“AND if it’s in a very cold place, like a shed or back porch, ferget it! They won’t come on at all!............”
Define very cold. I’ve got them outside my garage, and while they do take a little while to warm up and produce full light output, they work fine - and have for several years now. The temp here last night was close to 0, and they were working just fine.
I guess it’s the quality of the bulbs you buy, but the ones in my shed won’t come on if the temp is near freezing. Above 40°F they are dim until they “warm up”................
1F when I left for work this morning, porch CFL worked just fine. Sposed to be -8f tomorrow morning. I suspect it's still going to work.