Compact Fluorescent Bulbs

[oakville]

Trying to do my bit for the environment, I changed my three outdoor lights to CF Bulbs.
These lights are on a wall switch timer and shortly after change, the timer went haywire and I had to replace it. The new timer I bought states clearly. "Do not use with CF bulbs".
Why is this when the timer is simply sending 120 volt AC power to the lamps?
My puny efforts at saving energy has cost me money.
Thank you people

[gen2]

Fluorescent bulbs, whether the normal strips or the compact variety, need a higher voltage to 'strike' or start conducting. The light fitting , or the base of the CF bulb, contains circuitry that produces this initial high voltage. Unfortunately that same high voltage can damage other delicate equipment such as the timer circuitry.

Note also that these CF bulbs cannot be used with dimmer switches either.