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Compact Fluorescent Lamps – CFL's News In the last few years the sales of energy saving lamps have increased. Compact Fluorescent Lamps are replacing more and more the less efficient incandescent lamps because they need less power and have a longer rated life. Some of you may now think that you don't have the same advantages with these globes as you can't dim them. This is wrong. New technology makes it possible to dim the CFLs. · CFLs need less power while having a longer life · New technology makes it possible to dim CFLs Dimmable CFLs You cannot dim all CFLs. If you want a dimmable lamp you need a purpose built CFL. Check the information on the packaging to be sure you buy the right globe. Two different dimming technologies · usual dimmable CFL · switch dimmable CFL If you decide to have a usual dimmable CFL you can buy a lamp from the Megaman Dimmerable Series. The lamps have a range of 10% to 100% and it dims perfectly smooth with most incandescent dimmer circuits and dimmer switches. Megaman Dimmerable Energy Saving Lamps are compatible with most types of dimmer switches and dimmer systems. If you don't want to install a dimmer circuit you should get a switch dimmable light. You can dim the light by switching the on/off bottom. The Megaman Dors Dimming series has the 4 step dimming of Megaman Energy Saving Lamps on almost any standard (On/Off) switches. You can choose between a brightness of 100%, 66% 33% and 5%. NOTICE When you choose one of these two systems it is really important that you use dimmable CFLs especially when you install the lamp in a dimming circuit. So check the information on the packaging carefully that you can be sure to have the right lamp type. Using a non-dimmable CFL If you try to use a non dimming CFL in a dimming circuit it won't work efficiently and the life of the lamp will be much shorter. You also won't be able to claim the warranty back in most cases(depending on the manufacturers terms and conditions of their warranty). Costs Dimmable CFLs are three to five times more expensive than non dimming CFLs. This is because they require much more electronic circuitry. It also makes them bulkier then normal CLFs. Sorts of dimmer There are different sorts of dimmers on the market. For dimmable CFLs you should use leading edge electronic dimmers or trailing edge electronic dimmers. They will operate optimally with one of these technologies. You should buy the correct lamp for the type of dimmer you have. Most of the lamps will also work with the wrong circuit but not efficiently. It could be noisy and the functionality could be limited. Another dimmer type is the rheostat dimmer. It is not compatible with any CFL. Difference between dimmable CFLs and incandescent lamps The biggest difference between incandescent and CFL dimmable lamps are that you can dim the incandescent down to zero and CFLs just down to 10-20 percent. The reason is that there must be an arc between the lamps cathodes and for this you need a certain amount of current. We hope you found this information helpful. Please feel free to contact us if you have any further questions regarding Compact Fluorescent Lamps and the brands that we sell .
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