# Electrical lighting question - flickering lights **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [July 18, 2020, 9:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/electrical-lighting-question-flickering-lights/915700 "2020-07-18T21:53:45Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![jebert](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ec9cab/32.png) [@jebert](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jebert)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2020, 9:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/electrical-lighting-question-flickering-lights/915700/1 "2020-07-18T21:53:45Z")
I moved into a place with a ceiling fan/light unit in the bedroom. There is a switch on the wall that turns the power to the unit on and off, The fan on/off and speed, and the light on/off and brightness are controlled individually with a remote control. I had to replace the bulbs recently, and I tried some of the old compact flourescent bulbs I had lying around. When the lights are turned off with the remote, the CFL bulbs still flicker faintly. When I unscrew one of the bubs, the other flickers twice as fast. What is going on? ---
**Author:** ![ThisIsTheEnd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thisistheend/32/4713_2.png) [@ThisIsTheEnd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThisIsTheEnd)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2020, 10:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/electrical-lighting-question-flickering-lights/915700/2 "2020-07-18T22:06:46Z")
It’s trying to scare you off. It’s like making yourself appear bigger to a bear. ---
**Author:** ![beowulff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beowulff/32/542_2.png) [@beowulff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beowulff)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2020, 10:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/electrical-lighting-question-flickering-lights/915700/3 "2020-07-18T22:46:23Z")
The dimmer circuitry uses current passed through the bulb. That current is shared, so it takes longer to charge up two bulbs then it does one. The only way to stop this type of annoyance is to use a better dimmer, or put in one incandescent lamp. ---
**Author:** ![Melbourne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b5e925/32.png) [@Melbourne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Melbourne)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2020, 11:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/electrical-lighting-question-flickering-lights/915700/4 "2020-07-18T23:02:59Z")
– or a better CF bulb. Expensive CF (and LED) bulbs generally have better power-supply isolation and don’t flicker visibly. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2020, 11:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/electrical-lighting-question-flickering-lights/915700/5 "2020-07-18T23:47:33Z")
Don’t you need a different type of dimmer with LEDs? ---
**Author:** ![beowulff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beowulff/32/542_2.png) [@beowulff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beowulff)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2020, 12:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/electrical-lighting-question-flickering-lights/915700/6 "2020-07-19T00:25:05Z")
Not necessarily, but often. Better quality LED lamps will dim just fine on a standard phase-cut dimmer. But the cheap ones will misbehave in a variety of ways. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2020, 10:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/electrical-lighting-question-flickering-lights/915700/7 "2020-07-20T22:20:16Z")
The OP says he has CFL bulbs, not LEDs. As a general rule, traditional dimmers from the incandescent era & CFLs don’t get along real well. If the bulbs don’t say dimmable on the box they aren’t. And can’t / shouldn’t be used at all on items like remote control fans where often there isn’t an actual physical on/off switch for the lamps; the dimmer just dims as close to zero as it can. Which eats CFLs.