In Defense of the CFL: A Retrospective

[@TechnologyConnections]

Maybe I'm reading the room incorrectly, but a lot of people don't seem to appreciate these wonderful little pieces of lighting history. They certainly had flaws (one I overlooked here was that larger wattage equivalents required the lamp itself to be physically larger) but so does any stepping-stone technology. I want to clarify regarding the flaws fixed by their successors that LEDs can still be prone to premature failure, but it seems more often than not that happens thanks to a manufacturing defect. If you buy a whole bunch of the same lamp perhaps after a few months some will have failed, but the rest will likely stay in operation for years. Look up the bathtub curve if you're interested in that phenomenon. And, somehow, I missed perhaps the most important thing about them. Compared to incandescent lamps, they used 1/4 the energy! LEDs are routinely besting that today, but being able to cut lighting costs by 75% made a big difference. And when you found a sweet-spot application for a CFL, you probably didn't need to replace that lamp for years. So stop hatin' on them!

[@TheSilentCartgraph3r]

Heavy toxic metal proliferation is not worth it, TC. You should know that nobody would dispose of these correctly.

[@TheSilentCartgraph3r]

Any climate impact offset by CFLs was not worth the permanent mercury pollution in the air, water, and soil.

[@5Andysalive]

@@TheSilentCartgraph3r That must have been tiny. Given the size and the lifetime. At least for the small home ones. After all we were fine with literal (and metric) tons of lead in the air for decades. Which is about as toxic as mercury. Quite intersting story behind how that ended. It took more than a slow and harmless fading into history. Involves the guy who measured the age of the Earth. (and couldn't because the air was full of lead). And a LOT of lawyers (in the story, not the air).

[@SlyNine]

I enjoy them. But I don't like walls of text.

[@virginiahansen320]

I think you got a lot of broad-based opposition to CFLs. You had left-wing environmentally minded people hating them because of the heavy-metal issue, and you had right-wing libertarian/conservative people hating them because they were being forced on them by the government. Combine that with some of the other issues with them and it was a recipe for everybody hating them.

[@Carlos-ux7gv]

I'm from a poor country. My first job was near a lamp hardware store (it sold bulbs and fixtures). Every paycheck I got there and bought one or two CFLs to replace the incandescent bulbs we had at home. The change in the electric bill was measurable and it was among the first things I did to improve my parents home.

[@FlightSimXtreem]

Your a good person Carlos

[@davidcobra1735]

You're kidding right? The saving's about 10% in a country like Canada and that's just for lighting, not the total electrical bill, so basically nothing. "Economic lightbulbs" are only really economical in warm countries. Actually even looking at it like that is very stupid, they're basically for office buildings, garages, public venues, anywhere you need constant cheap light but don't want heating. At home they make almost no sense but the damn technocrats in government made us use them against our will.

[@Carlos-ux7gv]

@@davidcobra1735 I live near the equador, yea. So, yes, most of our electrical bill in the 2000s came from incandescent light bulbs, not from heating or preserving food.

[@davidcobra1735]

@@Carlos-ux7gv Are you sure about that? How's that even possible? Most of your bill should be from washing clothes, refrigerator and other electrical appliances. And you have sunlight coming through the window almost all day long for a good part of the year. Pretty sure lighting's never more than 25% of the total for home use anywhere. What I meant by savings in warm countries was that stores and other places like that can save more over the course of a year. At home your bill should stay about the same regardless what month of the year it is.

[@EdricLysharae]

@@Carlos-ux7gv, thank you for being patient with people like David. 🤣

[@bigclivedotcom]

The most admirable thing about CFLs was the circuitry, which managed to keep running an electrically horrible load while being baked to the point of turning brown.

[@iMagic16]

the plastic of those bulbs spent about 5 minutes being white

[@StevenRides]

Literally just passed the part where you're mentioned Love your vids too!

[@AndytheWhite]

We could all learn a thing or two from the work ethic of CFL circuitry.

[@joannaatkins822]

Fancy seeing you here, I should have known you'd be up at two in the morning commenting on lightbulbs ;)

[@SagePatrynXX]

Had at least two catch fire or began smoking. leds not a fire yet I said yet unless I stuck a 110 lamp in a 230 :)

[@krillza]

I love how, over time, more and more CFLs remain on his table.

[@wallaceragsdale6203]

Lol i was searching for this!

[@beartankoperator7950]

41 i think at the end including the one in the lamp

[@rob_i208]

Can't find any place to dispose of them.

[@arisacharya4895]

@@rob_i208 Lowe's will happily recycle them talk to customer service or the electrical departments for more information

[@valorantgamer9726]

I've commented with timestamps. It does indeed end at 41

[@pilotpr0jekt883]

The best use for slow starting CFLs is in the bathroom when you get up and are tired and your eyes hurt and you start your bulb and it takes 2 minutes to get bright and your eyes can adapt to that better than 0,01 sec. LED.

[@kholdstare90]

100% Also great for late night bathroom trips as I could be in and out before the light stops being dim.

[@TheSimoc]

Actually, Alec had a fundamental misconception about "instant-start", it's "annoyance", its actual effect on startup time, technicals, as well as market influence. (Topic on video at 13:00) First of all, no-one actually hated the second-or-couple delay while preheating electrodes. What more people hated, was the *minute* of dimness while mercury was vaporising. And the electrode-preheating model actually somewhat helped to speed up that process, not much though. The reason of the so-called instant-start model to take over the markets, was purely the lower cost of manufacture. Unlike implied by Alec, the instant-on model wasn't fancier circuitry, it was exact opposite - it was the very same circuitry but *crippled off* of the PTC thermistor making the delay for turning on the discharge voltage between electrodes. It was notable that (some) good-quality expensive brands were in the end the only ones having the luxury of electrode pre-heating (or in technical sense rather a delayed firing of the tube discharge voltage). In early 2000s, Osram even had two product lines: Longlife and Economy. They were otherwise same but the Longlife had the preheat and was a little more expensive, while the Economy was cheaper and "instant-start". In earlier stages of development, the preheat, along with better quality in general, was more common even among cheaper ones due to typical market dynamics - when new invention gets into markets and mainstream adoption, it is usually brought with good quality by all providers, and when markets "mature", more and more lessened-quality cheapo players come into field and finally even the quality brands tend to lower their quality while cutting costs to stay competitive against cheapos, and all this becomes even more cruel when the technique of the product is becoming obsolete. You could see very similar quality trend with, say, VCRs. When they came to markets, even cheapo brands were of fairly good quality, then came crappy cheapos, then even quality brands got worse, and in the 2000s when the VCR as a technique was becoming obsolete, there were nothing else than flimsy-plastic-crap models anymore. Edit: To clarify the technicals about the "instant-start", it didn't, unlike Alec implied, use any higher startup voltage for discharge than the electrode-preheating model. Both use an elevated voltage for startup though, just like any fluorescent lamp setup. But the point is, that also the "instant-start" model works principally exactly similarly by preheating the electrodes to be able to start it with very similar startup voltage, only difference is that the intentional, beneficial delay has been left out from those cheapos - instead they let the gas discharge to fire up immediately when the electrodes have gotten pre-heated *barely enough* to fire up the discharge. Which means they are not completely heated up and thus, due to lower level of thermionic emission, causes some entire atoms of the electrode material to be pulled away along with the electrons by the startup voltage, thus causing significant premature wear for them. The idea of the few-cents-costing thermistor, on which was saved those cents in "instant-start" cheapos, was that when turning on as "cold", it served as a bypass for current to flow trough electrode pre-heat circuit, during which keeping the discharge voltage (between the electrodes which at the moment are connected to each other through that thermistor) clamped down, until the thermistor heated up in the second or two due to that current through itself, making its resistance to raise, transferring the voltage from the preheat circuit (through the series-connected electrodes) into between the now-essentially mutually-disconnected (as the thermistor resistance has risen into next to "disconnected") electrodes.

[@maukschilol]

Guess it depends on the person. I always hated the delay until full brightness in the bathroom (even at night^^)

[@lXlDarKSuoLlXl]

That really sounds like a non issue mate, you know you got eyelids, right? You also know that those eyelids are not discrete but continuous aperture right? You also know how late at night, you really don't _want_ to have your eyes very open, right? Then there's also the elephant in the room in which, you don't really look at the light bulb when you turn it on 🤔

[@greggbarrett7117]

Not dimmable at all, no matter what the package says.

[@eynorey]

TIMESTAMPS: 0:05 1 CFL bulb on set 1:08 2 CFL bulbs on set 5:04 4 CFL bulbs on set 5:39 6 CFL bulbs on set 5:51 8 CFL bulbs on set 6:24 10 CFL bulbs on set 7:15 12 CFL bulbs on set 7:54 13 CFL bulbs on set 9:26 15 CFL bulbs on set 10:06 17 CFL bulbs on set 10:37 19 CFL bulbs on set 12:19 20 CFL bulbs on set 12:48 21 CFL bulbs on set 14:12 23 CFL bulbs on set 14:53 24 CFL bulbs on set 15:00 26 CFL bulbs on set 15:54 27 CFL bulbs on set 17:43 30 CFL bulbs on set 18:21 32 CFL bulbs on set 19:02 34 CFL bulbs on set 20:19 37 CFL bulbs on set 20:45 39 CFL bulbs on set 21:18 41 CFL bulbs on set

[@user93237]

Loving this.

[@johnweber4504]

there's something inherently funny about how the amount of bulbs slowly started increasing over time

[@Gomisan]

yup i noticed that too.. was counting as I watched :)

[@camrouxbg]

This is what I've been looking for.

[@GuiSmith]

I realised they were increasing and now I’ve found this. Can’t wait to see the full majesty!

[@joannaatkins822]

You're proof that any subject can be interesting or even downright entertaining given a passionate teacher

[@MarquisDeSang]

It would be nice if he could make a video about drying paint.

[@jamess1787]

Thanks Yikes Mikes!

[@mathchessdnd]

@@MarquisDeSang Drying concrete would be amazing. There's actually a ton of chemistry and design that goes into concrete/cement formulation. ...But that might be too "industrial" and not enough "residential" for this channel.

[@Dman130]

I agree, I was hooked on his how road signs reflect. It was a 40 min video and it was an amazing video.

[@unglaubiger5645]

@@MarquisDeSang There´s so much to tell about drying paint. In most paints, various solvents evaporate. In acrylic paint this is mostly water but after drying the paint is waterproof. In other paints, Oils react with the oxygen in the air and then there is 2k Paint where a hardener starts a chamical reaction. I guess that would make a very long and interesting video. I think it would be better to split it up into multiple parts.

[@MeesenMan]

I like how he's gone from having 2 bulbs on his desk in the beginning to having, like, a bajillion at the end. Good stuff.

[@Redpsyclone]

The year is 2024. Technology connections is buried under endless piles of CFL bulbs. There is no connection. There is no technology. Only CFLs

[@docchocobo]

I saw that too :)

[@RadeonVega64]

​@@Redpsyclonethis aged well

[@maitele]

​@@Redpsyclone i am from the future. The mercury vapors from Alec's CFL mountain have afflicted the entire Rust Belt with brain damage. Iowa will soon be lost, and Lake Superior now has a permanent layer of CFL bulbs across its surface.

[@MmmmmmmmEarHair]

I remember growing up and feeling so excited when i could replace a normal bulb with the "fancy ones" that were better. Felt like a milestone to me or something

[@exobyte0]

What astounds me is we had filament bulbs 'forever' and when CFLs hit, i replaced all my filament bulbs with those as they died. But by the time my CFLs started to die off, LED bulbs were here.

[@TaylorTheOtter]

That means there's probably some poor sucker who's timing was just off. Their filament bulb broke just before CFLs were available so they were stuck with filament. At some point those broke so they finally got their newfangled CFLs, only for LEDs to take off shortly after. I imagine they will replace their CFLs with LEDs just before the next evolution in domestic lighting takes off.

[@stevenclark2188]

There was at least half a decade of the ring or rod style mostly CFLs being out there but rarely used before CFLs arrived. So I think it's mostly that the final developed form hit about the same time white LEDs finally got practical.

[@paullestrange]

I got rid of all my incandescent bulbs about 14 years ago. I replaced them with CFLs. Loads of them are still working fine. There is no imperative to replace them. But eventually they will be replaced with LEDs. They have saved a small fortune...

[@AileTheAlien]

Yeah, I only had CFLs for about 5 years, and after they started failing LEDs were cheap and good enough, to make the switch the obvious choice! :)

[@Penoatle]

Once LEDs dropped below $2/ea, I just swapped most bulbs with them. The only exceptions were the FLs in the kitchen. I could not find a decently priced LED replacement so I just went with FL and may replace when that kicks the bucket.

[@Steets]

Oh, god. The "power of buying two of them" is finally getting to his head. By next week, Alec's going to have an entire room full of CFLs.

[@ZGryphon]

Right? I'm like a damn vampire over here, constantly feeling compelled to pause and count them.

[@mdmenzel]

@@ZGryphon I'm tempted to say "you're in big trouble mister" a la "Bad Blood."

[@acidhelm]

@@ZGryphon Whew, I'm glad I'm not the only one who did that.

[@AlRoderick]

The power of buying a power of two of them.

[@graycav56]

Tribbles...

[@ChannelSho]

"When used within their limits, they'll last quite a while" The life lesson for everything.

[@american6183]

is 'off' one of their limits?

[@becauseimafan]

... that's what she said.

[@Owen_loves_Butters]

I actually preferred the slow turn on, it gave my eyes time to adjust. And that swirl shape I personally think looks awesome.

[@ryanthebomb]

Same

[@user-kh2dg7it2nn]

I agree, LED is horrible for some applications, like for example getting up to take a piss at 2:00 AM and turing on the LED to instant blindness. My CFL would turn on bright enough but not blinding and by the time I piss and hit the light switch leaving the bathroom it was just starting to warm up. That little bit of time makes all the difference in annoying me. I tried a night light but the plug isn't near the toilet and don't work well. I'm torn between my desire to piss in the toilet with light privileges or trying to not miss the toilet in the dark. I got tired of the nonsense and switched back to a CFL and no more issues. I didn't want to go out and buy any motion sensor portable light or any type of additional nonsense, I all want is to piss without instant blinding light.😂

[@Owen_loves_Butters]

@@user-kh2dg7it2nn This is why learning to solder + some basic electronics can be pretty useful. A battery powered but decently bright LED, a battery to power said LED, a setup to either easily recharge or easily replace said battery, a switch, a resistor to regulate current, and a decently sized capacitor, and you can make your own slow turn on LED (also slow turn off).

[@Dowlphin]

I also got a supercompact one, with that serpentine pattern. It sits in an ancient desk lamp design, like from the 70s, and the bulb emits daylight spectrum including UV. 😎 I am that kind of guy. I also bought V4-80 stainless steel screws and nuts once for my used car's header heat shield and exhaust system, in part out of compassion for car mechanics, in part just out of principle because afficing header heat shields in a way that you can never remove them without huge hassle upset me so much.

[@Transgender__]

yoo wild zionist

[@Gardeningat58N]

Here in the UK they tried to kill off the incandescent bulb about 10 years ago by flooding the market with really cheap cfl bulbs. They were selling 10 bulbs for £1, my dad bought £5 worth and because they last so long he still has a cupboard full of them.

[@simonbeasley989]

Yes, it was ridiculous here, they were seen as the solution to everything regardless of whether they fitted the light fitting.

[@HoLDoN4Sec]

where i live when CFL bulbs came out you literally couldn't even find incandescent bulbs anymore, except for really odd size ones like E14 type bulbs. now ever since LED bulbs came out you can't even find CFL bulbs anymore, and needless to say even incandescent bulbs are no where to be found anymore. tbh, those CFL bulbs seem to last even longer than LED bulbs. probably because most LED bulbs out there are made out of crap electronics i guess

[@kokofan50]

I would still be working on incandescent bulbs, but I think that says more about how my family uses electricity.

[@MasonMouse]

@Gareth Fairclough I've worked at the building I'm at for a very long time and when we first started getting CFLs I wrote the date I changed them on each one. Some I've replaced after more then 8 years of service and many are still going. Meanwhile my sister several miles away went through CFLs like candy on Halloween. My only conclusion was also that either her electrical supply or the house wiring was a bit iffy. I don't think it's the CFLs themselves (unless you bought super cheap ones).

[@DriveInFreak]

@@MasonMouse It's an RF thing as well. If you're in a high RF environment (such as within a fee blocks or closer to a radio tower). The station I'm on has the main building about 100 feet from it's 1KW AM tower. CFLs burn out faster than an incontinent in this building. They're close enough in frequency for it to mess them up. They're also close enough in frequency to put out a great deal of static, thus (being in the business) I was more than happy to see them go away.

[@paulunga]

That constant past tense is really throwing me for a loop when I still have one of these in my bathroom. It's one of those slow starters, too, which is actually quite nice in the morning since you don't get blasted with light but rather get the chance to slowly acclimate to it over a minute or so.

[@clicktv9419]

This actually sounds cool😅😂

[@nick15684]

Same, we have them all over my house too... He's talking like their ancient, obsolete technology, when everyone I know uses them to this day all throughout their houses...

[@kirksway1]

I have the same thing in my rest room, I dread the day that it fails

[@ryans413]

I do kinda miss the flickering when you turn them on from being cold lol just a weird thing I miss

[@purplegill10]

Same for me in regards to the slow starter. Our kitchen had them growing up and in the morning it was so great to switch on the lights and not be blinded. Our house was old and dimmer switches for some reason (cost, electricity, etc) weren't viable so when we went to CFL that "negative" actually turned out to be a huge positive for the 2000s and early 2010s of our kitchen. Thankfully nowadays we have a much better lighting setup in there and the LEDs we use worked great but admittedly there's a huge element of nostalgia for me in waking up earlier than everyone else in the house, flipping a switch, and watching as the dim glow of the lights matched the sunrise in the morning.

[@ronindebeatrice]

I have a newfound fondness for the lamp in my room that takes a few seconds to start. May it shine for a long time.

[@bryantfloyd7471]

I used 43 watt halogen bulbs in every light socket in the house.

[@ronb6182]

LED all the way for regular lightning. It's a no brainer. You can get them in warm lighting or cool lighting. They use very little energy. I can have my air conditioner back because of LED lighting. Quick calculations 100 minus 10 equals 90 times 10 you get 900 saved watts. I can apply that 900 watts to a 8000 BTU ac unit which cools my bedroom so I sleep well. If I had 100 watt lightbulbs burning it's like running a 900 watt space heater in the summer in Florida. My whole electric bill is about 60 dollars a month. Using LED lights and my ac units . I also save on hot water by using a timer. You don't pay for hot water you don't use. Timers are better on tank heaters than tankless heaters that require 150 amps of electric. Believe me I looked into all types of water heaters. But old faithful tank heater won. Solar is too expensive and you still use electric. I could run copper pipe in the attic and get free hot water in the heat of the day. Most people take showers at night or in the morning. So free hot water is not in the picture.

[@daszieher]

Mine in the bedroom takes minutes to reach full luminance. This is perfect when getting up in the morning 😂

[@ronb6182]

@@daszieher that's a good idea if you have a proper fixture for the compact fluorescent light. I did use CFLs until lights of America came out with LED light bulbs but they did not last very long the bulbs were made up of little light emitting diodes but got dimmer and dimmer until they were useless. I even bought a tulip light fixtures with 5 sockets but all was a failure. Until GE came out with the LED light bulbs they were the same size as a regular incandescent light bulb. Which I use them now. WalMart came out with spot lights that are LED which I have in my kitchen. I now have plenty of light and my electric bill is kept at bay. 60 dollars a month not bad with air conditioning. I grew up using forty watt fluorescent lights and the other old types circline to name a few. I had one fixture that had 3 15 watt fluorescent light s in a line I used two for my electronic work bench. Well I'm glad LED lights are here.

[@matthewbowen5841]

I have 4 of them in lamps that I bought at the same time as the bulbs 6 yesrs ago. Can vouch for all of the pros and cons mentioned. But darn are they long lasting!

[@DaringDramis]

I have a 2 bulbs ceiling lamp in my living room and used CFL bulbs, a blue and a red, from 2002 to 2022. I've only used 4 bulbs in that 20 years period; each pair of bulbs lasted 10 years each. That lamp is lit roughly 6 hours a day in average (about 8 hours, during half the fall/winter/half the spring, and about 4 hours, during other half of spring/summer/other half of fall), so each bulb lasted 21 900 hours. The bulbs were operating fully exposed to ambient airflow. These bulbs provided a nice ambient lighting without being too strong, and fulfilled all my needs for lighting in the living room for all that time. A fun fact; when the CFLs blew out, they did it within a few days gap! Incandescent bulbs, in comparison, were lasting only one year, with a total of 2190 hours. They were cheaper than CFL, but considering durability and energy saving, CFLs were definitely a better deal. Someday, a little "green" girl tried to teach me a lesson about the terrible threat about these CFLs because of the mercury inside. Well, 2 bulbs used every ten years having only a fume of mercury inside... No one had been harmed, but she was somehow right. The factories manufacturing these bulbs must have some great stock of mercury in the yard; as long as they handle it safe, there's no problem, but as soon someone makes a mistake and spill all that mercury in the nature, that could be a disaster. Last year, my CFLs blew out, and they were no longer available on the shelves, so I bought 2 LED bulbs instead, having the same colors. The lighting is a tiny bit clearer that the CFL version, but nothing shocking. I've noticed there's a split second delay after turning the switch on before the light come, but again, nothing shocking there, it only clashed my little habits for a while. I have no doubt about their energy saving qualities, which are better than CFLs; let's see now if they will match CFLs in durability, but it will take a while...

[@DaneeBound]

gotta love the fact that, as the video progresses the desk fills up with CF-lamps

[@IMarvinTPA]

They're like tribbles.

[@Harey0407]

@@IMarvinTPA Trouble with CFLs?

[@felicityc]

i would have never noticed. i was too busy reading the comments

[@warwagon]

at one point in the video I was thinking "Where did all those light bulbs come from?

[@DaneeBound]

@@warwagon it's the all-famous "power of buying two of them"

[@SwordOfApollo]

I like how the bulbs on the desk keep multiplying like Tribbles during the video. 🙂

[@barowt]

I had to rewatch the video.. I didn't notice until I saw your comment, 🤣🤣!

[@kickme8x]

And what is the story behind all those bulbs, he clearly stated that he only has a few but wouldn't replace them until they died but then...

[@Bandrik]

Hah, you're right!

[@m.cigledy6769]

I was thinking the exact same thing

[@atlys258]

All the bits and references he puts in his content just get me 🤣

[@AndyGaskin]

Praise for you locking down the camera's exposure while filming lightbulbs turning on and off.

[@luisreyes6905]

yes i see so who will be the primary and secondary user of locking down the cameras exposure?

[@ivankiefer3886]

He is using manual setting and even the af is manual.

[@AlbertLebel]

I agree. I been trying all sorts of different lights to shoot my videos and I always get blown out whites. Using all these and keeping the video looking good was a great job

[@JeffBaertsch]

The thing about color temp tracks with my experience. I worked in a lighting store for a hot minute, and showing people the Lighting Facts label blew peoples mind. They just never looked at it. Had no concept that a CFL could be warm or that there were different temperatures. There was just "incandescent and fluorescent." Also during this era, I'd have roommates who'd buy a CFL because it was the cheapest and looked at no other metrics. Chance would have it that this was often a cold light and they'd curse this "gas station bathroom lightbulb." No Dan, you just bought a cold bulb.

[@cohentheblue]

Aren't low spectrum leds incredibly rare and expensive? They seem to be in my area. Basically haven't seen any available commercially, in storefronts for consumers (not industrial sales).

[@zacharycoleman1117]

@@cohenthebluewhere I live you can easily find any color temp for minimal difference in price

[@gregorymalchuk272]

Why did daylight become the only cool color temperature offering even though nobody likes it? Warm white and daylight are all that are available at most consumer hardware outlets and retail stores like Walmart. It used to be warm white (2700K to 3000K) and cool white (4100K). Commercial spaces and building designers don't like daylight and have never adopted it. The lighting level has to be ridiculously high for people not to perceive everything as being blue. I liked 3,000 for living rooms and bedrooms, and overhead lights in bathrooms, and cool white for kitchens, garages, basements, offices, and mirror-side fixtures in bathrooms.

[@4203105]

The problem was that warm CFLs came waaaaay later than the cold ones. By that point people had already made up their minds. The manufacturers handled that better with LED, where you had warm options right away.

[@gregorymalchuk272]

@@4203105 That's not true. The warm ones were actually the first ones deployed in the 80s. The cool and daylight ones were available along side the warm ones which made people not familiar with them get them and be unhappy. And a general lack of education about color temperature and color rendering index made things way worse.

[@darryl7256]

I love how the bulbs are multiplying with every scene cut. I used to use enclosed CFLs in my lamp post outside. At -25c, they would take almost a half hour to get to full brightness, but they outlasted incandescent bulbs by far.

[@alexatkin]

I had a problem with Cool White CFLs dying quickly, the worst I think only lasted 2 months (though long operating hours as I've always been a night person). Ironically the one that lasted the longest was in an enclosed bathroom fixture.

[@KirkNorthrop]

I love how Alec has really taken the "multiplying items" to heart now.

[@tomhsia4354]

Oh no, they're breeding. Help!

[@h.kurnia3600]

Reminds me of a Jay Foreman Map Men episode

[@KirkNorthrop]

@@ALLSTAR284 if only someone made a video explaining this exact thing

[@sandordugalin8951]

Technology Connections: **attempts to get through one line of script** Long Fluorescent Tube: "Let me sing you the song of my people."

[@Afonso23M]

I’m high on pain medication because of the vaccine and this comment just made me laugh my ass off! Thank you!

[@h.c.49]

*bink*

[@yeh.80]

@@Afonso23M trollololo

[@NikonRaccoon]

I love how the bulbs on the desk keep multiplying throughout the video.

[@SpydersByte]

lol I just made the exact same comment

[@1axmann]

That caught my eye too 😆

[@chitlitlah]

When I moved into this house over a decade ago, one of the first things I did was replace all the light bulbs I expected to use often with CFL versions, since LEDs weren't common yet, to save electricity. They weren't very reliable as porch lights, but inside, they did their job well. When LEDs became common, I figured I'd replace the CFLs as they burned out. So far, I've replaced one, the one that stays on at all times day and night. These things just won't crap out on me.

[@johnarnold893]

I did the same thing and found that they didn't seem to last much longer than incandescent lights. Since then I have changed all of them to LED and have never had one die.

[@Sundara229]

@@johnarnold893 Agree, the lifespan of CFL's wasn't that great in practice. My memory of these is that there were one or two broken bulbs somewhere in the house at any given time. LED's on the other hand are so reliable, I've yet to encounter a lamp that died on it's own.

[@TheBrain2K]

Moved into our current house 7 years ago and I also put in compact CFLs everywhere (corridor/staircase, bedrooms, living room, ...). Back then, it felt like LED lamps definitely couldn't compare yet and even the more expensive ones gave off this weird light that just seemed off (shitty color representation?). Some days ago, one of those now 7y old CFLs failed and after watching this, I'll probably look into LEDs again instead of just grabbing a replacement CFL.

[@dmitripogosian5084]

Exactly, same here, I am still waiting for the one installed 15+ years ago to burn out

[@brianfitch5469]

@@TheBrain2K Why CfL use the same electricity as LED in my experience last much longer then led. The led are designed to fail now I can't stand them. Order cfls online.

[@Hachiae]

i love how you talk about these in past tense as if 90% of my house isnt lit up by them

[@jameseasson4489]

Same here the bulb I had lasted 10 years

[@pvanukoff]

Yeah, my house is full of them. And I have a closet full of replacements. Gonna be a while.

[@Ajan-X]

@@pvanukoff are you the dad of the other commenter here that lives in the uk, and said his dad still has a cupboard full of these?

[@jemsterr]

I didn't even know that LEDs were ready to replace.. I still see shelves of CFL at the store

[@rickhapstley3866]

I didn't even know that CFL was considered obsolete, it's still pretty common

[@raydunakin]

It didn't help that for a long time, CFLs were ungodly expensive, AND produced hideously-colored light. Eventually they came down in price to something much more reasonable, and the color got a lot better. But by that time most people had already come to the conclusion that they were expensive and ugly.

[@randjan8592]

idk, it's not really ugly, that spiral shape is kinda cool. But the rest still stands.

[@Shendue]

Light looks pretty nice to me, and they are cheaper than led bulbs, still, here in Italy. The brands that I have access too sell in two fashions. The first is cold white (which looks blue-ish), I personally don't love it because I find it too artificial and bright (I know it makes no difference in terms of sheer lumens, but the perceived brightness is stronger with a colder light, to me), but I guess it's nice for something like the kitchen where you want very clear lighting. The ones I use in my bedroom and bathroom are warm white ones, which have a softer, yellowish tone that I find more cozy and relaxing. Reminds me more of the classic incandescent bulbs.

[@bogey780]

I don't think he looked at it from the practical application to a normal person. There was no normalization on size, design, or most importantly color. So when someone's old incandescent popped, they'd go buy a new CFL. It would produce different color and be weird looking. So they'd have to change out all the bulbs. Or bring them back to the store and swap them. So what was a few seconds of thought with the hardest question being bulb style became an expensive back and forth to the store. Folks hate spending time on something they consider a minor issue.

[@Tatsh2DX]

I don't know what you mean by hideous. All my rooms use one 5500 CFL. I guess this is too bright for a lot of people but it's my preference since I was a kid and discovered CFLs over incandescent

[@czdaniel1]

@@Tatsh2DX Fuck what you get now...What color were you getting from 2007-2012 They were hideous! And the lamp fixtures they were going into were not designed for with their intensity of lighting...highly intense, hideous lighting

[@Nighthawkinlight]

I still like my big 85w CFL's for video lights. Very minimal flicker for high speed video recording. There are better LED's out there, but it's not cheap to get an equivalent setup that runs without flicker on wall power.

[@EmeraldLavigne]

What incandescent equivalent is an 85w CFL?

[@oO_ox_O]

Why is that...? Is preventing flicker that hard? 🤔

[@kaitlyn__L]

@@oO_ox_O AC power. The high persistence phosphor while LEDs have lower persistence. It’s all explained in the video already

[@oO_ox_O]

@@kaitlyn__L Thanks.

[@barretprivateer8768]

@@oO_ox_O Filtering AC to DC is actually pretty easy.

[@aaronshipley5594]

My parents have a lamp in the main living room that, I kid you not, has been illuminated for probably 10-15 years with the same CFL. It's never turned off and has been lit for over a decade.

[@eslachance]

Knowing how most of these videos go, "I've had these 3 things for a few years now", "Here's 41 CSF bulbs I just *happen* to have lying around", "I still have this old dishwasher I put a window on the side of for you guys", "by the power of buying THREE of these!"... It's funny that you really give me the impression of being an absolutely horrible hoarder. And YET, I've never seen any clutter at all on any shot from your studio to your garage (or wherever your electric box is) to whatever place you shot the power receptacle video. So either you're really, *really* good at hiding clutter for the camera, or you're appallingly good at storing stuff outside your home out out of your living area in general. But I, for one, appreciate all the effort you go through in these videos, as do a lot of us. You're witty, entertaining, and just vitriolic enough about shit you hate. The perfect balance, thank you for everything you do!

[@patrickdurham8393]

He bought another house but I don't recall him ever saying he sold the other one. You may have a point.

[@alaskanjackal]

@@patrickdurham8393 He’s also mentioned (more recently, IIRC) that there’s a bit of a drive between his house and his studio. (Guessing his studio is at his old place.) Also, if you tally the number of Patreon patrons he has, he can definitely afford to keep a second home as an office/studio. (And deservedly so-this is one of the best channels on KZbin, and I fully believe that his videos on things like heat pumps and EVs have already swayed a large number of people into making choices that reduce carbon emissions [things like heat pumps, EVs, etc.]; yes, Alec is saving the planet one video at a time!)

[@sunniestpluto]

I love that every few minutes you added more bulbs to the table it went from 1 bulb to over 40 by the end

[@ralynedin]

I just now noticed this.

[@chunderbunny1]

I remember taking home a "free sample CFL" from school in the early 90's. It takes a while to turn on these days, but it's still there, illuminating my old bedroom!

[@kimgkomg]

Your school gave you a lightbulb? I'm gonna have to see the full story there

[@dickbutt7854]

@@kimgkomg right? Usually the schools take my money so I can't afford to buy CFLs

[@AndrooUK]

Before the days of planned obsolescence...

[@kimgkomg]

@@AndrooUK so regular obsolescence

[@charger959]

In 1994 I installed an at the time more modern stick style cfl in a hallway. It's still working just fine 30 years later! I've never seen one of the newer ones do that.

[@Dowlphin]

When technology is new, they're afraid of it not lasting long enough. Then they work on understanding how they can precisely determine when it will fail.

[@JohnMooreVlogs]

I filmed a wedding reception that was lit with CFL bulbs a few years back and let me say it left me dumbfounded when I tried to edit it. The CRI was so bad, they might as well had used sodium vapor lamps to light it. I'm not exaggerating when I say it was like there was no color information. Everything was a shade of the same color and my scopes confirmed it. There was a gentleman wearing an orange shirt that glowed like a neon light. No amount of color correction was able to fix it because there simply wasn't enough color info.

[@mfbfreak]

Ooh yes, i know that problem very well. Pretty hard to take proper pictures too. It does vary with the brand/type, though. There were pretty decent ones out there. Oddly, these days you can still get fluorescent tubes with the bad kind of phosfor in them (color 640 for instance, while 840 has the same color temp but with better color rendering). 8[somethingsomething] tubes are pretty much standard because they're better, but somehow the 6's are still sold.

[@gorak9000]

They tend to use really cheap phosphor with very peaky spectrums. Because CRI is a very flawed measurement, you can have bulbs (both CFL and LED) that have > 90 CRI that have absolutely garbage color. I bought some Feit LED bulbs from Costco the other week which claim > 90 CRI, which they technically meet, but when you measure them, the R9 (deep red) value is atrocious at 59 and R12 (deep blue) is bad too at 85, and they look pretty terrible. Most CFLs have a > 80 CRI which is even worse yet.

[@Chetanarora2308]

@@gorak9000 1

[@Chetanarora2308]

@@gorak9000 1

[@SteelheadTed]

Was it just the fluorescent lamps or the combined light from different sources at the same time? In a space with confirmed only fluorescence, I’ve been able to get the white balance right. In a mixed light room, say incandescent and fluorescent, it gets much more difficult.

[@mattb4721]

"aesthetically suboptimal" - Until now I never realised the CFL and I had something in common.

[@CAPSLOCKPUNDIT]

Are you a slow starter too? Welcome to the club!

[@ataphelicopter5734]

F

[@hungryhungryhummer]

He called them "ugly walmart whores" in the nicest way possible.

[@Allangulon]

You're not that ugly!

[@scythal]

Welcome to the club!

[@JayEmGe]

When you said that compact florescent light bulbs "are no more", it's kind of wild, it seems like it was only yesterday that they were released.

[@capitalinventor4823]

It’s been about 30 years since they were readily available in grocery and hardware stores. I bought my first one around 1990 from a grocery store. I think it cost $20 and it took a couple of minutes to brighten after turning it on but the quality of light was wonderful. I used it in a bedside lamp for over a decade and only stopped when I changed lamps. The bulb didn’t fit in the new lamp. It wasn’t twisty in shape but had a couple of loops about 1.5 times taller than a regular bulb.

[@NoogahOogah]

From the time I was born to the end of high school (2013) my family used incandescent bulbs. Once I moved out I got CFLs and felt like I was really modern. Apparently I was actually decades behind. Man that’s a depressing feeling, lol.

[@JayEmGe]

@@NoogahOogah I'm thinking that was my case as well.

[@SergioLeonardoCornejo]

I still use them since LED bulbs are expensive in my country. However, I consider all light sources contextually valid. We use what we are technologically capable of using.

[@mikek6298]

There have been CFLs for a while, but I'd say they weren't consumer viable until the 2000s, and only in the last 5 years or so have LEDs become the norm. I remember my dad getting one the very first time he saw them in Home Depot, and that was about 2012-2013. I still have to convince my boss to get LEDs every time we order bulbs.

[@notmenotme614]

In defense of the CFL…. What do I need?: A light for my room. Does the CFL illuminate my room: Yes. And it’s a warm pleasant light too.

[@Remowylliams]

Here's why I love CFL's in my bathroom. That slow start, first thing in the morning while it's still dark outside makes me happy. It saves my eyes. I have a CFL outside in my car port that's been going for about 10 years with no troubles at all.

[@dizzywow]

Incandescent bulbs and a dimmer, baby. I stocked up, and will never switch.

[@churblefurbles]

But they were terrible in the bathroom, GE reveal incandescent put of the most flattering light. No consumer led even now matches it, not even their own attempts which have been cartoonishly bad.

[@fhunter1test]

@@churblefurbles this! Worst CFLs I have seen turned me into a zombie in the mirror. PS. Have low voltage halogen lights in the bathroom with trasformer and soft start. Have yet to change any over last 10 years.

[@kilmindaro3]

I like how when the video goes on, the amount of light bulbs on his desk increases

[@cazomsdragons2625]

It's wonderful to watch them multiply like rabbits.

[@warp.routine]

Easter egg found 😂

[@alkalinekats8300]

Honestly, I got so distracted with this I had to go back and watch some parts again

[@SpeakerPolice]

Came here to say this LMAO...as the video goes on, the bulbs grow in number

[@SirScarface69]

I love how ElectroBOOM does an LED video and TC does a CFL on the same hour

[@Soniboy84]

And they both mention Big Clive lol..

[@Case_]

@@Soniboy84 Big Clive is the king of lightbulb videos. Of course they have to mention him.

[@sovietshnuckums2357]

Post the link right now

[@hemanthkumar5438]

As a 90s kid , i have seen evolution of light bulbs through out the years. In 90s we used incandescent bulb ranging from 20,40,60,100w. The filament usually fails within few months. Then came tube lights in 2000s with heavy chokes and starter. Visible flickering, and Stater or tube will be fried in few months. But lot of light for 50w Then came electronic chokes which eliminated need for starter, flicker is no more visible, choke is lighter and usually houses a circuit board, improved tubes takes like 36w CFL, electronic chokes made it possible to miniatize tube light, which fitted right in the traditional incandescent lamp holders. This was kind of a revolution. These also have rise to portable emergency lamps powered by lead acid battery. Power cuts were a thing in this era . Post 2015 LED bulbs became a thing. Beats a CFL in luminance. Easy to install, comes in all shapes and sizes.

[@ralfoide]

I counted 43 CFLs at the end... really loved them appearing 2 by 2 in the beginning till the end. Also many puns were rather enlightened.

[@VampirsTTG]

I noticed there were more of them but i didnt catch on to how gradual it was 😂😂😂

[@Patrick94GSR]

I counted 39 at the end, including the one in his hand and the one in the lamp.

[@Hans-gb4mv]

If they appear 2 by 2, how do you end up with 43?

[@kssarh]

Ten years later I finally found out why the CFLs in my closet never seemed to last more than a couple of months.

[@rodboy4461]

I also found 2 pack of small base CFL'S made to replace torpedo bulbs

[@homoevolutus]

And all my studio lighting are giant CFL bulbs. : (

[@CTMKD]

@@homoevolutus so not compact then

[@czdaniel1]

IKR!!

[@exoticcar5482]

Funny thing is even as a kid I was so observant of lights and the moment I saw many CFLs in my house fail I quickly associated the quick start with it in my mind years before this video confirmed my suspicions

[@Mackan975]

I still have one of those small CFL's IKEA sold in my bedside light. It's slow startup and increase in brightness is absolutely perfect when I need to turn on the light in the dark. Much easier for the eyes. It's at least 11 years old by now and still going strong

[@ChadDidNothingWrong]

Sucks as a light above the bathroom mirror though lol

[@TheSouthernsweettea]

Hope your bulb keeps going strong for a long time

[@elephystry]

Hey. Good idea.

[@zipbangcrash]

I have this same tale! It's going on 14 years for my original light bulb in that bedside lamp. I might actually mourn it when it finally dies!

[@patrickhanlon932]

It's not a bug it's a feature!

[@OllamhDrab]

I think they were an excellent transitional technology, anyway, we've still got some running here, though a lot of them finally started falling to attrition after really a lot of years. (I've got a somewhat overflowing box from this house I take care of that needs to go to the e-waste place across town.) The first one I ever bought followed me all over the country with moves and probably lasted more than ten years, saved a lot of power and money, and in general they've lasted long enough to start rotating in LEDs without much fuss or disruption, so I'd call that a mission accomplished, really.

[@madiis18account]

When I was a kid we had an entire storage shelf in our garage dedicated to spare lightbulbs, that was how commonly they had to be replaced. With CFLs (which my light engineer family was a very early adopter of) we only kept a few spares on hand and our lightbulb shelf was no more, it was merely a spare lightbulb spot on the shelf. These days we don't even keep spare bulbs, we just go out and buy an LED bulb whenever we actually need one, which is almost never. I miss the lightbulb shelf sometimes.

[@stephensnell5707]

Well it will never rerurn any time soon

[@ScarlettStunningSpace]

The good 'ol days of the lightbulb shelf

[@morlamweb]

@@ScarlettStunningSpaceI thing you mean the bad old days. It was no fun to replace bulbs back then, especially wen the fixture was hard to reach.

[@teaser6089]

we still keep spare bulbs, but we rarely not even once per year. apart from this year, we had some electrical malfunctions and those managed to kill 2 led bulbs, may they rest in peace.

[@drl5002]

My leds don't last. I might as well have incandescent bulbs for all the longevity I'm getting out of led bulbs.

[@neildocherty]

As a percentage of total bloopers, how many would you say that long tube caused?!

[@TechnologyConnections]

More than 50%

[@atamawaruidesuka]

@@TechnologyConnections Seeing that, I was thinking a blanket of some kind could have been helpful maybe... soften the noise

[@tomaszstaz6295]

@@TechnologyConnections why don't You just move a bit backwards so the tube would not be above desk?

[@skuzzyj]

@@TechnologyConnections I'm surprised you didn't put a sock each end and just keep it out of frame so the tappy-taps were muffled

[@TheAnkMan]

​@@TechnologyConnections To save recording time when seeing that is getting annoying may be remove the noise in post production. Or just leave it, make an unscripted funny comment instead. :-)

[@splewy]

I always found it interesting how gas discharge lighting (fluorescent, metal halide, HID and neon) was basically the Windows Vista of lighting. Something that attained reasonable market share, but never fully replaced its predecessor (Incandescent; Windows XP), yet was itself rapidly abandoned when its own successor (LED; Windows 7) came around.

[@jasonhaynes2952]

Love the analogy, but CFL's were more like Windows 8. As in, was a bad idea from the start, and completely sucked. We were all saved when something better came out (windows 10). The manufacturer (Microsoft) had to admit they made a horrible product.

[@splewy]

@@jasonhaynes2952 Yeah true, CFLs always sucked. Other forms of gas discharge lighting were pretty good. HID for example offered lighting performance in car headlights that couldn’t even be matched by LEDs until around 3-4 years ago.

[@specialopsdave]

@@jasonhaynes2952 The problem with that analogy is that there were 2 valid advantages of CFL over Incandescent; there is no advantage to Windows 8 over 7

[@electrictroy2010]

I’d rather replace all my bulbs with CFLs than Windows 8. CFLs reduce energy use 75% and last a really long time (some of mine date to 1995). Windows 8 has nothing positive about it. Not one damn thing. The original XP/vista/7 analogy was better.

[@Iamthatmike]

That's a great comparison. Microsoft replaced XP with Vista and tried forcing everyone to adopt the new tech. I hate them so hard, if they weren't banned I would have gladly continued with incadensent until LED's came out. I would have gladly paid more in energy costs to avoid those stupid twisty pieces of garbage.

[@SmokinGoodd420]

My dad was a master plumber/ do it all handyman. I will admit there were more than a few occasions i felt like i was on tool time. LOL He installed the four foot T5 Lights in our kitchen. Mom was not happy about a shop light being installed where a decent residential fixture was . Still to this day i have to go over and help mom (Shes in her 80s) change out the old 4 foot bulbs in the kitchen for her.

[@jamie.777]

😊😊😊😊, I got them in my shed. Love them

[@WinterRaven25]

Before I left town 6 years ago I modernized my grandmother's house with CFL bulbs. When I got back in town recently I replaced them all with LED bulbs so she would have even lower power bills. Every single one of the CFL bulbs was still working. Now they are sitting in the closet just in case they are needed.

[@pascal2085]

Why have you replaced the CFLs if they are still working fine? Even with high electrical prices like in Germany it's still not worth to replace them.

[@brave1.0]

@@pascal2085 Yeah why. Most of the time, the new LEDs when they are given for free won't last this many years the CFLs are working for. Why do people replace them with LEDs when the old bulbs are working fine?

[@NoTraceOfSense]

@@brave1.0 I put the first LED bulbs in my house so long ago I forgot. They’re only now just starting to go bad. They start faster, use less power for more light, and the biggest thing? RGB, BABY

[@keiyakins]

@@brave1.0 well, I replaced the one in my bedroom as soon as I could because I'd already broken one in there - I bet you can still detect elevated mercury in my body from that. Iirc I just moved the bulb somewhere less prone to breakage though. Actually might be the kitchen lights - that actually has two CFLs still, an LED bulb, and an incandescent that refuses to die XD

[@SuperPickle15]

@@keiyakins i doubt you couldnt even detect mecury, even if you broke every bulb in your house. Go eat a can of tuna, and thats a different story.

[@eugenebebs7767]

It's truly scary how number of CFLs increases as the video goes on.

[@DavidWaltermyer]

even scarier how long it took me to catch on to this little Easter egg - I think I was at about the 20 minute mark before I went "...now hold on just a second..."

[@mystic839]

i thought it was a fun gag alongside "i still have some of these cfls kicking around" - you don't say?

[@harpoonlobotomy]

The extended version of the video ends with the most dangerous ball put you've ever seen...

[@seanlavery4695]

For some reason this reminded me of "The Trouble with Tribbles". Just turn away for a second and there's 4 more!

[@Bitterjackal]

@@seanlavery4695 Came here to make a Tribble joke! Ha!

[@smartpowerelectronics8779]

This was a great video! I was a CFL circuit designer from 1995 to 2000, until now the most ingenious circuits I have ever worked on (later I did plasma TV IC design, 10.000 transistors honestly, that is peanuts...) . Every part is running over it's limit. Transistors case temperatures at 160C (!), just manage thermal runaway, fast diodes are too expensive, so use 1N4007 at 60 kHz, PCB's are charred (and leaking) after aging tests. And everything...analog, self oscillating, no IC's, all functions are connected, so no way to check step by step, switch on & pray...It was a great time and I blew up more parts in these 5 years than in the rest of my career ;-) The reason that CFL's with external covers (reflector, bulb) start very dim because the mercury pressure is controlled with an amalgam rather than liquid mercury.

[@joedogg6582]

The fact that the number of cfls on the desk kept increasing slayed me.

[@ChrisHilgenberg]

I thought I was the only one to notice that... And the fact he's straight-laced the entire time when he reappears with more on the table is amazing

[@joelhaynie5056]

The CFL flood lamps slow start is a feature! I use those in my bathrooms, for ease on my eyes in the morning.

[@BastiElektronik]

We use them for that, too. All other CFLs got replaced after dying with LED but the bathroom ones, they got NOS CFLs like the IKEA one with the slow start.

[@Hansengineering]

Shit this is the best idea. My rental trailer has the cheapest highest color temp LED bulbs everywhere. The bathroom is eye searing and I just don't use the light in there until an hour after I have woken up.

[@kaitlyn__L]

@@Hansengineering 5000-6000K completely baffles me. It’s like blue LEDs but even worse! You will thank yourself if you pull them out and replace them with 2300-2700K ones. (Actual values - a lot of lights which claim to be 2700K “warm white” are clearly 3000K “neutral white” instead.)

[@pucktf]

I use them for the same reason in the bedroom, they start gradually and that's much more comfortable when getting up in the morning...

[@chunye215]

@@kaitlyn__L for some reason they are (were?) fairly popular in China. When I looked out the window in the evening at the building on the other side like half of the windows wete lit in cold white light. Never really figured out if people prefer it or don't care or dunnowhat. It's not like one is cheaper than the other.

[@funghazi]

I liked how they had to warm up, they were nice to wake up to, I wouldn't get blinded by them when they first switched on.

[@yolo_burrito]

Yeah my vanity has some roughly 20 year old CFLs with great color. One is burnt I’m dreading replacing.

[@nijgaming410]

I actually have one of these bulbs in my lamp that I use that's right next to my bed I forget about it all the time kasur just stays on for weeks maybe months at a time and it continues to work as if nothing is wrong

[@burntvirtue]

Amen

[@kenkahre9262]

That was the very reason I detested them. There were two rooms that were so dim, I considered taking a flashlight with me. When you turn the lights on, you shouldn't have to wait for the lights to brighten.

[@kevinquinn1993]

When I had a new ceiling fan / light fixture installed in my bedroom recently, I realized that they had taken away my last surviving CFL with the old decrepit light fixture. I kicked myself so hard for not salvaging that bulb (!) but I never thought about it once til the workmen where long gone, and my poor bulb (with more than a decade of service without failing) was well on its way to a "burial at landfill" Maybe this video will bring me closure... Thanks for your awesome videos!

[@ImKrowe]

i love how after every jump cut, theres more bulbs on the table. it just keeps building

[@mglenadel]

Long ago, my dad used to keep a cardboard box with plenty of spare incandescent bulbs, so often they burned up. When CFLs came out, he continued to buy spares by the dozen (so to speak-he would buy 4-packs, 6-packs, all the value packs he could find) because they still burned up-just not as often as the old 100-watt bulbs. When he passed, I inherited a cardboard box with almost a dozen still-unused lamps. I miss you Dad!

[@hoej]

Slow starting CFLs were brilliant for a quick night pee run. If you were quick enough they wouldn't blind you before you turned them off.

[@BronyumHexofloride]

i totally agree, now its like a Nuclear blast tuning on my bathroom light in the early hours, kinda wish there was "slow start" LED lights or even adaptors to slowly ramp up the light levels over say 5 mins from 30% to 100% over that time span

[@charliebaker1427]

@@BronyumHexofloride so you want a dimmer switch led they make those

[@BronyumHexofloride]

@@charliebaker1427 not exactly, just one thats active for the first 5 mins of being on

[@solarbirdyz]

EXACTLY THIS holy crow. Also for getting up in the mornings in the winter when it's two hours 'til sunrise. Kind of a slow wakeup. Not nice enough to keep with CFLs, but... an actual benefit to the slow brightness start.

[@ram89572]

@@BronyumHexofloride I have the same issue with too bright in the middle of the night or when I first wake up. My solution without needing to install a dimmer was to just buy some of those color changeable dimmable led bulbs from amazon that come with that little remote control. Those things have a good low level setting but can brighten up a lot if you need the light in the bathroom with just a couple of presses on the remote.

[@candycoatedcactus]

I frequently listen to this channel while gaming, the orange CFL on the table caught me by surprise. And the way he was slowly zooming out to add more space! We love you Alec. Keep making the goofy jokes, you're the best!

[@TJJewett]

I kinda liked the dark start effect that some of these had. I have very sensitive eyes, and when I would turn on my lights in the morning to wake up. I liked having the light gently get brighter as my eyes acclimated. I know this wasn't intentional, but IMHO, it was a happy accident.

[@SimonBauer7]

you could get phillips hue led bulbs which are programmable to software

[@gorgarath]

The old CFL bulbs I had put in the bathroom vanity were like that. I found it annoying at first, but came to appreciate it in the mornings or when waking up in the night to go to the bathroom. Though still found it slightly annoying any time. Had 1 of the bulbs fail fairly quickly, a few months maybe. Then another 6 or 8 months later another failed. I ran it on the 2 bulbs for another couple years before a 3rd bulb failed and I probably went another month or so before I replaced all 4.

[@CT-vm4gf]

That’s a good point! You have to pay a considerable amount to have that feature these days.

[@conman1395]

@@CT-vm4gf not really, just install a dim switch and use dimmable bulbs

[@claireredfield4842]

@@conman1395 You'd be surprised the amount of people who don't know how to change their own switches.

[@NicholasHubbard]

"Some of them are even smart. I think they know algebra!" This caused my body to emit an involuntary chuckle

[@Danny-gc5qb]

they are glowing computer chips after all

[@pierreuntel1970]

You can say that they're very bright

[@simeondermaats]

@@pierreuntel1970 I'm genuinely surprised he didn't make that pun in the video.

[@Hans-gb4mv]

Does make me wonder if they can count past 1

[@succuvamp_anna]

I love how they just kept multiplying on the table lol

[@theophilusthistler5885]

Like Gremlis

[@theophilusthistler5885]

Gremlins

[@stanpatterson5033]

Like tribbles

[@stevenbalekic5683]

Was thinking this too...like mushrooms after a good rain.

[@dwftube]

@@stanpatterson5033 You have to be a certain age to know that. LOL.

[@ChrisEllorris]

I loved these bulbs when they first came out! I thought they looked really cool and I loved that you could have pure white light bulbs instead of yellow. I remember the biggest complaint I heard from my mom and grandmother was that they didn't look like light bulbs.

[@BigEightiesNewWave]

That was the whole idea, to look like sunlight. True colors seen, less eyestrain, better vision.

[@argvminusone]

@@BigEightiesNewWave Incandescent bulbs look most sunlight-ish because they glow the same way the sun does (i.e. black-body radiation). Everything else is an approximation. A very good approximation, in the case of modern LEDs, but still only an approximation.

[@sanseijedi]

"Maybe you're like me..." Son, no one is like you; you stand alone in knowledge dispensed with clarity & humor. Thanks!

[@nendymion]

Fun fact: I had the enclosed lighting fixture featured at 11:56. It had a tendency to kill LED bulbs after a few short months and I always figured it was due to the bulbs itself and not the enclosure. So thanks for helping me discover what was really going on.

[@ledraps22]

after watching the bloopers at the end, this act of laying the lamp on the table silently 3:43 is extraordinary

[@Heylon1313]

The whole 121 metric centimeter long rod! Very impressive indeed.

[@23Scadu]

You can tell he's doing it _extremely_ gingerly.

[@Case_]

And it only took him 357 takes to get it right ;)

[@weatheronthe8s895]

I still use a CFL in my bedroom at one of my houses. It is probably not the greatest thing to be using these days. You can see the light starting whenever I turn it on, but it still works. It is a normal swirly type CFL while upside down, is entirely exposed due to the cover not fitting on the ceiling fan when using a CFL. I believe I used this bulb before, then switched it to LED, but then that LED started flickering for some weird reason, so I switched the bulb back to CFL because I couldn't find another soft white light in the house. I am planning to use it until it stops working.

[@Taneth]

When I was little, I actually liked the ability to turn on my bedroom light and not be instantly blinded, because it came on dim and it'd be off by the time it would get bright.

[@russellhltn1396]

Yes, there were places where that was most certainly valued a feature, not a bug!

[@danielthechskid]

Yep, gave your dilated pupils from being asleep time to constrict.

[@kuebbisch]

I always had a 25 watt bulb at my bedside for that reason. Now a 2 watt LED is plenty bright to find the way out after waking up.

[@bf584]

I would like if I could find an LED light for my bathroom at night that did this.

[@cherrysdiy5005]

@@bf584 Perhaps a GE 0.5W LED night light? It emits about 5 lumens.

[@draeath]

You know, I used to have the old slow-start CFLs and I preferred them in the bedroom / bathroom / closet. They let my eyes have a chance to adjust before coming to full brightness - definitely something nice when you're still waking up.

[@RJARRRPCGP]

Yep, they have a long warm up like HPS and metal halide.

[@angelicamartacahyaningtyas9083]

Exactly. Those instantly-bright lamp hurts my eyes that I need to close my eyes in the bathroom in the morning

[@9852323]

Yeah I wish I could find a light bulb that still does that as you said it’s nice for when you just wake up or something similar, and even then I don’t find the inconvenience of waiting for it to warm up such a big deal. Especially since cfls last longer that way.

[@moos5221]

true that. i had a bunch of those, they were a little longer but narrower then regular light bulbs with just 4 parallel tubings. cursed them whereever I wanted instand brightness though, but great for bedroom or also night lamps on timers.

[@tannenfreund87]

Exactly this. I had a CFL in my bathroom for that reason. I really liked entering the bathroom in the morning and having my equivalent of sunrise in this tiny room without windows.

[@Gasmask11000]

When he describes fixtures that kill CFLs, he’s described basically almost every light fixture in every place I’ve ever lived. These things usually had a lifespan of a year or two and were very expensive compared to incandescent, which lead to most people I know hoarding the incandescents as they stopped being sold

[@argvminusone]

It might be wise to get some floor/table lamps, with an open top and upward-facing socket, and use those instead. I don't think I've ever seen a CFL or LED fail when installed in such a fixture.

[@kane_of_light]

I would consider your channel to be in the top 100 most informative on YT. Thanks for sharing your knowledge!

[@davidzeppieri3892]

Has anyone noticed how they keep multiplying on the table scene by scene? I love the subtle humor of TC

[@DUCKVILLELOL]

Admittedly I was hoping by the end the table would be completely covered or piled up with CFL's

[@justmike2944]

Distracting . I found my self counting and not listing. And yes a can walk and chew bubble gum at the same time .

[@czibbell74]

Has a whole house worth of cfl's in front of him... "I don't miss these." I should think not, they haven't left. Lol

[@Victorianous]

On last count I had 25 of the twisty ones on his desk. I didn't count the other types. It's as if he added another bulb to the table for every B roll shot or introduction of a different lamp type.

[@sh4dy832]

They make a nice addition to the bulk of space heaters and toasters...

[@Carewolf]

I had one burn out after 10 years. Then when replacing it with a LED found the socket was unstable and a LED bulb would blink. Then I missed CFLs.. Though I guess fixing the fixure is better :D

[@ressljs]

I've mostly moved on to LED, but I probably have two or three CFL's somewhere in my house. I definitely like LED more, but CFL were way better than incandescent.

[@fisheye42]

“I wanna know what killed these tribbles!”

[@JeffGeerling]

I just have to say, dimmable CFLs were probably the worst type of bulb I'd ever used, even worse than the worst LED bulbs I've found on the clearance shelf.

[@gnomeddev]

Didn't expect to see you here! Love your vids lol

[@FakeJeep]

Still have them at work... they get "weird" when they get to a certain voltage/temperature to the point of flickering constantly, at random, or not at all... there is NO consistency.

[@user2C47]

I'm sure a lot of this has to do with the dimmer. The dimmers I had would change their duty cycle based on small changes in line voltage or load, and at some points on their scale would start oscillating at a lower harmonic of the line frequency. I eventually ended up replacing them with smart PWM controllers running at 16kHz.

[@SeanBZA]

@@FakeJeep Well hard to make a flourescent discharge lamp dimmable, they do not respond well to simple dimmer circuits. While you can definitely dim the long tubes, with an electronic ballast with dimming input, making one compatible with a wall dimmer is like having a McLaren F1 sports car, and expecting it to drive 300MPH on model T Ford wheels and tyres.

[@Christopher-N]

I've never used dimmable CFLs, but I have used 3-way CFLs, which worked reasonably well, though their packaging left something to be desired.

[@KarmicVagabond]

After long time enjoyed a YT video in full. So decent, and modest way of placing facts. Appreciate the choice of words / expressions. Thanks for giving peeks of your rehearsal clips. Diligence gives perfection. I’m also nostalgic about CFLs. They did their job …

[@coltrinculo703]

“And many stores left you in the dark about what to die with bulbs that left you in the dark” that got me going for some reason lol

[@GerardMenvussa]

I know right? This pun was such a bright idea :p

[@ClellBiggs]

"Stop making so much noise!" Yup, that's definitely a fluorescent bulb.

[@GameSack]

ACKSHULLY (pushes up glasses) it's the ballast that makes the noise.

[@jasonreed7522]

I love how that one scene was basically the entire blooper reel.

[@luthermaldenadez4453]

I love the slowly-increasing amount of bulbs on the table throughout the video

[@JamEngulfer]

I’m glad somebody else noticed this

[@ARockRaider]

i was a bit young at the time, but if memory serves the idea that we would be forced to use these bulbs that didn't work well in all replacement situations was one big reason my family didn't like them. government requiring use of a tech that isn't ready to be mainstream yet will really hinder public acceptance of that tech.

[@JoeHamelin]

As a Hall of Fame member of the Monorail Society I must congratulate you on your shirt depicting an Alweg monorail, specifically, Disneyland Red.

[@TechnologyConnections]

WDW coral, actually

[@vyladence]

@@TechnologyConnections so close

[@Hans-gb4mv]

The transportation choice of the future.

[@Christopher-N]

I rode the Anaheim Disneyland monorail once in the 80s. That was when I discovered that the nose on my Dale plushy did not receive the other part inside the doll that keeps the nose from falling off. Sometime later, we learned of a safety recall for exactly this reason, but we never returned it (to my knowledge, we never fixed it, either-we still have it, somewhere).

[@lylepetersen814]

@@TechnologyConnections Mark IV or Mark VI?

[@ArchHippy]

It's hard to believe that we're now the generation that remembers using those weird twisty light bulbs.

[@darinherrick9224]

I still use them. They last ten years remember? I got them for free from the Energy Council and I've yet to have any burn out. When I put them in my electric bill dropped in half, and I used to buy light bulbs frequently. Now they last so long I forgot you ever need to replace them.

[@AndrooUK]

At one point, the supermarket my parents used was selling old-style (slow start) CFTs at £0.01 each, to get rid of them before the EU law that prohibited them. They also hadn't set a limit on numbers before my parents got there, so they bought a hundred. Haha. Some of my family still use these terrible bulbs 20 years later.

[@BryanBortz]

@@AndrooUK what part was being prohibited? The slow start?

[@TravelinFolkie]

@@darinherrick9224 My family still uses them. In fact, I didn't know that LED bulbs are becoming (or is?) the norm. We haven't had to replace a bulb in years.

[@john-paulsilke893]

My skill of knowing how to program three different types of VCR’s and BetaMax’s. (I grew up poor but I worked at a video rental store).

[@AnalogueKid2112]

Fully agree with your theory about consumers being confused by color temperature and buying cool white for a living room fixture

[@CamdenBloke]

I actually preferred the blue end of the spectrum and sought that out in my CFLs.

[@Hans-gb4mv]

What I remember from most of the family around me is that they didn't like them because of the time they needed to warm up. People want instant light.

[@louistournas120]

@@Hans-gb4mv Yes, try turning a CFL on when it is 5 °C (41 °F). It takes about 5 min for it to reach its maximum.

[@CamdenBloke]

@@Hans-gb4mv I don't think I got my first CFL until they went on fairly quickly. You wouldn't want to use them for Homestar Runner style lightswitch raves, but they came on probably within half a second or a second. I tried to be mindful about being purposeful about switching them on and off in the same way I'm mindful about my use of SSDs.

[@thepinkmenace4875]

Have CFLs all over my house. All have been going strong for countless years now! Not planning on replacing until they die out.

[@dmitripogosian5084]

+1 All my CFL lights that I still have from 15+ years ago are still working (so are most incandescent, to that regard). Already going through second generation of LED's, first installed in 2016. What I had in LED lasted 6 years

[@brianfitch5469]

When they go out replace with more CFL bulbs you can find them online.

[@stephensnell5707]

​@@dmitripogosian5084 get rid of your CFL Lights and switch to L.E.D. Lights

[@dmitripogosian5084]

@@stephensnell5707 Because they last too long ?

[@tracyrreed]

The Silence of the Lamps "Well, Clarice, have the bulbs stopped beaming?"

[@victorhugoeh974]

😂🤣that's a good one!

[@jamesslick4790]

👍😜👍

[@karlackerman2821]

"The fault, dear Brutus, lies not in our bulbs, but in ourselves, that we use them for the wrong applications."

[@tulsatrash]

You win.

[@MCAndyT]

+

[@yonatanbeer3475]

+

[@baameows]

+!

[@andymorin9163]

+

[@themrproamateur]

I didn’t mind this bulb in my lamp growing up. It was a much better way to wake up with gradual brightness, rather than instantaneous brightness

[@redoverdrivetheunstoppable4637]

word

[@redoverdrivetheunstoppable4637]

@Benjamin Miles imagine going in the bathroom for a leak, you turn on the lights when you were sleeping before and BANG!!! you get blind bcs of the strong light of LEDs ... when i had CFLs in my bathroom this wasn't a problem

[@davideldridge3686]

@@redoverdrivetheunstoppable4637 Yep I intentionally put them into the bathroom for that reason.

[@Sylvan_dB]

​@@davideldridge3686 I have 3 in master bathroom recessed cans and realized I was going to miss that fade in when I installed my last spare recently. I found a replacement tho. Dimmable bulbs and the TP-Link Kasa smart switch dimmer. You can set a fade-in and fade-out times! I did *not* like the slow fade at the top of the stairway or heading into a dark basement room...

[@zekrompwns]

We had those circular ones in our kitchen and dining room. Over 20 years in that house and they only had to be replaced once. The kitchen one was only turned on once a day and the dining room one was never shut down except when we replaced it.

[@melodycervantes4167]

I've been watching this channel for a while now. I have stood strong through countless "bad" jokes. But something about the delivery of "I *think* they know algebra!" finally made me laugh out loud.

[@sheslikeheroin93]

i know its been 6 months, but same

[@melodycervantes4167]

@@sheslikeheroin93 Well, the six months let me forget about that joke, so I could laugh at it again, so thank you!

[@pyromancy8439]

i love how there's a bigger pile of bulbs on the table every time

[@HayLeesHomeMade]

I like to think that's how many takes he did at that point

[@Bertie_Ahern]

More And more And moooore....

[@Deadbass_]

I was expected the entire desk to be literally a CFL bulb by the end of the video 😂

[@ad636051]

Lol I didn't notice until you mentioned it

[@surrealdynamics4077]

Lmaoo

[@gtoger]

Wait, CFLs are Tribbles?

[@CreatureOTNight]

Well Scotty just like Tribbles, CFLs are a thing of the past.

[@8604dl]

😂 I lost count at 30

[@PierreaSweedieCat]

No TROUBLES!

[@CAPSLOCKPUNDIT]

Next up: The Trouble With CFLs!

[@CAPSLOCKPUNDIT]

@@PierreaSweedieCat sorry, didn't mean to Klingon to a single issue.

[@ChronicNewb]

A core childhood memory of mine was my dad trying to secretly switch out incandescent bulbs for CFLs and my mom noticing them and switching them back. It was like a never-ending scavenger hunt. She didn't like them for the exact reason you mentioned: the typical color temperature made her feel like she was in the office.

[@MobileTech296]

I bought CFLs for every fixture in my house back in the mid-2000’s and they lasted for freaking ever. Even the yellow one on my porch which struggled mightily to start in the winter, taking several minutes to get to full strength, but it bravely soldiered on for nearly a decade. It finally died about a week before I moved out.

[@Sciguy95]

"Alot of the aversion came from people that really just didn't know much about lighting." I feel like this idea could be applied to a HUGE amount of different technologies.

[@gerrykavanagh]

This is literally what the internet has become.

[@jasonreed7522]

7:48 thats the quote of the century "We know how easily the general public engages with nuance"

[@harsesishoktar9386]

I love your videos. Informative and aesthetically pleasing. Even your outros are calming in a retro sort of way that I've yet to pinpoint where they're familiar.

[@KarnBlueEarring]

18:26 "But plenty of places left you in the dark on how to deal with a bulb that left you in the dark."

[@kenbee1957]

"Some of them are even smart. I think they know Algebra" This is what I signed up for

[@ZeroStrife1396]

Funny thing is, modern smart bulbs' features probably do indeed require "knowledge" of algebra to work.

[@BeatriceBrown]

i love how the number of lamps on your desk just kept increasing as the video went on

[@iViking90]

Gags like those do not get old.

[@boknows9333]

I honestly thought I was losing my mind

[@KINGDUDE139]

Watching this casually while working on at my PC, just looking up and seeing more bulbs every few minutes had me with a surprised giggle.

[@matthewnelson5680]

I’m glad you said it! I can’t believe how many of these he has lying around.

[@fhm2]

It feels really weird to hear this technology that my home uses almost exclusively referred to in the same mildly dismissive yet also appreciative past tense as Laserdiscs