No problem with CFL's. It sounds like the ppl with issues are using very cheap ones to begin with. These do break within a year, although the quality was bad to begin with.
Cheap electronics, no rare phosphors, a 2700k so-called 'warm' light that is supposed to imitate a filament lamp, in turn supposed to imitate a candle flame,
this is a poor light for daily activities, early evening, or reading or doing shop-work. Give up on 'warm' which has very poor colour-rendering, and fails to bring out vibrance, making life literally seem grey.
Use 4000k lamps (minimum) for activities, good electronics, good phosphors... On good CFL electronics, the very circuit which is likely to burn out is the same in electronic starters for more traditional fluorescents. The rest of the lamp construction quality-level is, by reason, about equal to the quality of the starter circuit.
I got 10 electronic starters on-the-cheap from an ebay shop, where there was no further information on the specifications, except what was printed on the outside of the starter housing. The claim was 5 to 125watts.
In repeated tests with 100watt lamps, the starters burned themselves out, one after another. Almost each start, (turning the lamp on), had a new starter burn out. With 10 separate lamps, no specific fixture had burned-out starters more than any other.
It turns out bad electronic starters are a common issue of discussion with tanning bed operators, so if you check their forums, it becomes clear there are only about 4 brands of 5 starters which are worth bothering with - the rest are junk. This is the same reason why the CFL's fail: poverty-minded engineering and construction, creates marginal circuits which last only a short time.
The only tanning-bed success electronic starter manufacturer brand-name available, having been used in the high-stress environment of tanning cycling and heat, also present in the CFL market, is PHILIPS. I have looked over a few different brands of CFL's, and the PHILIPS TORNADO DAYLIGHT lamps seem to be priced affordably, and also have the best durability (electronics and room temp tolerance) when used by me. These are only 6500k lamps, though, so I cannot recommend using them during the late evening or at night during sleeping hours. Doing so affects the stimulation of the body ['circadian rhythm']. For early evening, it is ideal to have a 4000k lamp, although a 2700k TORNADO could do in a pinch. For late evening/sleeping hours, only red light.
The CRI of the 6500k lamps is rated at 82, but this seems like a low number, which is good: seems to be around the high 80's. What makes me wonder about a rating I saw for the CRI of the 2700k lamps: 82. One is not correct. These lamps, while quality, are sold into a common-use and not technical market, so someone should make their own tests on the CRI and report back if they wish.
For me, though, the TORNADO series 6500k 'DAYLIGHT' are fine for daytime lighting without further testing. There is no buzzing, humming or chirping. There is no flickering, and they start immediately, unlike another more expensive brand lamp that takes up to 10 minutes to warm-up. They do not seem to suffer from power-cycling fatigue, nor does the base generate excess heat, remaining cool enough to remove the lamp directly, or very soon after turning it off.
Standard CFL's that cannot be removed from the socket within about 25 seconds of turning-off, indicate poor engineering, generating excess heat during operation, in turn they are generally not going to last. One can determine the heat of the base by hand, at a shop with a display of lamps turned-on, in bare-sockets.
CFL's are used as part of an overall lighting form: My suggestion is dual sockets, or triple, with 6500k/red or 4000k/red, or 6500k/4000k/red light, and use the lighting as needed to replicate normal tropical cycles.
