Can I use florecent bulbs in dawn/dust sensor lights?

Question

I have recently purchased dawn/dusk porch lights and have installed s***w-in florecent bulbs in them. I have noticed that they flicker throughout the day. Im guessing that this will reduce the life of the bulbs. Does anyone know if these should not be used in these fixtures?

I have also found florecent bulbs that have the sensor built in. Will these work with the sensor fixtures or should I just disable the sensor if I intend to use these bulbs?

Thanks,

Jeff

Answer 1

No you cannot use fluorescents.  Light sensor porch lights will often have a dim feature that auto-dims after awhile when the motion sensor was tripped.  the lights do this by literally flickering the bulb 60 times a second.   This is fine for an incandescent or halogen but it destroys the circuit inside a compact fluorescent bulb.

Answer 2

i put flurecent bulbs in my bedroom about 2 years ago and they flicker slightly when they are off. i have never had to replace the bulbs so far so i guess it doesn't affect the life much at all

Answer 3

Jeff,

I would say that there is nothing wrong with your florescent bulbs I suspect that the problem is your fixture is malfunctioning because there should be no power provided to the bulbs during the daylight hours.

Just like flipping a switch on the wall the fixture is designed to turn on at dusk and off at dawn. In effect, you could disable the sensor by blocking it with black tape making it "think" it is night so that that power is always on and then using the bulb with the built in sensor. I would take back (and replace) the defective fixture  instead of buying the more expensive sensor bulb.