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UK diy (uk.d-i-y) For the discussion of all topics related to diy (do-it-yourself) in the UK. All levels of experience and proficency are welcome to join in to ask questions or offer solutions. |
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#1
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Low energy lamps with dimmer
I am aware that low energy fluorescent lamps cannot be dimmed with a
conventional dimmer. However, in order to save energy, I have replaced a tungsten bulb in a dimmer equipped circuit, with a low energy lamp with the intention of leaving the dimmer always set to maximum brightness. Out of interest I tried the dimmer just to see what would happen. As expected it was quite unsatisfactory and resulted in various modes of flickering. I therefore set the dimmer permanently to max brightness. All was OK for several weeks. Now, a few weeks later, the low energy bulb has failed and flickers constantly even on max brightness setting. My question is this: Could I have damaged the bulb by fiddling with the dimmer or is it a random premature failure? |
#2
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Low energy lamps with dimmer
On 03/09/2007 18:47, Malcolm H wrote:
I am aware that low energy fluorescent lamps cannot be dimmed with a conventional dimmer. To go off slightly at a tangent, I've tried one of these https://www.e-tradecounter.co.uk/Lig...CA20S-B22.html Which is a 230v CFL, with internal dimmer operated from any normal on/off switch, it is fairly good, the colour does change quite a bit as the brighness changes, and there is a little bit of hum when it's at full brigtness, but it's quite good with a pullcord in the bedroom, fitted in an uplighter the colour change is less obvious too. |
#3
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Low energy lamps with dimmer
Malcolm H wrote:
Now, a few weeks later, the low energy bulb has failed and flickers constantly even on max brightness setting. My question is this: Could I have damaged the bulb by fiddling with the dimmer or is it a random premature failure? Chances are just running it from a dimmer could have shagged it. Dimmers will often not provide a true sinusoidal output, even at maximum brightness - there will often be some clipping of the waveform near crossover. This can result in the output of a fair amount of harmonic noise, that could end up dumping extra heat from the filter components in the CFL circuitry. -- Cheers, John. /================================================== ===============\ | Internode Ltd - http://www.internode.co.uk | |-----------------------------------------------------------------| | John Rumm - john(at)internode(dot)co(dot)uk | \================================================= ================/ |
#4
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Low energy lamps with dimmer
I am aware that low energy fluorescent lamps cannot be dimmed with a
conventional dimmer. To go off slightly at a tangent, I've tried one of these https://www.e-tradecounter.co.uk/Lig...CA20S-B22.html Interesting - thanks for the link ! |
#5
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Low energy lamps with dimmer
"Andy Burns" wrote in message ... On 03/09/2007 18:47, Malcolm H wrote: I am aware that low energy fluorescent lamps cannot be dimmed with a conventional dimmer. To go off slightly at a tangent, I've tried one of these https://www.e-tradecounter.co.uk/Lig...CA20S-B22.html Which is a 230v CFL, with internal dimmer operated from any normal on/off switch, it is fairly good, the colour does change quite a bit as the brighness changes, and there is a little bit of hum when it's at full brigtness, but it's quite good with a pullcord in the bedroom, fitted in an uplighter the colour change is less obvious too. Thank you for that Andy. I have ordered one! |
#6
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Low energy lamps with dimmer
"John Rumm" wrote in message ... Malcolm H wrote: Now, a few weeks later, the low energy bulb has failed and flickers constantly even on max brightness setting. My question is this: Could I have damaged the bulb by fiddling with the dimmer or is it a random premature failure? Chances are just running it from a dimmer could have shagged it. Dimmers will often not provide a true sinusoidal output, even at maximum brightness - there will often be some clipping of the waveform near crossover. This can result in the output of a fair amount of harmonic noise, that could end up dumping extra heat from the filter components in the CFL circuitry. -- Cheers, John. /================================================== ===============\ | Internode Ltd - http://www.internode.co.uk | |-----------------------------------------------------------------| | John Rumm - john(at)internode(dot)co(dot)uk | \================================================= ================/ Thank you for the info John. Yes I think it was my fault. I have now ordered a Digiflux dimmable lamp (see relevant posts in this thread) and have removed my dimmer. As a matter of interest the warranty on the Digiflux is invalidated if used with an external dimmer! |
#7
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Low energy lamps with dimmer
wrote in message ... Thus spake Malcolm H ) unto the assembled multitudes: I have now ordered a Digiflux dimmable lamp (see relevant posts in this thread) and have removed my dimmer. As a matter of interest the warranty on the Digiflux is invalidated if used with an external dimmer! There is a DigiFlux CFL dimmable from a standard dimmer switch, so no need for you to change your switch: http://www.varilight.co.uk/Pages/page%20digiflux.htm -- Andy Clews University of Sussex *** Remove DENTURES if replying by email *** Yes thank you Andy I had noticed that, but it was cheaper to change the switch. |
#8
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Low energy lamps with dimmer
Malcolm H wrote:
wrote in message ... Thus spake Malcolm H ) unto the assembled multitudes: I have now ordered a Digiflux dimmable lamp (see relevant posts in this thread) and have removed my dimmer. As a matter of interest the warranty on the Digiflux is invalidated if used with an external dimmer! There is a DigiFlux CFL dimmable from a standard dimmer switch, so no need for you to change your switch: http://www.varilight.co.uk/Pages/page%20digiflux.htm -- Andy Clews University of Sussex *** Remove DENTURES if replying by email *** Yes thank you Andy I had noticed that, but it was cheaper to change the switch. What I want is low energy lamps with a BRIGHTENER!!! |
#9
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Low energy lamps with dimmer
The Natural Philosopher wrote:
What I want is low energy lamps with a BRIGHTENER!!! Unless your whole house is lit with 100W lamps, just buy the next size up - 4:1 is about right compared to normal pearl, 5:1 is relative to soft tone. Of course if you want it to have warmed up by the time you've taken your hand off the switch that's a different matter. -- Spamtrap in use To email replace 127.0.0.1 with btinternet dot com |
#10
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Low energy lamps with dimmer
Chris Hodges wrote:
The Natural Philosopher wrote: What I want is low energy lamps with a BRIGHTENER!!! Unless your whole house is lit with 100W lamps, just buy the next size up - 4:1 is about right compared to normal pearl, 5:1 is relative to soft tone. Of course if you want it to have warmed up by the time you've taken your hand off the switch that's a different matter. How the fans of CFLs fool themselves. I've fitted 24W CFLs supposed to be equivalent to 100W incandescent bulbs. The light from them is about the same as I get from a 15W incandescent bulb. |
#11
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Low energy lamps with dimmer
"Steve Firth" wrote in message ... Chris Hodges wrote: The Natural Philosopher wrote: What I want is low energy lamps with a BRIGHTENER!!! Unless your whole house is lit with 100W lamps, just buy the next size up - 4:1 is about right compared to normal pearl, 5:1 is relative to soft tone. Of course if you want it to have warmed up by the time you've taken your hand off the switch that's a different matter. How the fans of CFLs fool themselves. I've fitted 24W CFLs supposed to be equivalent to 100W incandescent bulbs. The light from them is about the same as I get from a 15W incandescent bulb. A modicum of hyperbole I suspect! |
#12
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Low energy lamps with dimmer
Malcolm H wrote:
"Steve Firth" wrote in message ... Chris Hodges wrote: The Natural Philosopher wrote: What I want is low energy lamps with a BRIGHTENER!!! Unless your whole house is lit with 100W lamps, just buy the next size up - 4:1 is about right compared to normal pearl, 5:1 is relative to soft tone. Of course if you want it to have warmed up by the time you've taken your hand off the switch that's a different matter. How the fans of CFLs fool themselves. I've fitted 24W CFLs supposed to be equivalent to 100W incandescent bulbs. The light from them is about the same as I get from a 15W incandescent bulb. A modicum of hyperbole I suspect! With some, its not far off. I run 25 watters here to get about a 40W illumination level |
#13
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Low energy lamps with dimmer
On 2007-09-04 18:06:42 +0100, (Steve Firth) said:
Chris Hodges wrote: The Natural Philosopher wrote: What I want is low energy lamps with a BRIGHTENER!!! Unless your whole house is lit with 100W lamps, just buy the next size up - 4:1 is about right compared to normal pearl, 5:1 is relative to soft tone. Of course if you want it to have warmed up by the time you've taken your hand off the switch that's a different matter. How the fans of CFLs fool themselves. I've fitted 24W CFLs supposed to be equivalent to 100W incandescent bulbs. The light from them is about the same as I get from a 15W incandescent bulb. I've found them to be suitable for exterior use in lanterns, but that's about it - nothing inside. Too dim and the sickly light..... |
#14
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Low energy lamps with dimmer
The Natural Philosopher wrote:
Malcolm H wrote: "Steve Firth" wrote in message ... Chris Hodges wrote: The Natural Philosopher wrote: What I want is low energy lamps with a BRIGHTENER!!! Unless your whole house is lit with 100W lamps, just buy the next size up - 4:1 is about right compared to normal pearl, 5:1 is relative to soft tone. Of course if you want it to have warmed up by the time you've taken your hand off the switch that's a different matter. How the fans of CFLs fool themselves. I've fitted 24W CFLs supposed to be equivalent to 100W incandescent bulbs. The light from them is about the same as I get from a 15W incandescent bulb. A modicum of hyperbole I suspect! With some, its not far off. I run 25 watters here to get about a 40W illumination level Maybe time to try another brand. NT |
#15
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Low energy lamps with dimmer
On Tue, 04 Sep 2007 19:38:30 +0100, The Natural Philosopher wrote:
---------------8 I run 25 watters here to get about a 40W illumination level Measured how? |
#16
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Low energy lamps with dimmer
nog wrote:
On Tue, 04 Sep 2007 19:38:30 +0100, The Natural Philosopher wrote: ---------------8 I run 25 watters here to get about a 40W illumination level Measured how? By my abilty to actually see teh keys on this ketboard. |
#18
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Low energy lamps with dimmer
On 05/09/2007 11:20, The Natural Philosopher wrote:
nog wrote: On Tue, 04 Sep 2007 19:38:30 +0100, The Natural Philosopher wrote: I run 25 watters here to get about a 40W illumination level Measured how? By my abilty to actually see teh keys on this ketboard. By that criteria we'd probably all assume you normally typed under the glare of a single fairy lamp :-) |
#19
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Low energy lamps with dimmer
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#20
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Low energy lamps with dimmer
On Sep 5, 12:22 pm, wrote:
Has anyone tried LED lamps? I bought, as a trial, a couple of GU10 LED spotlamps to fit in a five-unit ceiling fitting (the other three units are GU10 CFLs). They give quite a bright output for only 1.2W consumption each (the CFLs are 7W consumption). They are rather more directional than the CFLs (not to mention having a rather 'cold' quality to their light). For me, the jury's still deliberating... I wonder if MR16s that run from 12v could be better than GU10s that run from mains. With mains I'd expect less conversion efficiency and greater heat losses, and the hotter the fitting the less light the LEDs will give out. cheers, Pete. |
#21
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Low energy lamps with dimmer
In message , The Natural
Philosopher writes nog wrote: On Tue, 04 Sep 2007 19:38:30 +0100, The Natural Philosopher wrote: ---------------8 I run 25 watters here to get about a 40W illumination level Measured how? By my abilty to actually see teh keys on this ketboard. Looks like you need more light there, mate ha ha -- geoff |
#22
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Low energy lamps with dimmer
On 04/09/2007 11:50, Malcolm H wrote:
I have now ordered a Digiflux dimmable lamp has it arrived? if so can I check does ours "hum" sligly at full brigtness? Just wondering if mine is normal or not. |
#23
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Low energy lamps with dimmer
In article , wrote:
Has anyone tried LED lamps? I bought, as a trial, a couple of GU10 LED spotlamps to fit in a five-unit ceiling fitting (the other three units are I have brought several LED GU-10 units over the last year. Some I have put in the bathroom - white tiled walls contrasting strongly with blue paint and tile ... well the blue-white of "white" LED is fine there, and the blue LEDs are good too. Others into the daughter's bedroom ... "white" is generally acceptable there too. Lastly (on the GU-10 front) the hallway ... has a dimmer on it to drop use to low levels at night without going to total darkness. Not suitable for LEDs. General result : the coloured ones aren't a problem, but in both cases Their Ladyships insist on having an incandescent pointing at the mirror, so they can get their face paint correct. I don't see the problem, but I can see where a problem could arise, so I take the ~75% energy savings and wait for the next generation. LEDs are not a cure-all (I use colour at work, and I am very picky about the lamps for my microscope); but for regular use they're a 4-for-50 swap, in terms of power used. -- Aidan Aberdeen, Scotland Written at Thu, 06 Sep 2007 01:45 +0100, but posted later. |
#24
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Low energy lamps with dimmer
In article , John Rumm wrote:
After as little as six months some of the individual LEDs in the lamps were failing. To the extent that the lamp was failing to deliver it's effect? I ask as someone who is well acquainted with the effects of peculiar "colour", and consider it just another issue. But for someone else's decorative lighting, that's something I take pretty casually. If I want two things to match in colour, I bring them adjacent, or bring them adjacent to a colour standard. Under (of course) the same lighting. Having said that, I've almost lost a grand this month due to colour ****-ups, which has been a warning to me. Different topic - I'll describe in a separate message on ... "OT? Colour Specifying Furniture" -- Aidan Aberdeen, Scotland Written at Thu, 06 Sep 2007 01:56 +0100, but posted later. |
#25
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Low energy lamps with dimmer
Aidan Karley wrote:
In article , John Rumm wrote: After as little as six months some of the individual LEDs in the lamps were failing. To the extent that the lamp was failing to deliver it's effect? These were in a run of wall washers, so the effect remains ok, but there is growing variation in brightness now depending on how many LEDs each lamp has lost. It was just surprising how quickly LEDs began to fail. There is also a concealed uplighting run of blue LED rope lights in a raised section of ceiling (these have performed better with no dropped LEDs yet). -- Cheers, John. /================================================== ===============\ | Internode Ltd - http://www.internode.co.uk | |-----------------------------------------------------------------| | John Rumm - john(at)internode(dot)co(dot)uk | \================================================= ================/ |
#26
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Low energy lamps with dimmer
In message , John Rumm
writes Aidan Karley wrote: In article , John Rumm wrote: After as little as six months some of the individual LEDs in the lamps were failing. To the extent that the lamp was failing to deliver it's effect? These were in a run of wall washers, so the effect remains ok, but there is growing variation in brightness now depending on how many LEDs each lamp has lost. It was just surprising how quickly LEDs began to fail. There is also a concealed uplighting run of blue LED rope lights in a raised section of ceiling (these have performed better with no dropped LEDs yet). so, a heat effect (the up-facing ones being able to dissipate heat better)? -- Si |
#27
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Low energy lamps with dimmer
Si wrote:
In message , John Rumm writes Aidan Karley wrote: In article , John Rumm wrote: After as little as six months some of the individual LEDs in the lamps were failing. To the extent that the lamp was failing to deliver it's effect? These were in a run of wall washers, so the effect remains ok, but there is growing variation in brightness now depending on how many LEDs each lamp has lost. It was just surprising how quickly LEDs began to fail. There is also a concealed uplighting run of blue LED rope lights in a raised section of ceiling (these have performed better with no dropped LEDs yet). so, a heat effect (the up-facing ones being able to dissipate heat better)? I think it is just a reflection of how hard they were being driven. The uplight rope has far more LEDs with each being less stressed. Shame that can't be said for the PSU that drives them though - that needed replacing within four months. -- Cheers, John. /================================================== ===============\ | Internode Ltd - http://www.internode.co.uk | |-----------------------------------------------------------------| | John Rumm - john(at)internode(dot)co(dot)uk | \================================================= ================/ |
#28
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Low energy lamps with dimmer
"Andy Burns" wrote in message ... On 04/09/2007 11:50, Malcolm H wrote: I have now ordered a Digiflux dimmable lamp has it arrived? if so can I check does ours "hum" sligly at full brigtness? Just wondering if mine is normal or not. Yes, it has now arrived and appears to work well. It is absolutely silent at all settings. |
#29
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Low energy lamps with dimmer
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#31
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Low energy lamps with dimmer
ho-hum another 9w GU10 CFL bites the dust. I'm going to try a couple of
5W cold cathodes and see how they go... if they bite the dust I'm waiting 5 years for the technology to improve :-( In the meantime, the Tesco near us has 240V 50W GU10 lamps - two in a blister pack - for £1 |
#32
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Low energy lamps with dimmer
Colin Wilson wrote:
ho-hum another 9w GU10 CFL bites the dust. I'm going to try a couple of 5W cold cathodes and see how they go... if they bite the dust I'm waiting 5 years for the technology to improve :-( In the meantime, the Tesco near us has 240V 50W GU10 lamps - two in a blister pack - for £1 So thats only a £1 a month for every 4 lights you have.,..;-) I pay about that for 12v ones. MOSTLY they last about 2-3 years. |
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