I used to have my porch light burn out about once a month.  Don't know why exactly, but I suspect the mild shaking from the high winds here, temperature extremes, etc all contributed to it.  I had tried several different brands to no avail.

Then I bought compact flourescent bulbs for all my outside lights.  4 1/2 years ago.  Not one has burned out.  

I can't stand them in my office, because the (barely detectable) flicker bugs me.  But outside, I love them - they last friggin forever and save me money on my electric bill.

How well do they start in the cold?

Quoted: How well do they start in the cold?

I have noticed that it takes 2-3 minutes to acheive full lighting in colder temps.

Your porch light probably had rust built up in the socket from moisture.

The rust / corrosion causes the regular bulb to run hotter and burn out faster.

The CF bulb likely handles that better.

If you want to be able to run regular bulbs, run some steel wool inside the socket to get rid of the rust / corrosion.

About half of the bulbs in my house are fluorescent replacements for incandescents.  The other half are either original fan lights or original bulbs in recessed lights.  I've found a replacement for the recessed lights, so I'll be trying it when the first one burns out.  The fan lights are dimmable, and that's a problem with fluorescents.

There can also be a slight delay in coming on, so that can be a bother to some.

I run them in all my heavy use lamps. I have the =to 60w compacts indoors. Outside, I have the =to 150w. Mainly, they just don't burn out, which I like. Plus I run my outdoor ones all night and my bill is equal or less then my friends.

The only neg I have is that the outdoor ones need to be in a sealed or enclosed fixture or they don't last as long. The one by my door (not enclosed) burns out about every 6-9mo... But, it is upside down, unenclosed, in a humid part of the country.

They do take a minute to get fired up when cool/cold outside. Mine are on timers and start a bit before sundown, no big deal.


FWIW: The ones they sell at Home Depot are much nicer for indoor use (less painful to look at) the ones sold at Lowes are friggin min-suns... I run those outside.

Quoted: About half of the bulbs in my house are fluorescent replacements for incandescents.  The other half are either original fan lights or original bulbs in recessed lights.  I've found a replacement for the recessed lights, so I'll be trying it when the first one burns out.  The fan lights are dimmable, and that's a problem with fluorescents. There can also be a slight delay in coming on, so that can be a bother to some.

Good point.  I tried a CF in a dimmable fixture once, left the room and smelled smoke an hour later.  The fucker had caught fire.

I almost had gone grocery shopping during that time frame.....