Why are CFL / LED bulbs so expensive ?

[Cd]

Why are CFL / LED bulbs so expensive ?

- miser guy here, and i wanted to know why that these bulbs are so expensive.
What is the cost to manufacture these things ?

Is it a case of " We charge more because we can ! ", or is the cost of creating the bulb really so high that they feel the need to charge 20 -25 times more than the cost of old bulbs.

I'm all for conserving energy, but i hate to be used as a sucker.

I had CFLs in the fixtures in my apartment. They last around 4-5 months and then die. CFLs are supposed to last years, correct ?
Is it possible that a short somewhere could cause this ?

[cowmeat]

Probably still trying to recoup R&D costs on LEDs, but as with any product, you charge what the market will bear until the patents run out, then you drop the price and shoot for volume and call yours "the original"

I refuse to use CFLs these days, and have switched out most of the bulbs in my house to LEDs. We had a lamp with a CFL bulb in it on a timer so it would be on when we get home, and we came home to a burnt-electrical smell one night. I traced it to that CFL bulb, which was burnt black where the tube met the base and was smoking hot. Scary!

[KFM]

A few months? Weird. I changed my incandescents out with CFL's when I first moved into my house five years ago, and every bulb in the house except two are still working. One is a half-sized bulb for a chandelier, but the other four in there are still working. Note to self: change that bulb. I'm pretty sure that I inherited those chandelier bulbs, as well. My CFL's seem to last forever.

[NeilBlanchard]

I have two CFL's that are about 15 years old. Some do suffer from "infant mortality" but most are quite long lasting. Enclosed fixtures can be problematic with some CFL and LED bulbs - even though they don't put out much heat (relative to incandescent) some bulbs fail, I think because of excess heat affecting the electronics needed for the driver board in the bulb.

[Fat Charlie]

Because they can. Why can they? Because it's still worth it. It makes the startup cost higher, but if you can scrape that money together then it'll pay for itself.

CFLs are at my price point: I don't like paying for them, but their lifespan and energy use make me do it. Rarely, because they don't die much. LEDs don't work out cost/benefit-wise for me.

[deejaaa]

unlike incandescents, LED's are built by hand, overseas, from most chips manufactured in the States. Chinese wages, in some areas, have gone from 80.00 a month to 5 times that. one program I was watching, the companies wages increased 15% annually.
my wife can't stand LED's because of their forward pattern. even on sale, I find them quite expensive.
I don't like CFL's because of their warm up time.

[dirtydave]

How much are CFL lights? They are like $2 each here.

[Daox]

Last time I paid for a CFL bulb (a few years now I think), I paid $4 for a pack of 4 I think. Its quite possible they were on sale too.

Now, its LEDs going forward if anything burns out and I don't have a replacement on hand.

[roosterk0031]

Menards had a box of 8 - 15 or 23 watt CFL for $2 last time I got some, 3 boxes. 10 went into my attached garage, they worked pretty wall all winter little dim initially but under a minute warm up most of the time. They are way quicker than even just a couple years ago. Going to be a while before I buy any LED's.

I have some 20 yo CFLs still working, new ones don't last that long, but those were $10 each and utility company rebate covered $7.50 each up to 6 year. Half of the 12 I bought then are still working. Most are in other garage so they don't see a lot of run time and are really slow to get bright in winter. They are too long for most installations.

[WD40]

Incandescent 40 x 60 watts = 2400 = 100% = $138.24 per month at 24/7
CFL 40 x 13 watts = 520 = 78% savings = $29.95 per month at 24/7
LED 40 x 6 watts = 240 = 90% savings = $13.82 per month at 24/7
My house has 40 bulbs all were 60 watts originally then I went to CFL and finally LED.
Overall the CFL was the biggest immediate savings, but the LEDs will way outlast them and still save an additional almost 54%.
I bought all my LEDS when they started coming to Home Depot, most were $29 at that time, way cheaper now.