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Consumer Reports' Oct 2008, page 27 has a brief review of CFLs, debunking Check the following link for a short discourse on dimmable CFLs: CFL Q&A (with thanks to Ray Frackleton) Dear RI - IPL, Wearing two different hats I have encountered a couple questions for which you may be my easiest resource...or you may be able to direct me to other sources so that I can get the desired information. Both questions have to do with CFLs and somewhere in my memory (and perhaps in the annals of my saved IPL e-mails) is the association between you and CFLs. I /think/ that you sent out a resource for this technology, but I can't seem to find it at the moment. At a fair on Sat. at which RI IPL had an information table, a woman declined taking a free CFL lightbulb because she had been told that in her mobile home using any bulb beyond a 60 w might result in fire. We then got into a discussion, I and a couple other people, as to whether a CFL bulb that produces light at the 75 or 100 watt level, but uses only 20 or 25 watts, would qualify as being a fire risk. Do you know where I could find that answer without having to sift through a google's worth of Googled responses? Without going into the detailed physics, more than 90% of the electrical power (WATTS) consumed by incandescent bulbs is given off in the form of waste heat. In contrast, this figure is only about 30% for CFLs (see http://www.gelighting.com/na/business_lighting/faqs/cfl.htm#11 ). Further, CFLs produce at least 4-times more light per Watt than incandescent bulbs. Thus, CFLs produce <1/10 the amount of heat as do incandescent bulbs for a equivalent amount of light produced. For example, a 25-watt CFL produces the amount of light about equivalent to a 100-watt incandescent bulb, but less heat than a 10-watt incandescent bulb.
Thus, from the point of view of fire safety, there would
be no problem using even a 40 or 55-Watt CFL in a mobile home(or any home:
most glass-enclosed ceiling fixtures are imprinted with "use max 60 W
bulbs{incandescent}), let alone a common 25 Watt CFL that produces light
equivalent to a 100-Watt incandescent bulb.
One caveat that does not have to do with fire safety:
the electronic ballasts in CFLs can be damaged by an amount of heat that does
not pose a fire risk. Therefore, using multiple high Wattage CFLs
in glass-enclosed fixtures might result in pre-mature bulb failure, and thus
it is recommended that one either reduce the number of bulbs per fixture or
use bulbs with the lowest wattage that provides sufficient light for your
needs(a good idea, anyway, from the standpoint of energy conservation).
And here's the second question...do you know if there are candelabra bulbs that can be used with a dimming switch? In conducting my parish survey calls, that was one question that came up. But I have heard it asked before. I had purchased 3 candelabra bulbs, rather expensive I might add, for a lantern at my house...not dimmable...and none of them worked. So I am a little reluctant to make any recommendations...I really should have followed up with Shop IPL about that, but never seem to be thinking in that direction when I have some time to spare.
Yes, there are dimmable CFL candelabra bulbs (see the
item at the url:
But keep in mind that CFLs generally function well only
with specific types of dimming mechanisms:The Energy Federation website ( http://www.energyfederation.org/ipl/default.php/cPath/25_44_169
) indicates that:
"dimmable compact fluorescents tend to dim well with mechanical slide and rotary controls, but less well with electronic dimming controls, programmable controls, and remote controls. These special bulbs should not be screwed into "hot" sockets, so be sure to turn off power to the socket before installation of the bulb. Finally, dimmable fluorescents will generally not light when the dimming control is at less than full power. Turn the control to full power, turn on the switch, and then dim the fluorescent to the desired level."
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