Compact Fluorescent Bulb brands?

I already use several CFL bulbs around the house (mostly made by TCPi or 
Commercial Electric [the latter being from Home Depot]) and have been 
quite satisfied with them.

As incandescent bulbs around the house burn out, I'm convincing the 
folks to replace them with CFL lights. For their sake, I want to pick 
bulbs that provide an incandescent-like light (around 2700K) that is 
consistent from bulb-to-bulb. We'd need bulbs with both standard and 
candelabra bases, and in a variety of brightnesses (40-watt equivalent 
for the candelabra base fixture in the hallway, and 60-watt equivalent 
standard bases [but in the "torpedo" shape] for the outdoor driveway 
lights [which are protected from the elements]). Also, having 
regular-shaped bulbs (globe-enclosed or spiral bulbs are fine) and 
indoor floods is important.

I've found that different bulb brands, while claiming the same color 
temperature, frequently have slightly differing colors. For example, 
Commercial Electric 40-watt equivalent CFLs produce a yellowish light, 
while TCPi 65-watt equivalent floods produce a slightly more pinkish 
light.

While this difference doesn't bug me, it's likely to bug the folks a 
fair bit, which is something I'd like to avoid.

I'd prefer to stick with brand-name bulbs that are available from a 
local source (GE, Commercial Electric, TCPi, etc.) rather than off-brand 
value bulbs from unknown manufacturers that may be hard to match later.

Any suggestions? Personal experience?

(Interestingly enough, it seems that TCPi makes both the "Commercial 
Electric" brand CFLs at Home Depot and the "DuraBright" brand at Orchard 
Supply Hardware. Perhaps it's just this one particular TCPi bulb I have 
here, but it produced a noticeably pinkish light -- after I replaced it 
with another of the same brand and model, the replacement emits a more 
natural, yellow-white light. Hmm. Maybe just a quirk?)

.....

On a similar note, I'm curious what the difference is between the 
retail-packaged Commercial Electric 60-watt equivalent spiral CFLs and 
the "Contractor Grade" Commercial Electric 60-watt equivalent spiral 
CFLs. Both are available at Home Depot, both are manufactured by the 
same company, but the "contractor grade" ones come in a bland cardboard 
box, while the retail ones come in a flashy retail package.

I wonder if there's actually any mechanical difference between the two 
types of bulbs, or if it's just a packaging/marketing ploy? If they're 
exactly the same, I might as well buy the "contractor" ones, as they're 
bulk-packed and less expensive.

.....

Finally (and I know this is getting long!), I received a gift 
certificate to ThinkGeek.com and bought a Kill-A-Watt 
(http://www.thinkgeek.com/gadgets/electronic/7657/) electric monitoring 
device. It's illuminating (pun very much intended) to use it to see how 
much electricity various appliances use.

Some, like my Honeywell air filter (the room gets dusty) only uses about 
10W, which is less than expected. Others, like my toaster (1500W), use 
more than I expected.

I'm surprised at how efficient my desk area is -- with a laser printer 
on standby (it uses about 800W to warm up the elements, and no 
perceptible power to remain either idle or warmed up for about 10 
minutes, after which time it goes into power-save mode), a 19" LCD 
monitor, a 2x2Ghz PowerMac G5, and a 2.2Ghz Athlon64 PC, only about 480W 
are being consumed. With all the computers, screen, and printer off, the 
APC UPS, router, Vonage box, DSL modem, and network switch (as well as 
the wall-warts powering them) draw about 45W.

The PowerMac G5 in "sleep" mode draws 11W while my Monsoon Audio 
speakers draw 30W idle, presumably much more when being fully utilized.

Wattage estimates for lightbulbs appear to be spot on: a 65W GE 
floodlight consumes 63W, and a 15W CFL bulb consumes 13W.

Hooray for a nerdy piece of equipment that actually has use!

-- 
Pete Stephenson
HeyPete.com