  Reply from: Mark Prairie Thanks Ed, you answered the question I posted earlier. I guess CFL's have no advantage when used in the most common fixtures, such as exterior entrance, where they must be on at night, without the motion sensor, which causes a delay due to warm-up during the cool seasons.

In May I replaced all the lights with the compact bulbs and two have already burned out.

Paul Vendemmia  

The base of a CFL is over 200 F degrees a 60 watt incandescent about 119 F degrees. This would make it more of fire hazard in closet and storage spaces.

Bob Matthews 

I've not witnessed burning to the extent shown in the photo, but I've noticed a few bases that were showing burn marks after removal of a nonfunctioning unit.

I've been marking the installation date on CF tubes for several years. Nearly half have failed within a few months after installation. I do have a few that have survived over 2 years before failure, but those are the exception to the norm.

This seems to be consistent across brands and wattages.

I'm not convinced that I am really saving any money. What I may be saving in energy costs, has been spent on replacing all the early-failures.

Shawn Coppel 

As an experiment, I've been using CFL's for a number of years in my kitchen in recessed (can) lighting fixtures. Each time I install a CFL I write the installation date on the base with a permanent marker. While the CFL's are warranted to last 6 - 7 years the best I've gotten out of them is just over two years. Some of the CFL's I've removed look very much like the one pictured in your E-mail. While I have not tested this, I've surmised that the CFL's probably will work for the warranted period in a pedestal lamp where the base is on the bottom and there is plenty of air circulation.

Carl 

So first they save you energy...then they burn out and burn your house down.

Nice tradeoff....

Leo 

Reply from: Brad
Can you site an occurrence of this?

Some times when I have replaced these lamps the spiral have broken off at the base, leaving the leads exposed. This creates a shock hazard that not everyone who changes lamps is aware of. Never mind of the environmental issues inside our homes with the mercury inside the lamp itself. Manufactures should do a better job of labeling there products.

Jorge Medina 

I have had at least 10 of these lamps fail in this way. All were well before the stated life of 7 years (most within 2 years). If the industry wants to continue to push this product on the public, they MUST make a better product.

Matt  

Concerns about CFL's are related to the mercury hazard when the bulb element is shattered. To quote a reliable source (Wikipedia): "Cleanup of broken fluorescent lamps A broken fluorescent tube is more hazardous than a broken conventional incandescent bulb due to the mercury content. Because of this, the safe cleanup of broken fluorescent bulbs differs from cleanup of conventional broken glass or incandescent bulbs. 99% of the mercury is typically contained in the phosphor, especially on lamps that are near their end of life [6]. Therefore, a typical safe cleanup usually involves careful disposal of any broken glass, as well as any loose white powder (fluorescent glass coating), in accordance with local hazardous waste laws. A wet towel should be used instead of a vacuum cleaner for cleanup of glass and powder, to reduce the vaporization of the mercury into the air."

Jim Nolan 

The mercury in CFL's remain a concern for safe handling and disposal, and this issue is not addressed in the attached document.

james rae  

I have CFLs installed throughout my house for about three years. Most of the packages declared a 5 years life while a few have claimed 7 years. I have not witnessed any catastrophic failures causing smoking or charring. I have noted that the life span claims seem optimistic. I have replaced about a third of the CFLs so far. Some last a just a few weeks. What I do know is the laissez-faire attitude in congress has gutted the ability of both the NEC and FCC to properly monitor and enforce their regulations. So in the same way that the CDC and DHS can't stop people with contagious diseases; the FDA can't stop melamine laced food imports; the FCC can't stop radio frequency abuses; neither can the NEC enforce quality controls for the CFLs. We need to complain and watch government agencies with a critical eye if we want them to be effective and manufacturers to produce good products.

EM  

Reply from: Tall Bill While you mention several agencies, don't forget about the EPA, whose policies regarding exposure to toxic agents has been largely unenforced, and or taken on by others who due to financial limitations are unable to oversee corrections on a timely basis. Shifting everything to the private sector does not balance when budgeting is considered. Can anyone explain what causes this condition? I have noticed there is no recommended position ( base down, up, ect). for these lamps on the packaging that I have seen. Mark Prairie

Our chemical manufacturing facility is considering replacing some of the incandescent lamps with these types of compact fluorescent lamps in Class 1 Div 2 hazardous classified areas. Are there any particular codes that address this type of use, or anyone have any experience in this area?

Frances H. Strader  

Reply from: Larry Cox If the use is in an enclosed fixture then heat containment may be a problem. I think that most CFLs are designed for open fixtures.

We just had one of these fail in a kitchen fixture. The smell, which was a lot like melting insulation, was a bit disconcerting. Now that we've gone through this it will be easier to locate when the next one fails in this mode. The lamp did look a lot like the photo although not quite so dark at the tube end.

Jim