Our problem with CFL's is not the burn out rate (which seems higher than advertised), but the time it takes for them to reach full lighting output. We have four of the specialized fan bulbs in our ceiling fan / light and it takes a good 2 to 3 minutes for them to provide usable light. Most of the regular use CFL's seem to be better, but when the house is cool, they take longer to get to full light output. Maybe the next generation will be better.

I have energizers rechargeables right now. I bought about 10 of them and the recharger. It cost a small fortune.

Problem #1:
Rechargeable AA batteries are physically bigger than the non rechargeable counterpart. That means in some devices (my garmin etrex vista for example) they wont even fit.

Problem #2:
Rechargeable AA batteries produce 1.2v compared to 1.5v for non rechargeable. Some devices deal with this fine some don't. If you have something that takes 4 AAs and you use rechargeables you are now 1.2v short of what the device was most likely designed to handle. Put rechargeables in a flashlight then put in some non rechargeables. The rechargeables are going to be a lot dimmer.

Problem #3:
My energizer rechargeables do loose their charge much faster than non rechargeables. I had freshly charged rechargeables in one wii remote and non rechargeables in another both sat unused for several months. the rechargeables were totally dead the non rechargeables were good to go.

Problem #4
rechargeables die. After about a year and a half of light use 20% of mine have stopped taking a charge. They end up in the landfill any ways.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AA_cell#Rechargeable_AA_batteries

Speaking of rechargeable batteries, where can you buy them relatively cheap? Thanks.

Yeah yeah rechargeable are great and don't get me wrong I have a few but sometimes you just forget to recharge or you don't have enough and you just need a few more batteries around to help out. Sure not the best for life but hey its freakin 40 batteries you can spare to go through them a little quicker

i agree totally...

officemax has some and if you can use the 10 off 20 coupon, you can get some for cheap....

nice price, but then, i've never used enercell, so not too sure...