On 1/25/2014 6:12 PM, IGot2P wrote:
I just installed a motion detection switch in one room which is lighted by
4 CFL's in a fan. The CFL,s come on fine but when the motion switch shuts
them off they just flicker. Of course if I put 4 incandescent bulbs in the
unit all is fine. For the heck of it I put in 3 CFL's and 1 incandescent
bulb and to my surprise they ALL work!

Is there any reason that I can't leave it as above (3 CFL's & 1
incandescent)? In this manner I can save some electricity and still have my
motion switch work.

If necessary can I purchase CFL's that will work with my motion switch or
can I purchase a different motion switch that will work with my current CFL's?

Comments would be appreciated.

Don





The cheap motion switches you find in the local Borg are two-wire devices
which depend on current through the load to provide working power for the
control circuit. With incandescent lights this is no problem since a few mA
drawn through the filament wastes almost no power and emits no light. CFLs,
on the other hand don't really conduct properly until there is considerable
voltage applied. I ran into this just as you did except mine was in a
laundry room. I finally wound up using one small (40W?) incandescent lamp
and a fairly high output CFL in the two-socket fixture. It worked fine like
that for at least eight years. There are better sorts of motion detectors
out there but they depend on there being both a hot and neutral inside the
switch box and this is not generally what you see in home wiring. You have
to judge whether it is worthwhile re-wiring to make the better (more
expensive) motion switches work. It might be interesting (but expensive) to
test LED lights in place of CFLs and when the prices come down a bit I
might give them a try.