Compact fluorescent light bulbs?

[dylan's alias]

Does anyone have any experience with these? I'm buying a house with a lot of high ceilings with recessed lighting. The convenience of not needing to change bulbs often is an added bonus to the cost savings. But if they make everything off colored or just look like crap, then I'm not interested.

[suzzer99]

I believe they have styles now that are supposed to be warm like an incandescent light. But I have no firsthand experience with them.

[JasonK]

I use a lot of day bright CFLs. Never noticed them making anything off color.

[blinden84]

we have repalced almost all of our lights with them. The main thing i don't like is the about 1.5 seconds it takes sometimes for them to turn on, I always think the light is burnt out or I hit the wrong switch. Color seems pretty decent though, no real complaints fro me.

[gilper]

Typically, they are not dimmable.

[MrMon]

CFLs can be good, but have a couple of drawbacks:

1. They take time to warm up. The get brighter over the first few minutes of use. It's kind of odd to turn on the lights in a room and have it be really dim, only to come back a few minutes later and have it full brightness. For that reason, I usually use them only in rooms where the light will stay on for some period. They don't work so well for those quick on-off situations.

2. Along the same line, if you use them outside in a cold environment, they take quite awhile to get to full brightness. In winter, this can be a problem. Not good for a garage, they work fine as outside lighting if you don't mind warmup period.

3. They aren't dimmable. If you want this feature, try something else. The LED lights coming in a few years may prove a better alternative.

For the can lights you are talking about, I understand the problem of changing the bulbs. But if the CFLs have too many drawbacks, I can suggest putting in halogens on a dimmer. I run mine at about 80% most of the time and have lost one bulb in almost 7 years, and these lights are on a lot. Even as these go, I'll still be replacing them with halogens because of the dimmable feature.

Each of the bulb types has advantages and disadvantages. Don't feel forced into choosing just one type, although that's what the environmental wackos would have you do, with their trying to ban incandescents. Mix it up and use the best type of bulb and fixture for each application.

[superadvisor]

Dude and you can totally use the lights to grow WEED!!

[z28dreams]

Most of the above posters covered the main points.

Added note on dimmers:

We have a few lamps where even if the dimmer switch is set to max power, it's still not enough for the bulb. It results in flickering and a high-pitched whine that is unbearable, so we just use normal bulbs for these.

[dylan's alias]

Thanks for all the advice, naturally I'm just as confused as before I asked.

What benefits do halogen bulbs have over incandescent? All I remember is that my parents' living room got about 10 degrees warmer when we switched to halogens.

[wadea]

I use these and I think I might have seen a warning about using compact fluorescents in recessed fixtures. I think they emit heat that can become a fire hazard. I'm no expert, but you might want to check that out before you decide.