Like several other posters I have also had problems with CFLs in my house. I was thrilled to switch at first because our house is all electric--any change in energy use is immediately noticeable. Unfortunately, the CFLs are never bright enough (even though I check the lumens), they don't last nearly as long as they should (several have burned out or dimmed within 6 months), they take a while to turn on (did I hit the wrong light switch?), and they are huge. Several of our lamps won't hold CFLs because of the way the shade fits around the bulb. Am I supposed to save money by buying all new lamps too? They also don't work with automatic timers, according to the packaging, which limits their use once again.

We bought some of the brightest CFLs we could find for my brother's room and within a month 2 of the arcs on the bulb (it is made up of 4 or 5 lit arches that combine to produce the equivalent of 150 watts) had burned out. My poor brother was stuck with about 60 watts to light up his whole bedroom. We switched right back to regular incandescent bulbs in places we use a lot. We have regular flourescent lights in our kitchen, and they work great. Wish I could say the same for CFLs.

Saving energy is great, especially with the high electric bills I've been getting, but I'm not willing to sacrifice the time (constantly buying and replacing these malfunctioning bulbs), the functionality when I just want to read a book, or the extra money for a less reliable bulb. It's a light bulb! If it won't light up the room like it should, it isn't worth buying.