Product review: Hybrid CFL-Halogen Compact Fluorescent Bulb by GE

Works well in the situation where the usage does not include frequent cycles

 
I originally bought this light to use in a stairwell. I was looking for a light that turns on instantly, yet I wanted a more cost-efficient solution than incandescent bulb. A CFL light can save $100 per bulb over its life time (compared to incandescent) but a delay in turning on makes it not the best choice in a stairwell. Halogen bulb saves $3 to $8 (compared to incandescent) but I did not find a bulb that fit my current light fixture.

This GE Compact Fluorescent Bulb appeared to combines best of both worlds. Unlike most CFLs the hybrid brightens instantly because of the halogen capsule inside the swirl of the CFL. The halogen turns off when the CFL fully brightens, saving energy by allowing the CFL to do most of the work. It provides nice energy savings: better than halogen light alone although less than CFL alone.

However after reading Consumer Reports tests of this bulb, I decided not to use in the stairwell because it does not function well when the light bulb usages involves short cycles of use which is how my stairwell light is used.

Consumer Reports found that this bulb does not work well in their tests with rapid cycling: when the bulb was turned on for 2 minutes and then turned off. They found that the halogen part of the bulb continued to work but the CFL part failed almost three times sooner than the CFLs without the halogen capsule. When the halogen part turned off the bulb went dark. This happened well before the 8,000 hour predicted life time of the bulb. However the bulb worked well and lasted within expected period in tests where the bulb was left turned on for more than 5 minutes at a time.

Based on these tests I decided not to use the bulb in the stairwell where the light is cycled often, but I am using it in the basement where the lights stays on longer and is not cycled frequently. So far I am very pleased with it.

This is a promising solution to lighting and I hope GE will find a solution to the rapid cycle usage as well.


You can find it on Amazon by following this link.


Ali Julia review ★★★★☆