OK, this could be the most mundane fucking thing I've ever written.
Being a bit of a tree hugger, I've been buying those little fluorescent lights. They cost more, but they last a hell of a lot longer and use a quarter of the power to make the same light.
Truth be told, I just got tired of replacing light bulbs, especially on the outside and where I often have one on, like the living room or over the stove. I swear that one of the pair of lights at my front door is always burned out. Well not anymore, because this time they went within three days of each other and I put the mini's in there.
My initial objection to those was that the color temperature was all fucked up and, well, fluorescent. As it turns out though, they seem to be about the same as normal bulbs.
And I did the math, and I'll use less electricity, which means lightening my portion of the power burden, and just barely break even in terms of paying for the bulb. (Like I'm worried about power consumption given recent purchases.)
I'm a big fan of those light bulbs. People see that they cost more and, therefore, don't buy them. In the end they really don't save you any money (you pay more for them, and then save about the same amount) but they are BETTER FOR THE PLANET, people!
It's one of those things that a lot of people are just too stubborn to change. I'm working on getting the 'rents to switch.
So, yay for you.
Not all CFLs are created equal. Some work better than others, and some give off better light than others.
I also noticed that they get brighter after they've been on a for a while.
I don't use them everywhere (yet) but I do use them for the lights I have on most often. Especially for lights I like to leave on for a long time (light over the sink, etc.)
I have seen a decrease in my electric bill since switcing to all most all fluorescent bulbs. We have a series of halogen fixtures that will need to stay, otherwise we are about 80% fluorescent. They make the bulbs with different color temps now. My only vague complaint is that the birght white floods (used outside) take a little bit to warm up, and bath my drive in pale pink light for the first 5 minutes or so.
With my house (4500 sq ft) and my kids (never turn anything off) these bulbs save me time, money and give a little kickback to the environment too.