There is no denying that Malcolm Turnbull is a very clever man. He was the co-founder of Ozemail, a successful barrister and merchant banker and now a prominent member of Federal parliament.

But that does not make him infallible and particularly not with regard to decisions involving electrical and electronic equipment. We think he has been badly advised.

Yes, incandescent light bulbs are inefficient when compared to fluorescent lights and other forms of lighting. As a corollary of that, they pump out a lot of heat for the amount of light that they produce.

And yes, typical compact fluorescent light (CFL) bulbs produce about five times the light output of an equivalent incandescent bulb. Under ideal conditions, they can also last somewhere between four and 10 times longer than incandescent lamps and therefore can lead to substantial energy savings.

The trouble is, ideal conditions do not occur very often in household use. For a start, depending on ambient temperature, a CFL takes about 10 to 15 minutes to reach full brilliance. So while they come on as soon as you throw the switch, their initial light output can be quite weak and can have a tendency to flicker as well. If you install a CFL in a toilet or bathroom you may find that they are seldom on long enough to get to full brilliance.