CFL in ceiling fan

Are people using CFL's in ceiling fans? I have a Hunter model 22562 and the tech support is saying that i cannot use cfls. What are your thoughts on this? Do you think there is a valid reason or did they just not test the cfls with their fans. Is this a safety issue or maybe my bulbs just won't last as long?

It seems that very few fans actually state that you can use cfls.

Thanks,
John

 

Most ceiling fans come with dimmable lighting. Most CFLs are not dimmable. That's the problem.

 

My ceiling fan lights are simple on/off (pull chain and wall switch). I think the real issue is vibration. Agree/Disagree?

 

if your ceiling fan do not have any type of dimming device like dimmer switch or remote control on this fan setup.

Then you can use the CFL without any issuse with it

I have CFL in my ceiling fan and i dont have any issuse with it at all


Merci , Marc

 

I also have CFL's in my ceiling fans and they work fine, however, heed John Nelsons advice and do not use CFL,s with any type of dimmable fixture as the ballasts on the bulbs are not designed for dimming. Also, do NOT use these bulbs in any light fixture totally enclosed lighting fixutre ulness the bulb specifically says it is rated for such use. Using a CFL that is not rated for enclosed fixtures in an enclosed fixture does not allow the extra heat generated by the ballast to escape the fixture and causes an overheating problem and is a possible fire hazard. I looked at your model of ceiling fan on the Hunter site and the shade seems to be open to allow for heat dissipation so CFL's should be fine in this fixture , however, always keep warranty in mind. If Hunter tech support says dont use them , then you will most likely void your warranty by using CFL's.

 

FWIW, they do make dimmable CFL's for fans, lamps, etc, they are just very expensive (about $20 each).

 

Yes, these CFL's are available and are costly but they still cannot be used in a totally enclosed fixture due to the excessive heat produced by the ballast.

 

I've been using regular CFLs in my ceiling fan and they keep dying. 2 out of the 4 have died twice now. They only last a month or two (and I only use the lights on the fan a couple times a week for an hour).

They are a dimmable fixture (3 settings on the fan remote) but I just use the on and off light switch, not the dimmable settings.

 

I have CFL's in all of my fans. The CFL's produce way less heat than incandescent. I've never heard of any problem with CFL's other than they do not dim. I would recommend CFL's. More light, less power. Dimmable CFL's are not very nice. They dim in "steps" and are not like incandescent.

 

This is utter nonsense. CFLs produce only a fraction of the heat incandescents do, ballast and all. They're fantastic for enclosed fixtures, I've used them for years.

As for the possible fire hazard, one of the reasons to use CFLs in enclosed fixtures is to reduce the chance of fires. It's simple physics: The less energy used by a bulb, the less heat is generated. Well duh!

 

Hey guys, I am reviving this thread because I just got some hunter fans: Shop Hunter 52" Westminster Brushed Nickel Ceiling Fan, 4-Light at Lowes.com

and I put in some CFL's and am having some problems. On two of the fans, the lgihts flicker almost constantly. And on the third fan, the lights often don't turn on at all.

On one of the fans where the lights flicker, I was able to put in two regular lightbulbs and two CFLs and the flickering stops. On the fan where the lights don't turn on, I put in regular lightbulbs and the lights sometime turn on, but when they do they blink constantly.

So what's going on? Are these fans unable to support CFLs? I'd question my installation but it's hard to imagine messing up since this was so easy to install. The third fan really worries me because it seems like it is permanently damaged even when I went back to regular bulbs.

 

I see that the fan does not come with a remote. Did you add one? The dimming feature is a problem with CFL's, as you have probably read in the other posts. As to the blinking lights, I would recheck all connections, making sure that the pins in plug in connectors were making solid contact. If that does not cure it, I would be heading back to the store for a replacement fan.

 

I just found the other thread that talks about the pseudo dimmers in these fans that are now required by law. I'm calling hunter to see if they can send me something to forgo the dimmer.

 

After a long wait, Hunter said that I can't use CFL lights and to use the candelabra bulbs. I'm seriously considering taking these back to lowes, but I already threw away the packaging..so I am not sure they would take them. Also, I'd need to find something similar that does take CFL lights... are there ceiling fans available that take CFL ?

 

I googled "Energy Star Ceiling fans" and found plenty of choices. However they seemed to all have unusual (to me) CFL configurations rather than standard Edison-based bulbs. I wonder why manufacturers seem to be going through so much effort to prevent you from having a choice of bulb type: you need to decide CFL or standard before buying the fixture.

I don't know if this is still true but when I looked into this last year, this was a real issue. I took a second look at one of these fans in my home center but discovered they did not sell that type of bulb in a decent color temperature, only "cool white".

 

best advice buy a fan without a light kit then find a light kit that takes the bulbs you want. im replacing my fan and am getting one without a light kit as im going to reuse the kit from my old fan. more and more fans take those stupid candlebra bases cause they don't want you using energy saving bulbs.

 

Flirty.,

That is not the issue with engery saving bulb the main key item is to prevent overwattage the fan luminaire which I have see it more than once due majorty of them are limited to 60 watts and some peoples will find a way to jam a 100 watter in there .
Just once I did ran into someone got a big berta 500 watter mogual based bulb in there { the wires was allready crispy from the heat of 500 watt lightbulb }

And most ceiling fan manufacter did put in wattage restrictor gizmo in there so it will take a second to get the light to come on { some case with CFL's it will flicker like nuts }

Merci.Marc

 

you mean they will put a 500 watt equiv CFL in there or a full blown 500w incandescent

 

I should make it clear someone did modifed the ceiling fan to take a full blowen single 500 watt indentscent bulb in there.

It did show a bit of heat damage so end up replace the whole ceiling fan and add few new recessed luminaires to slove the issue.

Merci,Marc

 

You are right on the money. The light kit has a current limiter in it. The part number is 98480-02. If you remove it and rewire the lights - black to black, white to white. The filckering will stop. The resaon the flickers stop with one or more incandesents is the electronic minimum circuit amperage was obtained.