Why Consumers Take Dim View of Compact Fluorescents

"In the pursuit of the holy grail, we stepped on the consumer."

That's one of the reviews of the new compact fluorescent light bulbs that is pissing off American consumers. The New York Times has an article out entitled, "Do New Bulbs Save Energy if They Don't Work?"

SAN FRANCISCO — It sounds like such a simple thing to do: buy some new light bulbs, screw them in, save the planet.

But a lot of people these days are finding the new compact fluorescent bulbs anything but simple. Consumers who are trying them say they sometimes fail to work, or wear out early. At best, people discover that using the bulbs requires learning a long list of dos and don’ts.

[snip]

Experts say the quality problems are compounded by poor package instructions. Using the bulbs incorrectly, like screwing low-end bulbs into fixtures where heat is prone to build up, can greatly shorten their lives.

Some experts who study the issue blame the government for the quality problems, saying an intensive federal push to lower the price essentially backfired by encouraging manufacturers to use cheap components.

I would be remiss if I didn't point out that the Chinese once again are involved:

Victor Roberts, an independent expert in Burnt Hills, N.Y., who conducts failure analysis testing on compact fluorescents, suspects that some suppliers — many of them in China — are using substandard components.

“Somebody decides to save a little money somewhere,” he said, “and suddenly we have hundreds of thousands of failures.”

Don't you just love it when our government steps in to help us?