low energy dimmer bulbs?

phildamb

Hm I bought the cheapest ones available while I was in Ikea and it works fine on my dimmer switch..just cant use the dimmer and have to have the switch turned to full...

Bongedone

phildamb wrote: »

Hm I bought the cheapest ones available while I was in Ikea and it works fine on my dimmer switch..just cant use the dimmer and have to have the switch turned to full...

Some dimmer switches will make them flicker and lower the life of the bulb. You are just lucky it works. The ones recommended above will actually dim in the dimmer switch.

Osram do a one called dimmerable. So do Megaman mentioned above.

Another company called Varilight do a dimmer bulb that does not require a dimmer. I have one in my living room. Works by switching it on-off then on, wait for the brightness you like then off-on. It will then stay at that brightness till you repeat the process.

http://www.varilight.co.uk/

Fairway

I work in Electrical and the bulbs are available fully dimmable now, from megaman in candle, gls, gu10 and Lilliput style, they are available from most hardware stores we sell too, so I can only imagine they are easily available where ever you are, just don't bother looking in last department stores as they don't stock these options just small amounts of older low energy stock.

greenbee

I've found Phillips EcoClassic Dimmable. They're only 30% more efficient than conventional incandescent bulbs (42w is equivalent to 60w), but I guess they're a good compromise. And as they're not fluorescent, they're mercury-free too.

Bongedone

Varilight also make dimmable CFL's. They also make a dimmable CFLthat does not require a dimmer switch. I have one in my living room: -
http://www.varilight.co.uk/

princess_lyla

Hello everybody I am new to this so I hope I have posted in the right place! I am in a rented property and have energy saving bulbs in every room apart from my daughters as she has a dimmer switch in the room and when I put a normal energy saving bulb in it buzzed and flickered, I tried more and the same thing happened. Does anyone know if I can get energy saving bulbs that are compatible with dimmer switches?


Any help would be much appreciated.
Many thanks

Ben84

A few companies make energy savers suitable for dimming, but they're harder to find and usually cost more. I have some of the megaman bulbs for dimmers, which work very well.

mikeabbotts

Hi,
Try http://www.bltdirect.com/products.php?cat=1222&nm=Omicron+Dimmable+Globe

Umski

Maddie wrote: »

Does anyone why you cannot use energy saving bulbs with dimmer switches?

By this I mean is it just that the dimmer function does not work, or are they unsafe or anything like that? The reason I ask is that the lights in our lounge are on a dimmer but we do not really use it (always either fully on or off), and with it being the main room we use I would like to use energy saving bulbs.

I have just bought some cheap energy saving bulbs from Tesco, so would not mind risking damaging them. However, my boyfriend will not let me use them as he is worried that it might be a fire hazard or something.

Probably a bad idea to even have CFLs on any dimmer according to this research:

http://sound.westhost.com/articles/incandescent.htm (scroll down)

I would suggest replacing the switches with non-dimmers

Fire_Fox

We have six 50W halogen lamps in our hall which, as the area has no window, we leave on maybe ten hours a day. I have been looking for suitable alternatives that are low energy without loss of light.

Instead I am now considering spending around £10 on a PIR motion sensor - this will save maybe 90% of the electricity and is cheaper than replacing several bulbs!

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Infrared-Motion-Sensor-PIR-Light-Garage-Roof-Security_W0QQitemZ270323032709QQcmdZViewItemQQptZUK_Garden_Lighting?hash=item270323032709&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14&_trkparms=72:1301|66%3A4|65%3A12|39%3A1|240%3A1318