Light bulbs for dimmer switches?

Hello harpertara,

I work for The Home Depot in my lighting department and this a question that comes up in my store as well as online when I'm helping my customers.

With a lot of newer CFL bulbs that are out there, the lighting industry is making changes that are going to not only affect your light bulbs, but the dimmers that control them as well.

As you heard, the changes started in 2012 are going to affect incandescent bulbs. This federal law is going to start phasing out, but not totally replace all incandescent light bulbs at that time. When 2012 starts, the first light bulbs to go will be your 100 watt incandescent bulbs, followed in 2013 by 75 watt bulbs, leading to 60 watts (the most popular) being phased out by 2014.

Replacing these older incandescent bulbs are not just CFL bulbs or LED, but also you'll be seeing more halogen based light bulbs out on the market. Due to the demand of flicker-free, instant start, and dimmable warm lights, halogens will still be around, even though they have the same tungsten-based filament that makes the incandescent light bulb work, albeit encased in quartz to make them more efficient.

What I like is that the industry is adapting to this phase out by having anywhere that sells a light bulb (including us) by already having compact fluorescent light bulbs and LED (light-emitting diode) light bulbs that already come in dimmable features. Next time your in a home center, stop in and check them out, and remember, if it doesn't say it's dimmable on the package, then it most likely is not.

Lastly, dimmer manufacturers are adapting to the changes by this new federal law. One manufacturer that makes dimmers, Lutron, already sells dimmers made just for newer CFL and LED light bulbs. These newer dimmers features advanced dimming circuitry that is designed for compatibility with most high efficacy light bulbs. These dimmers improve the dimming performance of dimmable CFLs and LEDs compared to standard dimmers. Best of all, you can still use your old incandescent bulbs alongside your newer bulbs in these dimmers.

Hope this helps you out,

aboveaveragejoe

Dimmer Light Bulbs

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RE:

Light bulbs for dimmer switches?

With regular light bulbs going away in 2012, what are people doing about lights connected to dimmer switches? Are there new bulbs out there designed for dimmers?

Dimming Light Bulbs

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No, you cannot buy CFL bulbs at a reasonable price that will operate with dimmer switches. some other types of energ saver bulbs may be OK i.e. the ones that look very similar to ordinary bulbs that you occasionally see. I've seen them in homebase. These dont save as much energy as CFL though. CFL = compact flourescent light.

Incandescent light bulbs are not "going away" per se. They will continue to be available for certain applications such as decor. For standard lighting applications, incandescent bulbs which meet new lumen guidelines per watt will be permitted for sale.

To answer your question, however, there are two common alternatives. The CFL and LED.

CFL (compact flourescent) bulbs usually aren't dimmable, but there are dimmable CFL's available. The disadvantage to dimmable CFL's is that they tend to be a bit higher in price, and the dimming spectrum is irregular when compared to incandescents. Also, CFL's aren't "instant on". They usually take severalseconds to achiee their maximum lumen output. Also, consumers have complained of a "strobe" effect from lower quality CFL's on the market.

LED (light emitting diode) bulbs are available in both dimmable and nondimmable models, like the CFL. LED's tend to be more expensive than CFL's, but use much less power. Dimmable LED's have a more consistant dimming level than dimmable CFL's. Also, LED's last many times longer than CFL's and incandescents, making them the most cost-effective light source on the market. Since each LED bulb has multiple diodes, the strobing effect experienced single-diode LED's and CFL's is prectically nonexistent.

Also on the horizon is ESL bulbs (electron stimulated luminescence). ESL bulbs produce light by stimulation of a phosphor (which uses only 14 the amount of energy of an incadescent bulb). They are common in street lighting, but are just now being developed for home use. Dimmable ESL's have not yet been developed, but are likely to eventually become available.

For most general lighting applications that require a dimmable light source, the dimmable LED is probably the best option, since it has the lowest cost over the life of the bulb, produces light quality similar to the incandescent (when choosing the a warm white bulb), is the most energy efficient, and is available in shapes similar to incandescent bulbs.

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