• Don’t touch the tubs when you’re screwing them in. Always hold your CFLs by the ballast (the plastic part at the bottom) when you’re installing them in fixtures throughout your home.
• Leave your CFL bulbs on for at least 15 minutes whenever possible. resist the urge to turn them on and off for short periods of time, as it can reduce the lifespan. It may seem counter-intuitive, but you’ll use less energy and your CFL bulbs will last longer if you leave them on if you know you’re going to return to the room ten minutes later. But be sensible with this tip, as obviously if  going on vacation for two weeks you’re better off turning off all your lights.
• Only use CFL bulbs in open fixtures as they need air flow to operate properly. You can use CFL in enclosed recessed lights and other applications but their lifespan will be much shorter than they otherwise would be.
• Be careful when using CFL with dimmer switches, as many combinations of CFL bulb types and dimmer switches will work, but the CFL won’t last as long as it typically would with a traditional switch/fixture.

LEDs don’t have a filament, so not only can they not burn out, but they don’t waste any energy when producing light. In an incandescent bulb, electric current runs through the filament, heating it up until it glows and produces light. All of the heat produced is a complete waste of energy, as the point of incandescents is illumination, not heat production.

In CFLs, electric current passes through a tube filled with argon and mercury vapor. That generates ultraviolet light, which in turn strikes and excites a  a fluorescent coating on the inside of the tube, which in turn produces the visible light you see when you turn a compact fluorescent bulb on.

LEDs produce light via the movement of electrons in a semiconductor material, so it’s an entirely different process. Almost no energy is wasted in light producing LEDs, with nearly all the electric current going toward the production of light.

The problem with LEDs is that they’re still substantially more expensive than CFLs and still struggle with reaching the same equivalent output of CFLs in light commonly used for lighting in homes (LED light output is strongest in colors such as red, blue, and orange, and weaker when producing warm white light).

Recent advances in LED technology have definitely addressed these issues, though, with prices dropping and more natural LED lighting choices for consumers in recent years. What we’re really getting at is that if you want to calculate what’s more “efficient” for you to use in your home, you can’t just look at how long the various lightbulbs last. That’s a key factor, but you also have to factor in price as well as the quality of light produced to get a true apples to apples comparison.

To translate that into easier comparisons, CFL bulbs last about 1-2 years, with incandescents on average lasting about a month or a month and a half.

One thing to note about the lifespan of a CFL bulb is that it’s significantly affected by how often you turn it on and off. If if you’re turning it on and off a lot (in five minute cycles), its lifespan can be up to 85% shorter, which means it’ll last about as long as an incandescent. If you’re using CFLs, keep that in mind, as it’s often better to simply leave them on if you’re leaving the room for a short time but plan to return within 15 minutes or so.