Debby Allmon answers a Kansas City Star’s reader question about what kind of long-life bulbs to use in a ceiling fan. Read all about it.Q. I’d like to know what kind of long-life bulbs to use in a ceiling fan. We bought dim-able compact fluorescent light (CFL) bulbs and they did not last long. We were told it was because there is a shade around them. Is that true, and what do we do about it?
A.The shade around the bulb should not cause the bulbs to have a shorter life. I checked with gelighting.com and found that currently it is not recommended to use CFLs in vibrating environments such as ceiling fans. The vibration can cause the electronics in the CFL to fail. GE does have one CFL bulb that they recommend for ceiling fans. This bulb is the GE Energy Smart ceiling fan bulb, FLE11.