CFLs with X10 and INSTEON

Home automation systems like X10 and INSTEON were developed to work with incandescent light bulbs.  The dimming circuits were developed for the mostly resistive load of the lamp.  Compact Fluorescent Lamps (CFL) are not resistive loads and not all CFL devices will work with X10 and INSTEON.  The industry is making progress and eventually it looks like there will be dimmable CFLs that work with X10 and INSTEON.  Currently there are particular brands that seem to work.  The best actual use review is from Madcodger a the HomeSeer forum. The Philips Marathon Classic dimmable CFLs from Home Depot worked well for the Madcodger.

Another type of low energy bulb that has promise for dimmers is the Cold Cathode Fluorescent Lamp (CCFL).  Gordon has a good discussion of CCFLs and X10 dimmers.