Why are energy saving halogen replacement bulbs not dimmer compatible?

OzyOly · 12 Jul 2010 at 22:02

Hey,

I have a desk lamp that is perfect after a month of searching. I've had it for a while now, and the only problem with it (not actually the lamp's fault), it the 40w halogen G9 Bulb that seems to output 20 of it's watts as heat. So I was looking into an energy saving (usually cooler) bulb replacement for the lamp.

Now here is the problem;

the lamp it self is a touch lamp with 4 settings; off, low, medium, full. However the specs for the replacement bulb says it is not dimmable. Does anyone know the reason for this or know of a different kind of replacement that I can use? Thank you.

http://www.energybulbs.co.uk/produc...Energy+G9+Spiral+Bulb+in+Warm+White/371196881

Dave M · 12 Jul 2010 at 22:15

normal bulbs put power through a wire and it glows, less power = less glow = less light

Energy savers excite gas in a tube, less power = gas isn't excited = no light.

Amp34 · 12 Jul 2010 at 22:15

AFAIK it's because dimmers just vary the voltage to the bulb to adjust the brightness. As a normal bulb is just a bit of highly resistive wire in a gas it's easy to do (you can do it with a standard battery and wire at home to see for yourself). The low energy bulbs are more akin to strip lights which are either on or off and need a specific voltage through them to work.

Essentially it's a bit like analogue (traditional bulbs) and digital (strip/energy saving).

OzyOly · 12 Jul 2010 at 22:19

Okay, so in that case an LED style replacement bulb would be better?

Dave M · 12 Jul 2010 at 23:31

OzyOly said:
Okay, so in that case an LED style replacement bulb would be better?

Sure but you'd need a new dimmer, bit more complicated than for normal bulbs.

HAz · 12 Jul 2010 at 23:54

when u tap it to the full setting it might actually work.

OzyOly · 12 Jul 2010 at 23:59

Telescopi said:
Sure but you'd need a new dimmer, bit more complicated than for normal bulbs.

Thanks, looks like I'll just ahve to search around for a lower wattage traditional G9.

HAz said:
when u tap it to the full setting it might actually work.

Yeah, but I don't want to spend a £5 a bulb for it to blow in a week because I've been feeding it the wrong power rating... :confused:

HAz · 13 Jul 2010 at 00:01

OzyOly said:
Thanks, looks like I'll just ahve to search around for a lower wattage traditional G9.

Yeah, but I don't want to spend a £5 a bulb for it to blow in a week because I've been feeding it the wrong power rating...

my dad has been running 3 11w energy saving bulbs in a conventional dimmer for a year now, i know yours is slight different tho lols.

TheVoice · 13 Jul 2010 at 00:31

You can get dimming energy saving bulbs, but they're a lot more expensive.