Fluorescent bulbs have brought many complaints.

By LEORA BROYDO VESTEL


SAN FRANCISCO - It sounds like such a simple thing: buy some new light bulbs, screw them in, save the planet.

But a lot of people these days are finding the new compact fluorescent bulbs anything but simple. Consumers who are trying them say they sometimes fail to work, or wear out early. At best, people discover that using the bulbs requires learning a long list of rules.

Consider the case of Karen Zuercher and her husband, in San Francisco. Inspired by watching the movie“An Inconvenient Truth,”they decided to swap out nearly every incandescent bulb in their home for energy-saving compact fluorescents. Instead of having a satisfying green moment, however, they wound up coping with a mess.

“Here’s my sad collection of bulbs that didn’t work,”Ms. Zuercher said as she pulled a cardboard box containing defunct bulbs from her laundry shelf.

One of the 16 Feit Electric bulbs the Zuerchers bought at Costco did not work at all, they said, and three others died within hours. The bulbs were supposed to burn for 10,000 hours, meaning they should have lasted for years in normal use.“It’s irritating,”Ms. Zuercher said.

Irritation seems to be rising as more consumers try compact fluorescent bulbs, which now occupy 11 percent of the United States’ eligible sockets, with 330 million bulbs sold every year. Consumers are posting vociferous complaints on the Internet after trying the bulbs and finding them problematic.

Bulb makers say the overall quality of today’s compact fluorescents is high. But they also concede that it is difficult to prevent some problem bulbs from slipping through.

Experts say the quality problems are compounded by poor package instructions. Using the bulbs incorrectly, like screwing cheaper bulbs into fixtures where heat is prone to build up, can greatly shorten their lives.

Some experts who study the issue blame the United States government for the quality problems, saying an intensive federal push to lower the price encouraged manufacturers to use cheap components.

“In the pursuit of the holy grail, we stepped on the consumer,”said Michael Siminovitch, director of a lighting center at the University of California, Davis.

It could be a global concern. Canada, Australia and the European Union have all approved measures to phase out incandescent bulbs.

Compact fluorescents once cost as much as $30 apiece. Now they go for as little as $1 - still more than regular bulbs, but each compact fluorescent is supposed to last 10 times longer, save as much as $5.40 a bulb each year in electricity, and reduce emissions of carbon dioxide from burning coal in power plants.

In the United States, the Energy Department in 1988 asked manufacturers to create cheaper models and then helped find large-volume buyers, like universities and utilities. That started a mass market .

American consumers are supposed to be able to protect themselves by buying bulbs certified under the government’s Energy Star program. But experts and some environmental groups complain that Energy Star standards are weak.

The government, which will begin enforcing tighter specifications this year, says it must seek a balance between quality and affordability.

Alan Feit, vice president of Feit Electric, acknowledged the difficulty of keeping tight quality control on a cheap, mass-market item.

“There are 40 to 50 components that go into these things,”Mr. Feit said.“While manufacturers try to inspect all incoming materials, one little mistake may cause a performance problem.”