I’ve been wanting to get some new lights for the kitchen since they are almost as expensive as the CFLs I bought some of the CFLs. However, when I replaced them they buzzed like mad, and after a few minutes they flickered pretty bad. I have a few of the CFLs in other rooms and none of them do anything except take a few seconds to light all the way up.
The lights we have now are the larger flood lights and they have dimmer switches on them. The local Lowes only had two different types of CFL flood lights and they both said not to be used with dimmer switches. I decided not to buy the other type for fear of the same thing happening. Are all of the CFLs going to buzz and flicker because of the dimmer, or is it because I got a lot of bad bulbs? Will I need to replace the dimmer switches? While we don’t use them much, there are times we do like them.
Also, in South Carolina my father’s house was full of these things, even ones that look like normal light bulbs. He said they were a bit more expensive, but to have them look ‘normal’ would be nice. However, we don’t seem to have them here in the DC area, or at least not near me. Are they only available in some areas?
A couple of things I found out recently:
Unless your recessed light fixtures are made to accommodate CFLs (there are specific models for this) your CFLs won’t last as long as they ought to, due, I think, to buildup of heat in the fixture.
Second, the fixtures that are made to accommodate CFLs are the butt-ugly 6-inch models, because CFLs made for recessed light fixtures don’t come any smaller. Or for some other reason maybe. And those CFLs are bigger than normal floods because they have to be to get the wattage. My research for all of this is a survey of all the fixtures and CFLs available at Lowe’s and Home Depot. Fancier stores may have other options.
And there are CFLs that can be used with dimmers (although I don’t know if they make any floods like that), you have to carefully check the package when you buy them, the ones that can be dimmed say so, the others probably don’t mention it (i.e. they don’t say “Don’t buy me if you have dimmers”). If you don’t have those CFLs then the dimmer may be causing your problems. I doubt you have a batch of bad bulbs, I’ve been using CFLs for several years and never had a bad one yet.
Roddy
Two things: as noted, only CFLs specifically marked as dimmable may be used with dimmers.
Second, the big box stores don’t carry the full realm of lighting devices available, only the most popular/profitable. Visit a lighting specialty store to view the full gallery of shapes, sizes, and types of lamps available.