Don't do this at home!
This morning when I picked up my latte at my favorite cafe I noticed that something had changed: The place was really gloomy. Why? Well, several track light spots had burned out and had been replaced with squiggly CFLs! Not a pretty sight!
A spiral compact fluorescent lamp is not designed to be used in a recessed can or a closed track fixture. It doesn’t do well with the heat build-up and will just not last as long.
It also doesn’t really produce enough light, so there goes the energy saving concept. Cans generally need bulbs with built-in reflectors that push the light out into the room instead of illuminating the inside of the can.
If you want to use CFLs in your recessed lights or track heads, there is actually a solution: CFL PAR lamps. They look like a reflector lamp, but are compact fluorescent. We of carry them in our showroom, but you can find them many places now.
