I have finally found some compact flourescent bulbs that fit my light fixtures. If there are 6 sockets on the same switch, can I mix the flourescent bulbs with the incandescent or do they all need to be the same type?
Mix 'em or match 'em. Makes no difference. Each lamp is independent of the others. I have the 60 and 100 watte equivalent spirals, and 40 W 48" fluroescents as well as incandescents on the same lighting switch and circuits.
Depending on the specific lamps you may find some spectral color differences.
What Springears said as long as you don’t have a dimmer switch serving those lights. Most compact fluorescents will not operate on a dimmer circuit. Until just recently, I would have said ALL compact fluorescents are incompatible with dimmers, but in the last 4-5 months I have seen dimmable CFs. Haven’t tried them yet (still kinda pricey).
I would even recommend it if you can - most fluorescents are very bad, color-wise (though I have these daylight ones that are absolutely the best color lighting I’ve ever had in my house) and incandescents - while having slightly less spotty spectra - are noticeably yellowish to me. Mixing blue-tinged fluorescents and yellowish incandescents makes for a better overall lighting mix, in my opinion.
A few months ago I went CFL crazy and bought dozens of them to replace just about every incandescent lamp in my little 3 BR condo. I had to modify my plans when I found that many of the CFLs took too long (for my tastes) to come to full brightness. So in several multi-lamp fixtures (e.g. in the bathroom) I left two incandescents in place, and replaced the rest with CFLs. The best of both worlds: enough light instantly, but still significant power savings.
I hate being in fluorescent lighting for any length of time. It’s quite tiring on the brain, as it’s not a full colour spectrum, just quasi-white.
I can recommend halogen bulbs for colour rendering work and general avoidance of eyestrain. Don’t work under a ‘daylight’ fluorescent, they’re nothing like daylight, just a bit biased towards the blue end of the spectrum is all.
Fluorescents are ideal for hallways, landings etc - places where you only need the light to see where you’re going every now and then.
Just don’t put the flourescents on a circuit that has a dimmer switch.
I’m currently under a project to replace all bulbs in my house with the CFLs. Especially the ones in the ceiling fan light, which is 20 ft in the air. The 2+ years I got out of the bulb has been much easier than replacing every 6 months on that fixture.
The first places I replaced were the basement, where we tend to forget that lights are on…
We’ve had no problems with these types of lights, and eye strain. A marked difference from the flourescent lights I sit under all day long.
Those are exactly the places where you shouldn’t bother with fluorescents. If you only need the light every now and then, the efficiency doesn’t matter much, and you probably don’t want to wait to turn it on.
FWIW, note that the correct spelling is fluorescent.
Oops! Another mistake that makes me wonder if I my mind is slowly slipping away!
Thanks for the comments. In my bathroom, I think I will mix-and-match. There are 2 6-bulb light bars in there (102 inch counter) and it gets too hot with all 12 bulbs in place, right now, I only have 6 bulbs in it. Glad to hear about the bulbs doing OK in ceiling fans
Anyone know if there are problems with mixing fluorescent and incandescent in the same chandelier?
If they fit, no problem.
As long as the chandelier isn’t on a dimmer, you can mix and match as much as you want. If you have a dimmer, though, stick to incandescent or use fluorescent bulbs designed for dimmers. You can mix dimmable fluorescents and incandescents if you want.
I’ve found modern CFs to be much more pleasingly warm in color than they used to be. Look for ones that specify this. Although not super-expensive they won’t be the super el-cheapos in the blister packs either. As others have mentioned don’t put a CF on a dimmer switch unless you buy a dimmable CF bulb (these are still expensive). Also, don’t put CF bulbs in *outside *fixtures. It isn’t dangerous, but CFs (like fluorescent bulbs in general) will take longer to turn on & reach normal brightness in the cold. In fact, in the very cold, they won’t *ever *reach full brightness.
Even warm white ones look kind of garish and “off” too me and bother my eyes, but most people don’t have a problem with them, or are willing to put up with them for energy saving. So mixing bulbs might be ideal in that it still saves some energy but still has full spectrum, high quality, constant on light (question- with todays high frequency ballasts do fluorescents ever actually switch fully off due to phosphor lag?)
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Although mixing a chandelier, while it may be technically OK, might look odd to have two different styles of bulb.