Both my wife and my HOA have told me I need to keep our outdoor lighting on at night. While I’m not entirely sold on the rationale and am a reluctant switch flipper, I am a dutiful husband and neighbor.
When flourescents first got attention, I bought into their allure and outfitted my condo in early generation CFLs. Of course, as most folks in my situation quickly realized, this new fangled tech wasn’t all it was cracked up to be – dim, buzzing, slow lighting, lesser lifespans than equivalent incandescents, questionable cost/benefit, etc. So these days I’m much more judicious in how and where I apply fluorescent lighting. And I’d originally identified relatively inexpensive Ikea LEDs for my outdoor lighting project, consisting of four sconces, with intentions of leaving the fixtures on 24/7. Yet, at some point, I came across the Philips Dusk to Dawn CFL on Amazon… and changed up the plan. The 60-watt equivalent bulbs run $7-$8 each and feature a rotating light sensor, with the thought being that the bad guys will assume someone is home as lights go on and off. Also, I was hopeful these might be better suited for outdoor use.
Having run the Philips CFLs a few months, I have no real complaints. The 14 watt bulbs do what they were designed to do — my wife is satisfied and I’m not roaming the house twice a day flipping switches. I will say the model we’re running will not hit its advertised lifespan as the light goes on quite early in the evenings and stays on a bit too long in the AM. Also, in our two garage door sconces, the bulb appears a bit oversized (as shown above). However, the replacement model introduced just a few weeks back features a more compact and attractive form. Hopefully, it’ll be a few years before I replace mine, so you’ll have to tell us how the new ones work out.