Energy efficient lighting has come a long, long way in the last few years. LEDs, heralded by some as the great hope of energy efficiency, were until recently a moonshot technology celebrated by geeks alone. Ten years ago, CFLs were lambasted for poor light quality, slow start-up time and flickering. Now, they are available in a wide range of colors, can be "instant on," and flickering has been all but eradicated.
Still, finding the best energy efficient home lighting is often a case of just knowing what to look for. That's where we come in.
We've just published two new articles on energy efficient lighting in our "Learn" section: The first, a glossary of lighting terms, defines the most essential lingo to help you pick the right bulb, with the best color temperature and the appropriate wattage for your application. Knowledge is power, people.
The second solves the long-standing mystery of dimmability in energy efficient lighting. These light bulbs can malfunction or die when installed on the wrong dimmer switches (the horror!). So we thought it'd be useful to create a comprehensive guide to dimmable energy efficient home lighting. It covers everything from why normal CFLs shouldn't be installed on dimmers, to the best dimmer switches for LEDs, to the best dimmable CFLs on the market.
We hope you enjoy—and maybe learn a little something.
P.S. Lighting experts, engineers or designers with anything to add, we'd be thrilled if you'd chime in in the comments section.
Comments
In general the dimmable LEDs usually work with standard triac dimmers but there is no guarantee. It is best to check the compatible models on the box or instruction. Some LEDs have buzzing noise while dimmer is adjusted down while others dim more smoothly without too much noise. Thank you.
Posted by Tuwago on Jun 19, 2011 12:44am