Abordnet

hi David- funny the things you can get done in your head while cutting wood... or splitting... or stacking.... on your compact flourescents... 12 a pop is a low price! the cheaper the better but....  mechanical balasts flicker (and sometimes hum) electronic balasts are instant on.  These things put out a lot less heat than incandescents (which is one of their main inneficiencies - they are heating elements in the visual spectrum) and should be fine in a dome/globe fixture. fitting them into lamps is tough- i have a favorite reading lamp which is too tight... BUT i saw a deal where you put the ballast at the plug end and just a tube/bulb goes in the socket. As for light quality, i have a variety of brands/_style_s and boy do they vary- one, a panasonic, is really ugly - kind of a greenish glow... Osram makes one with full spectrum output... closest to natural daylight. your savings are minute... a reflection on how many costs are not reflected in your energy bill. These are subsidized by the federal and state governments and show up in OUR taxes... or they wont be paid by us at all but by our future generations... or they show up as medical costs... asthma rates in cities are shooting up and up....  any way- it is a step in the right direction. My solar system is one place where they DO matter- as i am my own power company, i know that any dollar spent on effeciency saves 3 dollars in system capacity! All my lights are CF and I can't imagine my performance with little heat makers throughout the house.  The savings on large scale retrofits are tremendous- and so sure that there are programs to retrofit schools and public buildings with a loan... that will be paid off in energy savings. A no brainer as they say. Compact Flourescents are getting cheaper and cheaper... and selection is increasing... all driven by consumer demand.  Just ten years ago my solar electric system would have cost twice the money and not been as reliable... but thanks to those who put their money where their mouths were things have evolved and improved greatly! So- while you might not be socking away millions in energy savings, you are part of the driving force of change , i call it evolution, that is gonna be what it takes for us to survive on this planet. I highly encourage anyone to give a Compact Flourescent Lamp for a thoughtful holiday gift (to us all). (and reccomend electronic ballasts) www.realgoods.com is one source... but they are at wallmart too. bika mbote//stay well     zaire/congo  watersan 1990