Does cold weather have an adverse affect on outdoor fluorescent lighting?

Public Comments

1. I think it does cause mine looks dimmer when it gets really cold
2. Absolutely, some compact fluorescents will hardly work or work very poorly at low temperatures. However, you can buy ones that are rated for outdoor use and cold temperatures. Here's some info that someone put on a website: Compact fluorescents for outdoor use, porch lights, post lights, etc. My favorite compact fluorescent lamp for outdoor use and use in cold areas is the Philips SL/O "outdoor" 18 watt one. Without an enclosure around it, it works reasonably well in windchills down to about freezing. In an enclosure, it works reasonably well in even colder conditions. This one does require a few minutes to warm up. In colder temperatures, it can start off-color (pinkish red) as well as be dim at first. When fully warmed up, its light output is near or slightly above that of a 60 watt standard incandescent. There is a more compact 15 watt version. The 15 watt ones come in "regular color" (2700 K) and "daylight" (5000 K). The 5000K ones have a spectrum more favorable to night vision than the 2700K ones have, and may have "nighttime outdoor illuminating power" like that of 75 watt standard incandescents. In general, compact fluorescent lamps that have outer bulbs over the tubing tend to do better with wider temperature ranges, especially colder conditions.
3. I agree with BKC above but will add the following: Using a higher wattage compact fluorescent -32 Watt or higher, in an enclosed fixture that blocks airflow will 'help' counter the problem. The fixture will still emit 32 Watts of heat and slowly warm up the enclosure until the ballast can fire properly. Use a silicone or caulking gun to fill in any cracks. It shouldn't be too much of a problem as you won't need to replace the lamp for about 5 years. The real problem with using fluorescents in cold weather is that even though they dim, they are still using the same amount of electricity so it can be argued that you are losing any energy savings by switching to compact fluorescent. For common application of someone's front porch who lives in an area with cold winters and wants the energy saving solution then do the following: Use your regular self-ballasted Compact Fluorescent for the warm half of the year, and when it gets cold switch to halogen lamp. For a general rule of thumb an incandescent lamp can be replaced by a Compact fluorescent of 1/4 the wattage or a Halogen of 3/4 the wattage.