I will do that when the prices come down from the sky. This guy can rationalize it all he wants at $20/bulb, but very few people will make the change. Where it does make sense is places where the lights are on all the time and places where the lightbulbs are hard to change (It's a huge pain to replace a bulb in a hard to reach place so if you have one that lasts forever it is extremely time-saving)
I think once you get below $5 you'll have takers, but we're probably a ways off from that. I do like the fact that they are dimmable. I haven't found any CFL's that work well with that aspect, and the ones that do are very expensive.
I think that's false economy. How much do you spend on nice furniture and interior decoration? Take 10% and spend it on good lighting instead, and your quality of life will improve.
Even if you're a starving student in a dorm with nothing but a secondhand ikea couch and faded Bieber poster, good broad-spectrum lighting will improve your aesthetic experience.
If it looks good, $20/bulb is cheap. A dimmable CFL costs about $13 and it makes an irritating noise. Regular CFLs are still around $6-7 and nobody likes the way they look. The electricity saving of LED/CFL isn't as great as over incandescent, so that won't resonate with homeowners straight away, but for businesses it's a no-brainer and that will create enough demand to bring the price down.
I have never paid more than $1 for a standard CFL in the past 3 years... I've gone to my local hardware store several times and replaced all of my bulbs, but none of them cost more than $1. Here's a 2-pack at Lowes for $0.98: http://www.lowes.com/pd_20845-371-60038_0__?productId=123352...
After stopping by a store yesterday and remembering I meant to get some lightbulbs, it turns out I was right after all. Incandescent bulbs are <$1 each, but CFLs start around $5. (Walgreens) Also, your link to Loews shows two CFL bulbs for $4.98, not $0.98. If that was a troll, then well-played; otherwise, it's time to visit the optometrist.
I think once you get below $5 you'll have takers, but we're probably a ways off from that. I do like the fact that they are dimmable. I haven't found any CFL's that work well with that aspect, and the ones that do are very expensive.