In ,
Smitty Two wrote:
In article ,
Tony wrote:

Don Klipstein wrote:

SNIP to here

A 300 watt incandescent with a diode dims to brightness of about a 75 or
100 watt incandescent, but consumes about 175-180 watts. (Not 150 because
the cooler filament has lower resistance.)

Thank you. I will add that the same holds true for dimmer switches.
They waste a hell of a lot of electric due to running lights at less
than their rated wattage which makes them very inefficient.

Three way bulbs in table lamps save more $$ than any dimmer switch.

I wouldn't call a dimmer inefficient. If you mean it uses more than 1/2
the power to put out 1/2 the lumens, so what? You're still saving money
when you dim the lights. Almost every light in my house is on a dimmer,
including the closet. It's all about the mood.

If you are usually dimming the lights and they are incandescent
(including halogen and HIR), then chances are it is better to do one
of these:

1. Use fewer bulbs if doing so does not cause light to be unacceptably
unevenly distributed (such as causing dark spots).

2. Use lower wattage bulbs, so that you usually don't dim them or at
least make a lot less use of dimming - provided you don't run into
trouble from lack of brighter light when you need it.

3. Two lighting systems, a bright one and a lower wattage one, to rely
less on use of dimmed bulbs and their lower energy efficiency.

- Don Klipstein )