If you’ve been around the lighting industry for a while you know that energy-saving Compact Florescent Lamps (CFLs) have been available for many years. You’ve also seen the relatively recent arrival of a broad range of screw-in Light Emitting Diode (LED) dimmable bulbs. And you may have had customers who’ve struggled using these bulbs (especially CFLs) with standard incandescent dimmers. It’s not uncommon to run into problems such as:   

Reduced range: Incandescent or halogen bulbs typically dim lower than CFL or LED bulbs. Dimmable CFLs generally dim down to 10% to 30% of measured light output. Dimmable LEDs on, the other hand, can be dimmed as low as 5% to 15% (The actual range is dictated by the bulb’s circuitry).

Drop out: As CFL or LED bulbs are dimmed they occasionally turn off before the slider reaches the bottom. This “drop out,” can make it very difficult to set the desired dimmer level without bulbs turning off.

 Lights not turning on: After dimming CFL or LED bulbs to a low light level bulbs sometimes will not turn on until the dimmer’s slider is moved up. Called “pop-on,” this is especially challenging for 3-way situations where lights can be operated from different locations besides the dimmer.

Unexpected Turn-off: Line voltage fluctuations can affect dimmable CFL and LED bulbs, causing incandescent bulbs to dim or flicker excessively (or even turn off) when a device such as air-conditioning or a hair dryer is used.

Lutron has developed a family of C·L dimmers for dimmable CFL and LED bulbs that address all these issues. These new dimmers incorporate HED Technology to improve the performance of dimmable CFLs and LEDs. Unlike conventional dimmers, these new dimmers:

• Keep lights on during dimming
• Ensure that lights turn on at all levels
• Reduce or eliminate excessive flicker
• Maintain light performance even during line voltage fluctuations

If you have questions—or would like more information about the new Lutron dimmers, please give us a call at 1-855-588-7661or shoot us an email.