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Confusion over Dimmers for CFLs Wayne Boatwright 04-27-2008
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Posted by Wayne Boatwright on April 27, 2008, 1:47 pm
On Sun 27 Apr 2008 10:41:48a, Art Todesco told us...

> Robert Allison wrote:
>> Wayne Boatwright wrote:
>>
>>> On Sun 27 Apr 2008 08:08:26a, Robert Allison told us...
>>>
>>>
>>>> Wayne Boatwright wrote:
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>> I have heard that there are dimmers available that will work with
>>>>> conventional CFLs and don't require the special dimmable CFLs, but I
>>>>> have yet to find one that clearly states it will work this way.
>>>>>
>>>>> Does anyone here know about such a dimmer?
>>>>>
>>>>
>>>> There are special fixtures for cfls that allow them to be dimmed. On
>>>> the other hand, there are special cfls that allow them to be dimmed
>>>> with a standard dimmer. You need to get the right combination for
>>>> either to work correctly.
>>>>
>>>> http://www.pathnet.org/sp.asp?id=23506
>>>>
>>>> http://www.energy.wsu.edu/documents/building/light/compact_fluor.pdf
>>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> Thanks, Robert.
>>>
>>
>> Your welcome. In addition to the other information, I will give you
this;
>>
>> If you invest in the special fixtures (I have been involved with these
>> mostly in can lights) and install them, you will come out ahead
>> financially. Although the dimmable on board ballasts cost more than
>> standard can lights, you only have to buy them once.
>>
>> The bulbs that carry their own onboard ballast that makes them dimmable
>> are way more (about 20 bucks a piece) than standard cfls. Since you are
>> going to have to change them over the years, you will save over and over
>> by going with the dimmable fixtures.
>
> Actually, they are a little more ....
> not $20 more or not even $20 for a dimmable
> CFL. I paid about $8 for the dimmable
> CFLs that I have.
>

How well do they work? What was your source? Are they reflector
flood/spot lights? What wattage?

Thanks!

--
Wayne Boatwright
-------------------------------------------
Sunday, 04(IV)/27(XXVII)/08(MMVIII)
-------------------------------------------
Today is: Rogation Sunday
Countdown till Memorial Day
4wks 13hrs 15mins
-------------------------------------------
Schizophrenia beats dining alone.
-------------------------------------------


Posted by Art Todesco on April 28, 2008, 12:06 am
Wayne Boatwright wrote:
> On Sun 27 Apr 2008 10:41:48a, Art Todesco told us...
>
>> Robert Allison wrote:
>>> Wayne Boatwright wrote:
>>>
>>>> On Sun 27 Apr 2008 08:08:26a, Robert Allison told us...
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>> Wayne Boatwright wrote:
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>> I have heard that there are dimmers available that will work with
>>>>>> conventional CFLs and don't require the special dimmable CFLs, but I
>>>>>> have yet to find one that clearly states it will work this way.
>>>>>>
>>>>>> Does anyone here know about such a dimmer?
>>>>>>
>>>>> There are special fixtures for cfls that allow them to be dimmed. On
>>>>> the other hand, there are special cfls that allow them to be dimmed
>>>>> with a standard dimmer. You need to get the right combination for
>>>>> either to work correctly.
>>>>>
>>>>> http://www.pathnet.org/sp.asp?id=23506
>>>>>
>>>>> http://www.energy.wsu.edu/documents/building/light/compact_fluor.pdf
>>>>>
>>>>
>>>> Thanks, Robert.
>>>>
>>> Your welcome. In addition to the other information, I will give you
> this;
>>> If you invest in the special fixtures (I have been involved with these
>>> mostly in can lights) and install them, you will come out ahead
>>> financially. Although the dimmable on board ballasts cost more than
>>> standard can lights, you only have to buy them once.
>>>
>>> The bulbs that carry their own onboard ballast that makes them dimmable
>>> are way more (about 20 bucks a piece) than standard cfls. Since you are
>>> going to have to change them over the years, you will save over and over
>>> by going with the dimmable fixtures.
>> Actually, they are a little more ....
>> not $20 more or not even $20 for a dimmable
>> CFL. I paid about $8 for the dimmable
>> CFLs that I have.
>>
>
> How well do they work? What was your source? Are they reflector
> flood/spot lights? What wattage?
>
> Thanks!
>
They don't dim well .... by that I mean
they do flicker quite a bit. If lucky, you
can find a sweet spot where they don't
flicker too much. I was using X10 to
do the dimming; a real dimmer might work
better. They were the standard
twist lamp and were pretty bright, I'm
guessing 20 some watts. I got them at the
local Menards home center.

Posted by Wayne Boatwright on April 28, 2008, 12:38 am
On Sun 27 Apr 2008 09:06:12p, Art Todesco told us...

> Wayne Boatwright wrote:
>> On Sun 27 Apr 2008 10:41:48a, Art Todesco told us...
>>
>>> Robert Allison wrote:
>>>> Wayne Boatwright wrote:
>>>>
>>>>> On Sun 27 Apr 2008 08:08:26a, Robert Allison told us...
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>> Wayne Boatwright wrote:
>>>>>>
>>>>>>
>>>>>>> I have heard that there are dimmers available that will work with
>>>>>>> conventional CFLs and don't require the special dimmable CFLs, but
>>>>>>> I have yet to find one that clearly states it will work this way.
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> Does anyone here know about such a dimmer?
>>>>>>>
>>>>>> There are special fixtures for cfls that allow them to be dimmed.
>>>>>> On the other hand, there are special cfls that allow them to be
>>>>>> dimmed with a standard dimmer. You need to get the right
>>>>>> combination for either to work correctly.
>>>>>>
>>>>>> http://www.pathnet.org/sp.asp?id=23506
>>>>>>
>>>>>> http://www.energy.wsu.edu/documents/building/light/compact_fluor.pdf
>>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>> Thanks, Robert.
>>>>>
>>>> Your welcome. In addition to the other information, I will give you
>>>> this; If you invest in the special fixtures (I have been involved
>>>> with these mostly in can lights) and install them, you will come out
>>>> ahead financially. Although the dimmable on board ballasts cost more
>>>> than standard can lights, you only have to buy them once.
>>>>
>>>> The bulbs that carry their own onboard ballast that makes them
>>>> dimmable are way more (about 20 bucks a piece) than standard cfls.
>>>> Since you are going to have to change them over the years, you will
>>>> save over and over by going with the dimmable fixtures.
>>> Actually, they are a little more ....
>>> not $20 more or not even $20 for a dimmable
>>> CFL. I paid about $8 for the dimmable
>>> CFLs that I have.
>>>
>>
>> How well do they work? What was your source? Are they reflector
>> flood/spot lights? What wattage?
>>
>> Thanks!
>>
> They don't dim well .... by that I mean
> they do flicker quite a bit. If lucky, you
> can find a sweet spot where they don't
> flicker too much. I was using X10 to
> do the dimming; a real dimmer might work
> better. They were the standard
> twist lamp and were pretty bright, I'm
> guessing 20 some watts. I got them at the
> local Menards home center.
>

Thanks, Art. I might buy one to try, and I would be using a regular
dimmer. At least I'd learn if they were acceptable to me. I don't think
I'd like the flicker, though. I'd be getting a floodlight configuration,
but it's still a twist lamp just enclosed in a floodlamp shaped exterior.

--
Wayne Boatwright
-------------------------------------------
Sunday, 04(IV)/27(XXVII)/08(MMVIII)
-------------------------------------------
Today is: Rogation Sunday
Countdown till Memorial Day
4wks 2hrs 25mins
-------------------------------------------
That which is not forbidden is mandatory.
-------------------------------------------


Posted by David Nebenzahl on April 28, 2008, 2:24 pm
On 4/27/2008 9:06 PM Art Todesco spake thus:

> Wayne Boatwright wrote:
>
>> On Sun 27 Apr 2008 10:41:48a, Art Todesco told us...
>>
>> How well do they work? What was your source? Are they reflector
>> flood/spot lights? What wattage?
>>
> They don't dim well .... by that I mean
> they do flicker quite a bit. If lucky, you
> can find a sweet spot where they don't
> flicker too much. I was using X10 to
> do the dimming; a real dimmer might work
> better. They were the standard
> twist lamp and were pretty bright, I'm
> guessing 20 some watts. I got them at the
> local Menards home center.

Reading this, along with several other responses regarding CFLs on
dimmers, makes me agree with whoever it was here who said, basically,
"Forget about dimmers; who needs them?". Hopefully in the
not-too-distant future, interior light dimmers will have gone the way of
the lava lamp and the color organ. There's really nothing that lights on
dimmers can offer that can't be done better (and cheaper) by good
lighting design to begin with.


--
The best argument against democracy is a five-minute
conversation with the average voter.

- Attributed to Winston Churchill

Posted by Don Klipstein on April 27, 2008, 2:24 pm

>If you invest in the special fixtures (I have been involved with
>these mostly in can lights) and install them, you will come out
>ahead financially. Although the dimmable on board ballasts cost
>more than standard can lights, you only have to buy them once.
>
>The bulbs that carry their own onboard ballast that makes them
>dimmable are way more (about 20 bucks a piece) than standard
>cfls. Since you are going to have to change them over the years,
>you will save over and over by going with the dimmable fixtures.

Although it is true that fixtures with dimming ballasts are better in
the long run than disposable dimming ballasts in the bulbs, the latter is
getting more widely available and affordable. A month or two ago,
dimmable screw-base CFLs were about $15 at Target.

I expect that CFL fixtures with dimming ballasts and that take pin-base
CFLs are also getting more affordable, as production ramps up to meet
various energy efficiency mandates.

- Don Klipstein (don@misty.com)

Page 4 of 4       << first < 1 2 3
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