dimmer switch help

[saintpeter48]

can someone please help. can i use energy saving bulbs if i have a dimmer switch. i read somewhere that they should not be used, is this correct. thanks in advance.

[trt]

Lots of my lights have dimmer switches. Can I fit them with energy saving bulbs?

Most energy saving bulbs aren't fully compatible with dimmer switch circuits at the moment. A standard dimmer switch will simply make the bulb flicker: annoying for you and not good for your bulb.

The Osram Dulux El Dim is currently the only fully dimmable energy saving bulb. However, there are plans for more to be developed later this year.

There are also energy saving bulbs that can be used with 'staged dimming'. This requires a special sort of dimmer with three separate settings - high, low and off.
Is the government really banning traditional incandescent bulbs?

[beso]

The problem with dimming fluorescent tubes is the lowering of the temprature of the heaters at the end of the tube. This shortens tube life by damaging the electrodes.

We need to move towards cold cathode fluorescent (CCFL) technology which dispenses with heaters and uses higher voltages. This reduces currents and consequently the damage to the "cold" electrodes. The tubes last much, much longer and are more efficient than conventional hot cathode tubes.

The double helix type has a particularly interesting effect of energising only as much of the tube as is required for the power level fed to them.

However they require higher manufacturing quality to insulate the higher voltages. Moreover they far last too long for the manufacturer's accountants to fully embrace the technology.