Damn. I wrote a long, thoughtful message, and it didn't post.

I thought it was my patriotic duty to buy those compact corkscrew fluorescent (CFL) bulbs, so I bought hundreds of them for my home and for the old firehouse women's center I used to maintain. I founds that they lasted 5 to 7 years, whether they were used or not. Unused bulbs that I bought 5 years before, usually lasted 6 months. And the bulbs got dimmer as they aged, and burned out with an acrid smell.

So, my corkscrew CFLs all burned out about the time that LED bulbs came down to a reasonable price, and I bought LEDs for the house (I had quit the Women's Center by then). So far, so good with the LEDs. They use about half the energy of the CFLs, so the savings over CFLsis not as significant as the CFL savings over incandescents. But I'm hoping the LEDs will last longer and work better. The "daylight" LEDs are too bright, but the "soft white" LEDs seem pretty good. And now there are dimmable, clear glass LEDs that look quite nice in chandeliers and ceiling fan lights.

Acme's statement that LEDs can fail in a way that causes fire, is the first I've heard of a fire hazard. Can you give more info, Acme?

And no, I'm not really interested in going back to those heat-producing incandescent bulbs. I've found lots of LEDs that I really like....and I guess I have to admit I found the corkscrew CFLs to be fascinating.

-Joe Geek-