I’m reviewing a Compact Fluorescent Lamp or CFL today. This is the first CFL that Green Gear has reviewed in its 1 1/2 year history. That sort of surprises me. I’ve had CFLs for quite some time, almost every lamp in my home is a CFL. I guess CFLs seems so obvious. They’re cheap, available everywhere, and almost a no-brainer for people looking for new light bulbs. But, with that said, It’s important that I finally review one of the most popular green products out there.

The other day I was at Home Depot picking up a toilet flapper and thought I’d grab some CFLs. I nabbed the lowest wattage setting i could find and ended up picking up a 40w eqiuv (9 watt actual) 4-Pack made by n:Vision. It cost me $5.98. The price really couldn’t be better for non-dimming light bulbs. I remember paying astronomical amounts of money for CFLs when the first came out, so I’m happy that they’re cheaper.

The green savings here is of course the variable savings made possible by the CLF using 1/4th the energy of an incandescent lamp. Lighting while not a majority of your electric bill each month certainly is a big player so you could see a significant savings if you replaced your current bulbs with CFLs in the lamps you use most often.

I’ve had no issues with the n:Vision, they don’t flicker when turned on, they stay relatively cool to the touch and seem to be built well. Just as a note these aren’t dimmable, though that do make ones that are. Also, because these are CFLs they need to be disposed of in a proper manner, my local home depot recycles them for us so I suspect yours does too.

Here is the Video Review

RATING: 4 out of 5 Gears for Variable Eco Benefit, Value, Design Quality, and Being Ready for Mass Purchase

Today we’re going to be reviewing a more festive green product.  StayBright 100 LED White Christmas Lights by General Electric.  Last Year Mrs. Green Gear and I picked up a 9 ft. Strand of Multicolored LED Christmas lights (which are still going strong) for $20.  But this year, the strand is 33ft long and only 14.99 (at costco).

These look like traditional xmas lights and are graded for indoor and outdoor use.  Each light has a frosted texture to it that adds to the festivity.  Because these are made by GE you can tell that they are a quality product.  They even have a constant on feature where if you break one of the lights, the rest stay on.

The only downside we see here is that even with the energy (see green) savings of the product you are still going to spend more than you would on traditional christmas lights, so we don’t see this product moving from niche to mass adoption any time soon.  But they are some pretty nice lights for people looking to use less energy.  (quick fact, LEDs also require far less energy to manufactuer than traditional lights).  Happy Holidays!

Rating: 3 out of 5 Gears for Reduced Energy to Manufacture, Reduced Energy Consumption, and Product Quality

Clear, Bright, Light.

If you’re like me, when you’re at home depot and you’re shopping for lights, three things matter.  Cost, Wattage, and Quality.  Well, and I want my lights to dim.  Dimming CFLs are nice but not very mainstream.. plus they’re pricey!  If you’re al gore, you can probably afford them for every light in your home, but if you’re me… you’ll probably settle for something like the 40W Philips Halogena light when doing recessed floods.  Using some sort of technology, their light gives you superior quality compared to a 65W Flood, while only using 40W!  That’s nice!  It dims very nicely, unlike a lot of CFLs that can dim and you’re saving a few watts.  While you won’t see any huge dive in your electricity bill, Green Gear is happy that there is a more efficient product out there that uses a bit less.  Still, the added cost of the light won’t save you any money in the long run… unless you use your floods a lot, but the quality is better and we think that is worth paying for.

See the video review below and post comments.

RATING: 2 out of 5 Gears for Product Quality and Reduced Energy Usage