Why Don't CFL Bulbs Work With Motion Sensor Lights?

CFL Bulb Slow Response

• The properties of a CFL bulb are not conducive for use with the rapid on and off patterns that occur with a typical motion sensor when in use. This is because, unlike a fluorescent bulb, the CFL not only requires significantly more time to become illuminated, but also degrades its performance from being turned on and off repeatedly over time.

Temperature

• The temperature requirements for a CFL bulb are more restrictive than that of incandescent lights. As a result, a CFL bulb that is in an outdoor motion sensor may fail to illuminate due to an extreme drop or rise in the temperature.

Color Specitrum

• CFL bulbs do not provide the same spectrum of "white light" as does an incandescent bulb. While the human eye can compensate for this, use of a CFL as an outdoor floodlight in a motion sensor security light does not provide the same color temperature to an area, making it less effective as a security floodlight.

CFL Contents

• CFL bulbs, unlike an incandescent light, contains mercury. This makes a broken CFL bulb a safety and health hazard. Since security lights are not immune to damage from natural attacks as well as those from humans, the toxic nature of a broken use of the CFL bulb makes it unsuitable for a working relationship with a motion sensing lighting fixture.