Dimmable CFLs: Not Ready for the Spotlight?
Every light fixture in my home, with the exception of those in the bathroom, is on a dimmer circuit. I’m not sure who’s idea it was, but it is kinda nice if you want to set a romantic mood by the coat closet.
Most CFL (Compact FLuorescent) bulbs come with a warning indicating that they should not be used in dimmer circuits, among other things. Always interested in saving a watt or two, I’ve kept my eyes open for dimmer-compatible CFL bulbs every time I visit the lighting section of my local hardware store.
On my most recent trip, I found and purchased two 26W (100W equivalent) dimmable CFLs at the dandy price of $10 each. I installed them a week ago tonight and they worked fantastically. They don’t dim out fully like incandescent bulbs, merely reducing to about 25% brightness at the lowest level, but they produce a pleasant white light and don’t emit any noise.
That is, until tonight.
After one full week of regular nightly use, one of the bulbs began to “click” every few minutes. This went on for only a few hours until it clicked one last time, blinked, and then went out for good. As it turns out, I may have gotten a bum bulb and I will exchange it for another to make sure. However, my hopes are fading for this early crop of dimmable CFL bulbs. With a price point around that of 20 incandescent bulbs or 5 similar non-dimmable CFLs, one should expect much better results.
Ah well. As with all new things, one should expect some flaws. I just hope these bulbs won’t burn down my home like this company’s other models were said to. Only time will tell.
November 15th, 2006 at 9:55 am
We just launched at searchable guide to energy-saving light bulbs at Environmental Defense, and reviewed several dimmable bulbs. We definitely found that not every dimmable CFL is created equal. Our testers had the best experience with the two TCP bulbs — and no houses have burned down yet!
November 16th, 2006 at 9:58 am
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Patty
March 19th, 2008 at 6:21 am
I work for a small technology company called PureSpectrum, Inc. that is working toward making CFL bulbs more appealing to consumers. Click on the link below to watch a short, low budget video we put together to show off our dimmable CFL technology. Most of PureSpectrum’s budget was spent on research and development, so the video might look a little homemade. But the bulb you will see represents something you can’t buy today from any store – a CFL that dims just like an incandescent. We think the big lighting companies are making CFLs more complicated than they need to be and dragging their feet on bringing simple, functional technology to market. CFLs won’t save energy sitting on store shelves and consumers need to know there is technology that can make better bulbs. They just have to ask for it.
http://www.purespectrumlighting.com