Can you use a dimmer with low wattage bulbs

andrewmoorcroft · 21 January 2007 at 8:33PM

Hi moneysavers
I have 2 light fittings in my lounge with 5 bayonet x 40W bulbs in each. I tried putting 5 mini 9W (40W equivalent) in today. When you switch them on they do not light up at 1st. A little further turning of the dimmer and they flicker, a little further again and they are a full brightness. This means that they are either on or off or strobe effect. Before i burnt the house down i thought i'd put my old bulbs back!
The question- I want low energy AND dimable if there's such a word! Is there a bulb and dimmer combination that will do this using my current light fittings?

baldelectrician · 21 January 2007 at 9:05PM

No

It will probably say on the box 'not suitable for dimming'

andrewmoorcroft · 21 January 2007 at 11:04PM

baldelectrician wrote:

No

It will probably say on the box 'not suitable for dimming'

It does say so on the box- I read it after i tried it!!! That's why i'm asking if there is anything available that is low wattage AND dimable. The problem is that i want to save energy in my living room which is the place where i light most often so could give the biggest energy saving. The problem is that the living room is also the room where most dimmers are fitted. None of my other rooms have dimmers but they have fewer lights that arent used much so dont offer as much energy saving.

flang · 21 January 2007 at 11:50PM

anything that rubs on lowvoltage with a tranformer is most likely not dimmable, i found this out after buying some lights from ikea and being told that you could!

andrewmoorcroft · 22 January 2007 at 2:13AM

flang wrote:

anything that rubs on lowvoltage with a tranformer is most likely not dimmable, i found this out after buying some lights from ikea and being told that you could!

Thanks but i meant low wattage NOT low voltage. Low voltage doesn't mean low energy.

Avoriaz · 22 January 2007 at 3:58AM

Actually you mean “low energy bulbs”, “energy saving bulbs” or “compact fluorescent light bulbs” or some similar description.

This differentiates them from traditional tungsten filament bulbs.

Watt for watt CFLs are about five times as bright as filament bulbs and therefore use far less watts for the same light output.

Low wattage is a term sometimes used for CFLs but it is a bit misleading as you can get low wattage filament bulbs, they just don’t produce much light.

As you have discovered, CFLs cannot normally be dimmed with a dimmer designed for filament bulbs.

gabriel · 22 January 2007 at 6:18PM

There are some dimmable CFL (economy) bulbs, but usually hard to find as the bulb electronics tend to be more complex than a normal on/off one.

A quick Froggle search turned up with this one:
http://www.1stopelectrics.com/product/YCA20S-B22/YCA20S-B22+-+Switch+Dimmable+Compact+Fluorescent+Lamp+with+Bayonet+Fitting+(Energy+Saving+Lamp)/

but not that cheap at £9.49..

Look for "Dimmable" on the label. If it doesn't say it in big letters on the box then it most probably isn't.

Nobleck · 22 January 2007 at 6:30PM

If you buy low voltage downlighters make sure the transformer is dimmable.

JS2006 · 22 January 2007 at 11:00PM

I work with lighting and would tell you just what you've discovered - no.

andrewmoorcroft · 23 January 2007 at 10:23PM

Thanks everyone.
For those who are sure there's no such thing as a dimmable low energy bulb then what is this found by gabriel? http://www.1stopelectrics.com/produc...+Saving+Lamp)/
It appears to work with a normal switch (not a dimmer!)

John_3:16 · 23 January 2007 at 10:29PM

You can get 4 stage dimmable low energy bulbs.

http://www.lyco.co.uk/products/Megaman-Dimmable-GLS.htm?prodID=8321

Can you use a dimmer with low wattage bulbs

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