Earthmate EP2357AE 23-Watt Spiral CFL Full Spectrum Bulb, 6 Pack

by Earthmate

Product Description

From the Manufacturer

This 6 pack of 23w Super Mini-Spiral Full Spectrum replaces a 60w incandescent bulb. It will emit a crisp white light which is good for bringing out color and clarity for reading, artwork and task oriented projects, and it will come on just as fast with no flicker! This will be the smallest 23w CFL you will have purchased and will fit into more fixtures than another brand. It will last about 13 times longer than a standard light bulb, which can be as many as 7 years of life.Earthmate Lighting products are the premium in Compact Fluorescent technology both from a technological and an environmental standpoint. Earthmate’s commitment to quality vs commodity is evident in many features within each bulb. From our instant-on guarantee, longer life, richer truer color and high lumen output from smaller bulbs, Earthmate stands apart. Through technology innovation, we can use 75% less mercury than other brands in many of our bulbs, and 75% less energy than standard incandescents. Our packaging is 100% recycled paper and we only use soy based inks. Put all of that together and you have the most environmentally sensitive CFL brand on the market today. Together we can save some energy, some money, and help fight global warming by reducing greenhouse gases from our coal power plants. This 15watt Super

Product Details

• Product Dimensions: 2.4 x 2.4 x 5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Shipping: This item is also available for shipping to select countries outside the U.S.
• ASIN: B001WAL1O6
• Item model number: EP2357AE
• Average Customer Review: 3.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (14 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #4,069 in Home Improvement (See Top 100 in Home Improvement)
  • #38 in Home Improvement > Electrical > Light Bulbs > Compact Fluorescent Bulbs

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

15 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent brightness - Very Efficient, January 17, 2010

By 

G. Cox "Shanghaied" (Houston, Texas) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Earthmate EP2357AE 23-Watt Spiral CFL Full Spectrum Bulb, 6 Pack (Tools & Home Improvement)

These lights have exceptionally good light output. I bought the 30 Watt version and they were too bright when I used them in a light fixture with 5 lamp sockets. These are still rather bright in the same 5 socket light fixture, but acceptable. The light output will become a little less with time. When compared to an incandescent bulb, these appear to be pure white and the standard bulb a weak yellow glow by comparison. Once you adapt to these full spectrum bulbs, you cannot go back to standard incandescent bulbs. Now I am replacing incandescent bulbs in all areas of my new house except in areas of low usage or places the bulbs will not fit. These bulbs will fit in most fixtures, however. I am replacing the fixture in my garage to put some 45 Watt full spectrum bulbs into a cluster light fixture. I live in the Houston, Texas area so cold weather is not normally a problem. Fluorescent bulbs often are weak in light output in cold weather until they warm up after a few minutes. When warm, they work fine. I have not tried this particular bulb series in a cold soak environment yet. The payoff should come this summer when electric bills are at their peak. These bulbs are very efficient and produce a lot less heat than incandescent bulbs. I look forward to the day that LED bulbs become affordable and brighter, but for now, this is the way to go. Definitely avoid the so called warm white fluorescent bulbs in the stores. Order only full spectrum CFL bulbs or those rated 51K or 55K or anything in the 5000 to 6000 Kelvin light spectrum. I would avoid the bulbs in the 6000 Kelvin range. They probably have too much of a blue shift. The 51K or 5100 Kelvin bulbs are perfect. Then it is just a matter of selecting the wattage you want. For multiple bulb fixtures, these 23 Watt bulbs are perfect. For single bulb fixtures, you probably want a higher power bulb than these. I am using a 45 Watt 51K fluorescent bulb over my breakfast nook and it is just right. These full spectrum bulbs are great for SAD (Seasonal Affective Disorder) people like me. I get winter depression when it is cloudy and bleak for a long time. Normally Houston has plenty of sunshine, but this winter has been unusually cold. Well, at least I am not in the frozen north. This is quite a switch for me because I just moved from the San Francisco area.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Excellent bulb, but misleading description - NOT "super mini", September 3, 2011

By 

Disgruntled - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Earthmate EP2357AE 23-Watt Spiral CFL Full Spectrum Bulb, 6 Pack (Tools & Home Improvement)

First, I would give this bulb 5 stars if the description was correct, and will happily change my rating if that is fixed! The problem is that these are not "super mini" bulbs. Earthmate does make a 2700K super mini bulb that is 4.6" long, but the only 23W full-spectrum bulb they list, at 5" long, is this one. (The actual model number for this bulb is E2357AE on their website, which matches the individual units of the 6-pack.)

These bulbs are fairly pricey compared to the average 23 watt full-spectrum bulb, and I paid the extra money partially based on the assumption that these would be smaller.

Now, on to actually reviewing the product! The bulbs are average sized, and should fit in most lamps and fixtures; however, I did have one fixture where they were just a bit too long to fit. The brightness and coloration are excellent; they seem to put out a bit more light than other 23W full-spectrum bulbs I have. The CRI is 88; not the highest around but very good. The light is extremely close to my ALZO bulbs, which are still my favorite full-spectrum bulbs (other than the fact that they're huge and don't fit in most things!) The bulbs turn on to a fairly decent brightness and fully warm up very quickly. I've noticed zero buzzing or flickering.

Overall, I'd say these are the best 23W full-spectrum bulbs I've tried that are "normal" sized, which is the only thing that kept me from just returning the 5-pack despite the size issue. (Yes, 5-pack, since one of my bulbs was DOA. Amazon was nice enough to offer a partial refund for that bulb, which I decided was better than shipping all six bulbs back and forth.) They're also a bit expensive as noted; the price would be more in line if they were actually smaller as claimed.

(I did contact Amazon with links to the manufacturer's information in hopes that they fix the description and/or stock actual "super mini" bulbs, assuming Earthmate actually makes them in a full-spectrum version! I would love to have this product in a smaller version, if it exists...)

Sep 7 edit: Down to 4 working bulbs after having these bulbs in for 4 days. :( The one that just died was in a fixture paired with another of the same... I'm going to give them another couple weeks and see if any more die before I decide whether to return them or have them all replaced. It's possible it was shipping damage since the outer box arrived crushed (though the product box was fine), so I'll give them the benefit of the doubt.

Oct 4 edit: I had the bulbs replaced a couple weeks ago. Whoever packed them wasn't too bright, since he or she just stuck a FedEx label on the product box without any extra packaging! Not cool for shipping light bulbs, Amazon. Only 4 bulbs arrived working, certainly due to shipping damage this time. Fortunately Amazon told me to do whatever with the first shipment rather than return it, so I have 8 working bulbs now, which I can't complain about since no more have died since then. (Of course, they're still not "super mini" as listed, so my review remains at 2 stars instead of 5.)

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars great bulbs at great prices, December 2, 2009

By 

a home owner - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Earthmate EP2357AE 23-Watt Spiral CFL Full Spectrum Bulb, 6 Pack (Tools & Home Improvement)

regular CFL bulbs tend to be more yellow than natural lights. full spectrum bulbs tend to be more pale blue. My eyes are very sensitive to lights and yellow lights tend to make me feel a little 'winter gloom'. So I mixed full spectrum bulbs with regular ones to achieve a warm (yellow) but still up-lifting (white) lighting effects.

I was not able to find full spectrum CFL at my local stores, so I was very happy when I found them at amazon and at such a great price.

Earthmate uses recycled papers for packagings instead of those hard to cut plastic shells, which is great.
The only reason I gave it 4 star was because they are so green-conscious that they use very little glue on the box. when I tried to open the box from the acutal box openings, the side where it was glued together would break open and the box cannot hold a bulb any more.