Osram introduces first dimable energy saving light

Post by **MindBender** » Sun Jan 06, 2008 10:00 pm

Perhaps already old News, but I've been looking for these for quite a long time:
Osram has introduced the worlds first dimmable energy saving lamps, fully compatible with existing dimmers:

http://www.osram.nl/osram_bx/NL/Tools_% ... /dulux.pdf
Earlier dimmable lamps had a push-button on them, or required you to switch the lamp on and off a couple of times, to select it's intensity. This lamp is fully compatible with existing dimmers. The only drawback is that it won't ignite under power levels of about 90%. So you'd have to program your domotica system to briefly set it to 100% before dimming it down.

Unfortunately they're a bit pricey: I saw them at Hornbach for 18,99 Euro last week. Still that's a lot better than the 28,99 Euro they were doing there four weeks earlier.

Post by **Lennart** » Sun Jan 06, 2008 10:40 pm

Hi MindBender,

Megaman offers various types of dimmerable energy saving lights (CFLs) that work well with Xanura modules (I've been testing these). Check out this topic: http://www.domoticaforum.eu/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=626.

Lennart

Post by **Erwin** » Sun Jan 06, 2008 10:42 pm

Don't know who was first, but here are more dimmable energy saving lamps, they are cheaper too.

http://www.megaman.nl

Post by **Digit** » Sun Jan 06, 2008 11:55 pm

For those who are NUON customer, the Megaman dimmable energy saving lamps are available in the NUON webshop. But didn't do the price-check yet..

Post by **MindBender** » Mon Jan 07, 2008 11:13 am

<blockquote id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote">Originally posted by lennart
 Megaman offers various types of dimmerable energy saving lights (CFLs) that work well with Xanura modules (I've been testing these). Check out this topic: http://www.domoticaforum.eu/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=626.<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote">
Very interesting! And better prices too! Thanks!
Yet most of them are HCFLs, especially when dimmed

Post by **Niknik** » Wed Jan 09, 2008 2:05 pm

lenart, just another question about the megaman lamps do a soft "on"? brighten from 0% light to 50% (for example)
or do they also require starting at 100%?

Thanks.

Post by **Lennart** » Wed Jan 09, 2008 9:19 pm

Hi Niknik,

They don't have a soft start: they require a certain dim level to turn on, otherwise they will flicker. I'll check what dim level exactly, given a cold start, and will let you now.

Lennart

Post by **MindBender** » Thu Jan 10, 2008 11:26 am

<blockquote id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote">Originally posted by lennart
 I'll check what dim level exactly, given a cold start, and will let you now.<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote">
That'll be interesting to know!

Post by **Snelvuur** » Thu Jan 10, 2008 12:51 pm

http://motionbulb.com/

The Motionbulb™ is the new revolutionary light bulb that turns on automatically when you enter the room and turns off automatically when you leave. The Motionbulb™ light bulb screws into any ordinary light socket and will detect movement up to 25 feet away!

One Motionbulb™ will last as long as 10 regular light bulbs so you won´t have to change your light for up to 5 years! It uses less energy to emit the same light, which means it´s better for the environment and better for your electricity bill!

With the Motionbulb™ you can replace your hard to reach pull chain lights, and you´ll never have to fumble in the dark again!

20 dollars a piece.

// Erik (binkey.nl)

Post by **MindBender** » Thu Jan 10, 2008 1:56 pm

Unless the movements of your fumbling are too small for its sensor to detect; In that case it will 'leave you in the dark' (pun intended) at the moment you need it the most.

This is actually the reason why motion detector controller lighting isn't a good idea for all rooms. Most of the time you're sitting nearly motionless, watching TV, browsing the web, etc. I used to work for a company specialised in (home/office/..) automation. We had developed such a system, but we got sick and tired of waving every half an hour, when the illumination shut down.

Nice lamp though to upgrade the fixture at the front and back doors or your house.

Post by **Niknik** » Thu Jan 10, 2008 5:49 pm

Exactly, sometime it's better to keep things simple.
In my case, after much "deliberation" and trying to use systems to try and "automagically" detect whether I wanted a lamp on or off - I just use the motion sensors for the halls and corridors, where there's no likely reason to stand still for several minutes.

Even so, slowly dimming off the lights instead of "lights off" at the end of the motion detection period makes a much better solution for sensor based lighting - that way you can "wave around" when you notice the dimming light, instead of being flashed with full off, full on, light.

Post by **Lennart** » Thu Jan 10, 2008 10:04 pm

Ok, I've done some additional testing of the Megaman MM00730 and MM00851 dimmerable energy saving lightbulbs (CFLs), using a Xanura DAX10 dim actor (with soft start), as requested. Here are the results:

- Given a cold start, the dim level should be set to at least 40% for the light to quickly reach a stable light level. Behavior when set to 40% is: flickering for a split second, followed by a quick on. Higher dim levels: flickering for a split second, followed by a soft start to the selected dim level. Depending on the dim level this whole process takes 1 to 2 seconds. Lower dim levels: either no light at all (below 10%) or continuous flickering (10 - 30 %).

- Given a warm start, the dim level should be set to at least 30% for the light to quickly reach a stable light level. Other behavior is the same as above.

- Given the light being switched on and at a stable light level, either warm or cold, dimming can be set to 20% minimum. Lower dim levels lead to the light switching off altogether or an occasional flickering. Light intensity at 20% is quite low, so I would consider the 20% - 100% operational range to be quite effective.

- Switching off the light will always be a soft off, without any flickering.

- The short flickering when switching on is an artefact of the soft start feature of the module I'm using. Flickering is not present when I use an appliance module such as the Xanura SAX1.

- Behavior is similar for both models that I tested; no (major) differences.

In short: the Megaman dimmerable CFLs work well with Xanura dimming modules and they are fast. However: when switching on, you need a dimming level of at least 40% and you will notice flickering for a split second due to the soft start feature.

I hope this helps.

Lennart

Post by **Lennart** » Thu Jan 10, 2008 10:06 pm

Oh, and one more thing:

I tried the dimmerable CFL in the Philips Wake-Up Light. Believe me, it was nog a pretty sight, given the very slow soft start of the Wake-Up Light

.

Lennart

Post by **Niknik** » Thu Jan 10, 2008 11:51 pm

Thanks for all the info. I'll be bugging you soon on account of the Megaman lamps.

I don't know if CFL's will ever be able to do a full soft on cycle, as they require more startup-energy, which is probably not available at those low dim levels - however, we're still just starting to see these advances, who knows what the future will bring?

Post by **Lennart** » Fri Jan 11, 2008 5:29 pm

Hi Niknik,

You're welcome. As a matter of fact: I'm about to order some stuff from the electrotechnical wholesale company myself, so if you've decided what to get, please contact me by e-mail.

Lennart