Customer Reviews

GE 74197 10-Watt Energy Smart CFL Light Bulb, 40-Watt Output, 2-Pack

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This bulb, GE Energy Smart 74196, 10 watt, 520 lumens, "lasts 5 years", is a lower-brightness bulb compared with the similarly-named, more expensive GE #85382, which is 580 lumens, 10 watts, and "lasts 8 years":GE 85382 Energy Smart 10-Watt T2 Spiral Compact Fluorescent Bulb.

There is also the GE Energy Smart 6-pack with similar specs to this one for a bargain $16: 6-Pack GE Compact Flourescent (CFL) Light Bulbs 10 Watt = 40 Watt Equivalent

Choose with care. If you don't care about real "40 watt" equivalency, choose this bulb, or consider the cheaper 6-pack, although some reviews object to the low output.
If you want better lumen output, choose the 85382.

GE shouldn't market different bulbs with the same name.

I like the idea of these bulbs, however I find they have two drawbacks. The first, and I've purchased both 40 and 60 watt equivalent bulbs, is that they are really not as bright as the corresponding wattage of an irridecent bulb. Second, I put these in a bunch of my lamps that were on dimmer switches, and guess what, they don't work on dimmer switches.
As I said, the idea is good, but the techology needs some improvement.