Customer Reviews

12 Pack DIMMABLE Compact Fluorescent Light CFL Bulbs! 23w = 100w ULAmerica Model: SDS23-2P UL Listed 1600Lumens 8000 Hrs Life Energy Star

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(5)

 

 

OK, first of all with reference to the previous review, COMPACT in the context of compact fluorescent bulbs means compact as compared to the long tubes which used to be the only option for CF lighting, NOT as compared to a regular light bulb!

The big problem with CG bulbs has always been the inability to dim them. If you try to dima standard CF bulb, you destroy it instantly. Dimmable CFs are the holy grail and they're finally here. I've only been running them for a few weeks, but they work perfectly. SO long as they last as long as they are made to, these things are awesome. The quality of light and the ability to be dimmed is fantastic. Bear in mind: these use less power in the first place, and then when you dim them, they use even less!

I plan to keep adding them until all my lights are CF and then see how my electric bill is affected. Th

I have tried a number of CFL Bulbs and these are by far the brightest bulbs I've used- they also reach full brightness almost instantly with no noticeable "warm up" period like others I have used.

However, they are advertised as "dimmable" and while they do dim it is not useful... they dim from about 70% of max brightness to max brightness... under that 70% level or so they just go to off...

This still would have let me give it the 4th star, but unfortunately there is yet another problem... At any level under 100% there is an audible buzzing sound- it gets louder the dimmer you get, but even at say 90% brightness it's still very noticeable to me, and that was just a single bulb- I had planned on using three of them in a fan in my living room, but I could never use them with the sound they make at the lower brightness levels- I mean, it goes hand in hand more or less that where you want dim lighting (bedrooms, living rooms, dens, etc...) you also need quiet and that would just be impossible with these.

However, I am in no way returning them- they will work excellent in fixtures that do not have dimmers- closets, some hallways, places where they will only be "on" or "off" - much brighter than my current bulbs and will use a fraction of the power.

One final warning, though it didn't affect my rating one way or the other- they are physically larger than a standard 100 watt typical light bulb... I'd say off hand they are probably close to double the size, you need a deep and wide fixture to fit these in, if your regular bulb barely fits these will not. I tried it in a high-hat light I had in my basement that typical bulbs always fit with 1.5" or so to spare, these bulbs stick out below the opening another inch or more.

These bulbs are unique in that they are dimmable. Most CF bulbs cannot be hooked up to a dimming circuit. While this feature is good, keep in mind, they will flicker like crazy when they are not on full power. Also, they have a tendency to hum. I also got a bad bulb in my 4-pack, which only lasted a week.

I changed all the dimmable lights in the house 2 years ago with dimmable CFL bulbs, and specifically this product that bought from Amazon. Unfortunately, for whatever reason, CFL bulbs do not live up to their "last for 10 years" advertisement. Especially these ones. In 2 years, we have gone through almost 10 [we have only 6 light sockets that take dimmable bulbs, so each bulb has lasted for a year]. We have 2 left of the 12 pack, and it is now time to order again. I am going to try a difference brand this time. I am not sure if it is a problem with the technology or with this manufacturer....but I am sorely disappointed.

I purchased the lamps because they were inexpensive. Most burned out within a month. Not a real value. I since purchased dimmable lamps at 1000 bulbs.com and they have been in use for well over a year.

Bought several of these. All failed within 6 mos. Thats all I can say about them, they just don't dim..but then have not found a 'diimablel cfl that did not fail quickly.

Waste of good money. In less than nine months three of these bulbs already died. We used them for a couple of hours in the evening during the week and a bit longer on weekends. They didn't come close to the thousands of hours advertised.

It appears that there is only one actual type of dimmable 23W CFL from China, and they all have very high failure rates, 6000 hour "warranty".

These have been released as "Greenlite", "Harmony" and as "U Lighting America". They have their own "UL" logo to make it look like they're UL listed.

Overall, myself and others included, there is a 50% failure rate on these bulbs within 3 days. I couldn't get warranty on mine that failed the day they were installed. The company's website just lists the bulb information, but there's on contact information. The phone number for warranty is an answering machine with an old lady saying you've reached U Lighting America, leave a message. Several other people have been told that warranty is only good when purchased in California for use in California.

The seller also wouldn't take them back as DoA without negative feedback. Even then, I'm waiting to see.

For most of those that work, the light is crisp white and very bright at full power. As you turn the dimmer down, the light stays the same for about 30%, but the bulbs begin to hum. Past that point, they begin to dim. Past 50%, they flicker. Past 70%, some of them extinguish, or pulsate off and on with substantial buzzing.

For one of them, the light was markedly more pink, but otherwise operated the same way as the others.

So basically, avoid these bulbs. Go for the Sylvania, Earthmate or GE brands with good reviews.

First, these bulbs seem to vary a bit from dimmer fixture to dimmer fixture. In one of the fixtures where I installed them, for example, they go from dim to bright smoothly. In another fixture the off-to-bright blend is somewhat less smooth. Further, one of the fixtures has a slight humm with these bulbs (I can't hear it but my wife can). Finally, as you probably know, there are "warm" CFLs and "cool white" CFL. These are startling white. This isn't bad, but the change will be noticeable. However, considering that the only retail Dimmable CFL I've seen is close to nine bucks per bulb, this is a great deal.

I ordered a 12-back of these dimmable CFLs 9 months ago for an amazingly low $8.95 price. 2 of the 12 were DOA in the box, but I actually considered that ok for the amazing price. (Compare that to Home Depot's price of roughly the same for a single bulb!) These bulbs are wonderful! Bright, dimmable, and noisy only during low-light dimming, I think they're so good that I'm about to order some more! BTW, these work wonderfully with X10 light modules and produce no noise or flicker.