Mixing CFLs

 I notice the packages for CFLs say not to mix CFLs of different brands
(or CFLs and incandescents) on the same circuit.  Is this a real
concern, or just the CFL people trying to sell more of their own brand?

I ask because we have six floodlights in our den and I would like to
swap them for CFLs as they burn out, not discard five perfectly good
bulbs because I put a CFL in the one that burns out first.

--
Evelyn C. Leeper
Nobody believes the official spokesman ... but everybody
trusts an unidentified source.  -Ron Nesen, 1977

 
The latter.  There's no reason you can't mix 'em.

 
This is the manufacturer's subtle way of encouraging you to buy only
their brand. If you have a competing brand on the same circuit and it
lasts twice as long, they won't look too good. If there were any
scientific reason for not mixing, they would clearly state such on the
box.

 On Wed, 18 Feb 2009 07:40:42 -0800 (PST), albundy2@mailinator.com
wrote:


Also, mixing shows the light drop-off as various lamps age.  An
incandescent generally dims very little, but CFLs can have
significantly reduced light output and shifts in color as they age.
One of the more startling experiences is to print a perfectly color
balanced photo on an ink-jet, and then use different types and ages of
CFLs to illuminate it.  The dyes are reactive to particular bands of
the spectrum and the effects under different lights can be amazingly
diverse.

 Evelyn Leeper wrote:

There is absolutely no reason not to mix incandescent with CFL.  I
can't think of any reason not to mix brands, and there isn't any
warning against mixing on any of the packages I have: GE, Buyer's
Choice, and "the brightest" (dollar store brand).  So I think it's bogus.

Dave