It is our common knowledge thet the purchase price of a CFL (Compact Flourescent Lamp) popularly called energy saving bulb is typically 3–10 times greater than that of an equivalent incandescent lamp, a CFL is claimed to lasts 8–15 times longer and uses two-thirds to three-quarters less energy. A U.S. article stated "A household that invested $90 in changing 30 fixtures to CFLs would save $440 to $1,500 over the five-year life of the bulbs, depending on your cost of electricity.

These CFLs are supposedly extremely cost-effective in commercial buildings when used to replace incandescent lamps.

In Nigeria, I have noticed incessent failures of these CFLs to meet the average lifetime. I can say (from my experience) they do not last any where near the acclaimed 8000Hrs average lifetime or even up to the lifetime of the traditional incandescent I was using. Ofcourse it is undoubtful that I got power saving from these bulbs but there failure rate is really alarming. Average life 8000hrs ( 11 months 3days )

I need opinion of NLrs on these CFLs - What are your feeling about them? Have they met your expectations in terms of cost, performance and lifespan?

kindly share experience for the benefit of all.