On Sun 27 Apr 2008 11:37:57a, Don Klipstein told us...

In 4, W. Boatwright
said:

On Sun 27 Apr 2008 09:02:12a, Robert Allison told us...

If you invest in the special fixtures (I have been involved with
these mostly in can lights) and install them, you will come out
ahead financially. Although the dimmable on board ballasts cost more
than standard can lights, you only have to buy them once.

Coincidentally, that's exactly what I want to dim. I have 12 recessed
cans in my kitchen, each with a 23 watt conventional screw-in CFL. Full
power is ideal when I'm doing a lot of cooking and cleanup (which is
usually at night), but there are many times when I wish I could dim them
when I don't need that much light.

The bulbs that carry their own onboard ballast that makes them
dimmable are way more (about 20 bucks a piece) than standard
cfls. Since you are going to have to change them over the years, you
will save over and over by going with the dimmable fixtures.

Yes, I found out just how expensive when I first looked for the CFLs,
and didn't buy the dimmable units because of the price and the rumor?
that they didn't always perform well at dimming.

I suppose the best choice is to just bite the bullet and replace the
cans with dimmable models. I will have to find suitable retrofit
models, as it is a vaulted ceiling with no crawl space above to work
from.

Keep in mind that fixtures with ballasts take a specific model or
limited range of specific models of pin-base ballastless CFLs.

I advise to get one that takes a more common and industry standard
bulb,
such as 13 watt twintube (F13TT, AKA PL-13)
or 13 watt quadtube (F13DTT, AKA PLC-13)
or 26 watt quadtube (F26DTT, AKA PLC-26).

Any other bulb should be one that is available at home centers and is
available under the "Big 3" brands (GE, Philips or Sylvania - preferably
in the online catalogs of all 3, though model numbers may vary
slightly).

Personally, I have been most impressed with CFL recessed ceiling
fixtures if they take 13 watt twintubes or doubletwintubes over 13
watts, two bulbs per fixture, with the bulbs in a horizontal position.
Also, I have found 26 watt doubletwintubes to be nice and especially
impressively bright.

The more common sizes (13 watt twintube and 26 watt doubletwintube
especially) are available in different colors, though home centers
normally don't carry all available colors.

- Don Klipstein )


Also very good information. Since I'm faced with replacing 12 recessed
cans, I may give those less expensive screw-in CFLs a try first. I'm not
looking forward to the expense and effort required to replace those cans,
especially since I have no access from above.

--
Wayne Boatwright
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