Why would CF bulbs fail to work in my house?

Question

I have a condo that was built in the 70s.

In many of my light fixtures where incandescent light bulbs work perfectly, compact florescent light bulbs won't work.

In some sockets, they won't work at all.
In others, they will flicker, be dim, or work intermittently.
In others, they work all the time - no problems.

Changing the fixture does not appear to have a significant effect. I have changed light fixtures in a few places, and if the CF bulb had problems before, it will have problems with the new fixture as well.

Any idea as to a cause or a possible resolution?

Answer 1

Most compact flourescents need full line voltage to operate correctly. The most likely problem would be if you have any sort of dimmer in the circuit.

You can purchase special compact flourescents that can be dimmed, but they are a bit on the spendy side. For a typical dimmed application, incandescents work best. (As much as I hate to say it!)

If I am correct that a dimmer is indeed the culprit, you will either have to go back to incandescents or change to a standard on/off switch.

Answer 2

to those that said low voltage ..... where would the voltage be dropped? (without smoke) and conventional bulbs would be very dim

The CF bulb and florescent tubes fittings must be designed
for the supply voltage your house is supplied with

and the most likely cause .... is if your lights have dimmer circuitry. Remove the dimmer circuitry and any light designed for your supply voltage will work

Answer 3

Low voltage? If you aren't getting enough volts then the CFs won't strike. Solutions? Find out if you are getting enough volts to the electrical panel, if not then it is a problem for your building maintenance and electricity company. You are charged based on current, so if the voltage is low you are being ripped off in a big way.

Answer 4

Low voltage is a possibility. Also, you can't use CFLs with dimmer switches.