Feit Electric - High Lumen (2800) Twist CFL 150W Equivalent Natural Daylight 6500K Light Bulb (ESL40TN/D)

The 40W fluorescents (150-200W equivalent) are hard to find in most brick and mortar stores (they like to sell the smaller 40W and the 100W equivalents) so I was double-happy when I saw this one at Amazon. First, because Amazon carries it and second because it's available under super-savers' shipping.Talking about the item itself:- you WILL experience some delay when you turn it on but it's hardly noticeable, like maybe 1/10 of a second- once it's on, unlike the 'cheaper' fluorescents that need to warm up, it shines at or close to full brightness immediately- it's a bulky, significantly wider and longer than the 150W incandescent equivalents and it may not fit all fixtures where a regular 150W bulb used to fit- does not work well with a dimmer - it's either on or off [I tried it with one and it did come on at full brightness but something is telling me that you may shorten its life when used this way]- the light is bright, so bright, I would not stare at it directly - I did once and I saw 'ghosts' for the next 15-30 minutes- the color of light is closer to 'solar' than what our 'incandescents' deliver, less yellow, more blue- unlike neon lights, there's no flicker- it consumes less power when compared to an incandescentThe above were my subjective comments. Here are the specs, as the manufacturer lists them:- Light output: 2800 lumens- Energy used: 42W- Life: 8000 hrs.- Color temperature: 6500K- Electric charge: 610mAThe major issue I have with the fluorescents is their lifespan. Maybe I am unlucky but, after replacing nearly all my light bulbs in the house - a few dozen - they seem to burn out more often. My first couple 40W I bought a few years ago (a different brand), in fact, died after about one year, I hope this is not the case again because we are paying top dollar for these environmentally nice devices.So far, I see no reason not to award this bulb 5 stars but, if it dies on me before 2-3 years, I promise to come back and update my review. For the record, the maker promises a 7-year lifespan and $152 (???) savings per bulb.______________________________________________________________December 2013 update:On their 55th month, they (I bought a 2-pack) are as bright and shiny as on 'day one' and they've been on for many hours because I telecommute most of the time and my office is in the basement. I haven't done the math but I'm quite confident that they've paid for themselves already, probably several times over.I bought 2 more in December, 2009 and no burnouts yet.

Very bright, good radial light distribution

SIDE NOTE: I also bought a bulb at 2800 Lumens and 5,500 Kelvins 1600 Lumens and 5,500 Kelvins 1600 Lumens and 5,850 Kelvins, an "OTT" bulb I also bought a "Natural Light" Lamp, but it only has 530 Lumens which I found out AFTER I got it. I probably would not have bought it if I had known that, but I bought it for only $32 and would not pay much more than that for it.I am a skeptic, especially when it comes to pricey items that tout miracles. I need true "NATURAL" light as I am an artist, mainly coloured and graphite pencils and watercolour. Here are the ratings on this bulb:2800 LumensThis means that is lights up a VERY large area and it actually does due to the ridiculous rating of 2800 Lumens!! Lower Lumens means that it does not light up a large enough area for your work. I got a lamp with only 530 Lumens and it is useless to me as it only lights up an area well no larger than 12"x12". This lights up my whole work station, in fact the entire floor also. I use this in my architect swing arm lamp so that I can adjust the placement of the light. This is a very BRIGHT light.6,500 KelvinsThis is a very bright white light and on the blueish side. It is not "blue" light, it is a stark white light but not neutral. Noon sun on a clear day is around 5,000 - 5,500 Kelvins so that you get the gist of it. That light is great to see the fine detials of the subject you are rendering, all the fine detial you see and are trying to draw. The other nice thing is that this light bulb does not shine up the graphite pencils, which is huge for me. It also helps you see bloom, which is when the coloured pencil area you coloured seems to get foggy and usually happens with darker colours, and you need to fix that with fixative, which is a spray. Yes, you can fix it.Unknown CRI RatingCRI is very important for artists as it helps to see the actual color you are working with and it is attached at the hip with Kelvins. If you do not have a high CRI rating, preferably of 90+ but ok between 80 - 85, it does not matter if the Kelvins are there or the Lumens. I do not know the rating of this bulb and have not been able to find out, if I do I will amend this review and add the information. But, I really do not think it is below 80 because when I place it next to my OTT lighting or lamp it looks almost the same.It is a HUGE size so it cannot be used in most light fixtures. It peeks out about an inch ot 1.5" in my architect task lamp. Some bulbs are just huge and you need either a really big lamp shade or switch out the housing on your lamp. Unfortunately that is not possible with the lamp I have but I really do not care that it sticks out. I would not recommend this bulb for home lighting, I would say you do not need to spend the extra money this costs and is just too bright.The only thing now is to see how long it will last and it does seem to run hot. If something fails, I will then amend this review.

My bulb burned out after a few weeks of use (ranging between 30 minutes to 2 hours of use each day). No problem, right? I called the number on the box (which is 1-866-326-2852 and guarantees 2 years of use) and typically 1 of 3 things will happen.If you’re lucky, you’ll be hung up on immediately upon the phone ringing to the next available representative. If not, they’ll place you on an indefinite hold. I’ve waited as long as 35 minutes before having to get on with my life. Lastly, you may actually get through to a person (I did on my 2nd day trying). Joanna helped me and seemed to be quite tired. The job probably is boring so that didn’t bother me. What did was how quickly she got annoyed when I didn’t have the bulb in my hand ready to read off the model and serial number/manufacture dates or whatever they were. There are no prompts telling you to have this information ready. I did have my invoice ready to give the purchase date, but that’s not enough. You’ll also be answering a series of questions to find out where and how you used it along with any programmable or dimmer switches. If you don’t pass the questions, expect to be denied a replacement bulb.Feit’s business hours are 9 to 5 Monday through Friday so if you work, it’s going to be hard contacting them if needed. Calling towards the end of the day ensures you’ll just be put on hold and disconnected as workers likely want to be punching out at 5 and walking to their cars at 5:01pm. You can try emailing them, but I still haven’t heard back from them after a weeks’ time. In the end, I was told I should have a new bulb in the next 2-3 weeks. No tracking number or no email confirmation, I was just told to wait. If you choose to buy this bulb, don’t expect any sort of hassle free exchange.