PIR's and CFL Lamps

[Richard]

I fitted a couple of cheap (first mistake) Pir's from toolstation to some o/s lights. They seemed to work fine, but I went back to the customers house today, and both are defective!! I did check the instructions at the time to see if they were compatable, but it didn't say anything.

With the first PIR, one of the lamps seemed to be flicking on and off really quickly, and I was getting a corrosponing 'flashing' voltage at the PIR. The second fitting, just wouldn't go off atall!

Lesson learned for bying cheap PIR's, but credit to toolstation, they just said chuck the fittings and gave an instant refund!

My question is, If I buy higher quality PIR's, will they still work ok with CFL lamps?

Thanks

Rich

 

[Superspark23]

The trouble with CFL lamps are they last much less than say halogen bulbs when theyre switched on and off. As would the case be with using an PIR. I would recomend changing the types of bulbs.

 

[Marvo]

If the PIR hasa solid state switch like a triac it can play havoc with the ballast circuitry in the CFL lamp. If this is the case you might ge better replacing the PIR unit for one with a relay output.

 

[Dunc]

Good quality PIRs will usually give rated outputs for CFL and halogen loads. It's not uncommon for the maximum permitted load to be reduced by 60% when fitting CFLs.