Exploding low energy light bulb

[DSJR]

It was a no-expense-spared Tesco bulb. Not an expensive Philips or anything like that but should be safe coming from a major supermarket, whatever the price.

Pauper that I am, I've used these cheaper supermarket low-energy bulbs for some years. 90% of them are fluorescent types, now all golf-ball types as the exposed spiral ones ran hot and didn't last long. Smoke could mean the starting? capacitor inside the base failing? Just lately, I bought some LED mini-golf-ball types from CPC (Pro Electric make I think) at a couple of quid each. Our landing lamp (we use an uplighter for evening permanent illumination) is a 3.5W type and we have three 5W ones in our kitchen in a vintage-style simple plain triple fitting. The 'colour' of the soft-white light has improved a lot, not so 'cold' as earlier ones were, and of course they come on to full brilliance from switch-on, where our older fluorescent types come on much darker and take time to 'warm up.'

[Arkless Electronics]

I once had a go at repairing some of these lamps... the switch mode PSU fails first in about 70% of cases and the heater filaments (2) the rest of the time. It wasn't really possible to take them apart without causing such physical damage to them that the cost of glue etc to reassemble them would be as much as a new bulb!
IMHO, having peeked inside them, it should be possible for ones lasting 10 year or more to be made rather than the two or so they usually last.. all money and marketing etc though of course! I believe I have seen them with "up to 10 years" on the packaging... yeah right...

[Magna Audio]

LED mock filament ones are nice.
Can't comment on longevity as we've been here just under the year.
We have loads of them and down lighters in the ceilings in half the rooms. Not a halogen our fluorescent bulb in the house.

[Ninanina]

I did use the low energy bulbs for years and certainly didn't have any explode

I've now replaced all mine with some LED jobbies

[Barry]

Those LED jobbies are not without fault either. I have had a couple where the brightness will suddenly drop in level after they have been on for a while.

Probably rouge samples as in general I really do like them, energy efficient, they achieve full brightness instantly, run cold, and look just like the old tungsten filament light bulbs.