Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #55098 in Home Improvement
• Color: Soft white
• Brand: General Electric
• Model: 21710
• Number of items: 1

Features

• A smart way to save energy
• Application: Indoor spot/ floodlight 375 inch wide fixtures
• Base: medium screw (E26); Bulb type: R30; Watts: 15
• Initial Lumens: 700
• Guaranteed to last 4 years based on 4 hours use per day at 120V.

From the Manufacturer
GE 15 Watt (65W equivalent) Energy Smart Floodlight Dimmable R30 Light Bulb. Saves $30.00 in energy costs* Lasts 3 times longer than a regular soft white indoor floodlight. GE Energy Smart bulbs provide the same light as a Soft White bulb while using fewer watts. Application: Indoor spot and floodlight with 3.75 inch wide fixtures. Base: Medium screw (E26). Bulb Type: R30. Initial Lumens: 700. Guaranteed to last 4 years based on 4 hours use per day at 120V. Electricity cost savings based on rated life of 6,000 hrs compared to three 65 watt R30 bulbs (rated life 2,000 hrs). Energy savings based on 10c per kilowatt hour. Reliable starting to -10oF(-23oC). Lamp requires a short warm up period to reach full brightness.

Customer Reviews

Not up to current standards; unacceptable delay; needs 2-3 min warmup.
We use CFLs in non-dimmable fixtures and have done so for years. So we expect our bulbs to light instantaneously. For instance we use CFLs for step lightiing, not an application where you want to surprise people with a delay after they flip a switch.

This bulb has a delay reminiscent of the old CFLs we began buying ten years ago. Furthermore, it begins dim and requires 2-3 minutes to reach full brightness. That might have been OK then, but people have heard how great CFLs are now (and I think they ARE great), and how all the previous shortcomings have been fixed. I am concerned about what impact this bulb might have on new users. I have extensive experience with CFLs and strong faith in their utility and value as energy savers. If this were my first bulb, I might wonder if that was all hype.

If you have never used CFLs before, they ARE great, they don't have a delay (except this one), and they do equal the quality of incandescents. You should use them where you use regular non-dimmable bulbs. OTOH I would recommend trying dimmables one brand at a time to see if they are compatible with your dimmers and to catch performance issues like the ones I have had with GE's dimmable flood. I am going to try other brands of dimmables, but i would discourage others from buying this one.

Advantages of CFLs over incandescent and dimmable CFLs.
Advantages are less energy usage and less heat production over incandescent bulbs but they do cost more. I would buy this one rather than the dimmable CFLs which only dim about 20% (Sylvania 10%, Philips 20%, GE20%) and cost about 3-4x as much. Don't buy expecting them to dim like incandescent bulbs, because the way they dim is by producing harmonic distortion (changing the waveform to one where less light is produced) which can cause flickering and even without noticeable flickering possibly even headaches or eye strain in some people. So go with the nondimmable CFLs instead.

Work well, a few cons
These work well, for the most part. They are brighter then the 65W incandescent bulbs they replaced, but they take 5 mins or so to get that bright. They dim, but only about 50% or so, and in our case we can't turn the dimmer more then 70% off or they flicker. All in all, they do the job we wanted, run cooler then what they replaced, and since they stay on 24 hours a day in a business setting the warm-up period doesn't matter much to us.