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This is a normal post
I hope they're a lot better than the Philips' dimmable LEDs I can buy in my local Tesco. I bought one to replace a halogen bulb that had gone, but it just didn't work. It kept flicking off and on every few minutes.
 (I helped save b3ta! evil_andy Stick stick stick stick sticky sticky stick stick, Mon 25 Jan 2021, 17:21, , Reply)
This is a normal post If it is in an enclosed fitting, it might be getting too warm.

(I helped save b3ta! FeralCatMan Unusual disease collector., Mon 25 Jan 2021, 18:05, , Reply)
This is a normal post
It won't be the heat. It was replacing a halogen, which got much hotter. This was barely warm when I took it out.
 (I helped save b3ta! evil_andy Stick stick stick stick sticky sticky stick stick, Mon 25 Jan 2021, 19:39, , Reply)
This is a normal post It doesn't need to get as hot as a halogen to damage cheap electronics.

(I helped save b3ta! FeralCatMan Unusual disease collector., Mon 25 Jan 2021, 20:35, , Reply)
This is a normal post Not all dimmers are compatible with LEDs.
I tried to replace all the CF bulbs in the living room with LEDs and ended up having to buy a new dimmer switch too.
 (I helped save b3ta! wheresthefish Partly filled with wrong, Mon 25 Jan 2021, 18:49, , Reply)
This is a normal post Same here.
Trailing edge dimmers FTW.
 (Ning Has taken out flounce insurance., Mon 25 Jan 2021, 19:02, , Reply)
This is a normal post
So in order to save... what? £10 of electricity, I have to throw out and replace a perfectly good dimmer switch? Per room?

Seems a bit wasteful.
 (I helped save b3ta! evil_andy Stick stick stick stick sticky sticky stick stick, Mon 25 Jan 2021, 19:45, , Reply)
This is a normal post How many tonnes of coal is it worth burning to keep your dimmer switches?

(I helped save b3ta! brb pussy in bio, Mon 25 Jan 2021, 20:10, , Reply)
This is a normal post
How many tonnes of coal does it take to make a dimmer switch to replace one that I'm being forced to throw out long before the end of it's lifespan?
 (I helped save b3ta! evil_andy Stick stick stick stick sticky sticky stick stick, Mon 25 Jan 2021, 20:28, , Reply)
This is a normal post it's a bit like how people tend to gloss over that manufacturing just the battery for an electric car releases 18 tonnes of CO2
or basically 5 years emissions of a driving a normal petrol sedan
 (I helped save b3ta! cumquat may will not be commenting further on the allegations, Wed 27 Jan 2021, 3:33, , Reply)
This is a normal post Several years ago now,
but I had one “friend” on Facebook proudly saying they had driven an electric car all the way from Sussex to Scotland.

At that time the energy mix of the UK generation capacity was approximately 40% coal. Which I reckon got them as far as Nottingham.
 (I helped save b3ta! wheresthefish Partly filled with wrong, Wed 27 Jan 2021, 7:07, , Reply)
This is a normal post Your figure is a bit high there, chuppy
The quickest of Googling shows that you're wrong about the CO2 by about 30% and you've more than doubled the time taken to balance the CO2 cost of the WHOLE car compared to a petrol-burner.
 (Papagato RackSpanner, Wed 27 Jan 2021, 10:51, , Reply)
This is a normal post I don't think my housemate/landlord has yet realised that his plan to replace all of the house's lamps with 'smart' bulbs is going to cost him more than just buying replacement lamps
since the existing mains dimmer switches won't work with them and normal light switches don't really work well with them either (since you need to leave the power to the lamps turned on in order to remotely control them). Not particularly smart, in my opinion...
 (I helped save b3ta! Happosai _,,,,_(O ; o)_,,,, Mon 25 Jan 2021, 22:41, , Reply)
This is a normal post
I have a few wifi smart bulbs - look good to begin with, then once the novelty wears off, they're pretty boring.

I wouldn't want to make all my lights dependent on a single point of failure eg wifi hub or zigbee bridge - I can see that ending in some loud sweary words at some point
 (razzle, Tue 26 Jan 2021, 10:50, , Reply)
This is a normal post Not everything needs to be smart
Light-bulbs being a case in point.
 (smellysamlyingcable Seaman on, Wed 27 Jan 2021, 8:46, , Reply)
This is a normal post
Remember when you didn't have to worry if something as basic as a lightbulb was compatible with something as basic as a switch?
 (I helped save b3ta! evil_andy Stick stick stick stick sticky sticky stick stick, Mon 25 Jan 2021, 19:41, , Reply)
This is a normal post I wasn’t impressed either.
Don’t even get me started on the dimmable bedside lights I have. Bought a replacement LED bulb for one of those only to have it flicker horribly in anything other than fully on.
Rather than replace two rather nice lamps ahead of time I bought a crap load of spare halogens on Amazon.
 (I helped save b3ta! wheresthefish Partly filled with wrong, Mon 25 Jan 2021, 19:52, , Reply)
This is a normal post A dimmer isn't just a switch, LEDs work fine with on/off switches.

(I helped save b3ta! FeralCatMan Unusual disease collector., Mon 25 Jan 2021, 20:08, , Reply)
This is a normal post
I don't have on/off switches.
 (I helped save b3ta! evil_andy Stick stick stick stick sticky sticky stick stick, Mon 25 Jan 2021, 20:31, , Reply)
This is a normal post A dimmer is a potentiometer/variable resistor, not just a switch.
And a diode is not a bulb.
 (I helped save b3ta! brb pussy in bio, Mon 25 Jan 2021, 20:14, , Reply)
This is a normal post
Well spotted. Have a gold star.


(I helped save b3ta! evil_andy Stick stick stick stick sticky sticky stick stick, Mon 25 Jan 2021, 20:33, , Reply)
This is a normal post I don’t have anything to add but I really want a star.

(I helped save b3ta! mofaha ┐( ˘_˘)┌ ʅ(́◡◝)ʃ, Tue 26 Jan 2021, 17:45, , Reply)
This is a normal post Nah,
domestic mains lighting dimmers change the shape of the waveform to reduce the overall power in each AC cycle and can only be used with lamps that work with a non-sinusoidal AC supply (hence the need for dimmable LED lamps, and even then some are fussy about the waveform).

Resistive dimmers are too bulky, inefficient and get too hot to be practical in domestic lighting.
 (I helped save b3ta! Happosai _,,,,_(O ; o)_,,,, Mon 25 Jan 2021, 20:49, , Reply)
This is a normal post I once had a 'haunted' fluorescent bulb.
It started lighting intermittently (~1s) when switched off.
 (I helped save b3ta! FeralCatMan Unusual disease collector., Mon 25 Jan 2021, 21:02, , Reply)
This is a normal post Fluorescent lamps are powered via a 'ballast' circuit to limit the current supply.
They may contain capacitors which could store sufficient charge to power the lamp for a short duration after the supply voltage has been removed.
 (I helped save b3ta! Happosai _,,,,_(O ; o)_,,,, Mon 25 Jan 2021, 22:31, , Reply)
This is a normal post I'd thought of a capacitor, but it did it repeatedly.
My guess was some sort of current leakage allowing it to recharge. It died a few weeks after.
 (I helped save b3ta! FeralCatMan Unusual disease collector., Mon 25 Jan 2021, 23:54, , Reply)
This is a normal post Yeah, sounds like dodgy wiring
or your microwave oven was seriously leaking radiation!
 (I helped save b3ta! Happosai _,,,,_(O ; o)_,,,, Tue 26 Jan 2021, 0:40, , Reply)
This is a normal post https://b3ta.com/links/1559267
But I hate them buzzy dimmers.
 (I helped save b3ta! brb pussy in bio, Mon 25 Jan 2021, 21:36, , Reply)
This is a normal post
Well DUH
 (MC Chicken Sandwich Me gusta ver la pornografía de los milfs., Mon 25 Jan 2021, 20:55, , Reply)
This is a normal post There is a pot in there, but it’s a triac that does the dimming.
It does this by turning the power on and off around 100Hz.

Most LED drivers don’t react well to this.
 (I helped save b3ta! jonbob loves you, Mon 25 Jan 2021, 20:56, , Reply)
This is a normal post Physically, the knob is a switch-pot. What happens beyond that is arcane magic.
I'm fine to mod your battery operated synth but don't let me rewire your house.
 (I helped save b3ta! brb pussy in bio, Mon 25 Jan 2021, 21:39, , Reply)
This is a normal post
is it a low power bulb?? the transformer that powers the halogen lamp has a minimum power output!

so by replacing the power hungry bulb with a LED bulb can cause the transformer to misbehave and flash
 (razzle, Mon 25 Jan 2021, 21:08, , Reply)
This is a normal post
Nope, a bog-standard ceiling fitting. Designed for incandescent bulbs, fitted with the low-power halogen replacements. Now it seems the move to LED was a step too far.
 (I helped save b3ta! evil_andy Stick stick stick stick sticky sticky stick stick, Tue 26 Jan 2021, 0:23, , Reply)
This is a normal post Not a halogen transformer issue (as that would mean low voltage lighting which would require special replacement LED lamps)
but likely an older leading edge type dimmer that similarly has a minimum load requirement that the replacement LED lamp isn't providing.
 (I helped save b3ta! Happosai _,,,,_(O ; o)_,,,, Tue 26 Jan 2021, 1:06, , Reply)
This is a normal post I'm genuinely impressed by the level of passion and knowledge about light bulbs
and dimmers round here.
 (I helped save b3ta! fred zeppelin II: Electric Boogaloo, Tue 26 Jan 2021, 11:41, , Reply)
This is a normal post It’s an excellent example of systems integration.
Two items, both fully compliant with all relevant standards, turn out to be fundamentally incompatible in a way that is only identified during integrated testing.

This is why SLS is utterly fucked.
 (I helped save b3ta! wheresthefish Partly filled with wrong, Tue 26 Jan 2021, 14:20, , Reply)
This is a normal post "looks at mustard and chocolate experiment"
Integrated testing is needed you say?
 (smellysamlyingcable Seaman on, Wed 27 Jan 2021, 8:44, , Reply)
This is a normal post B3ta was originally a light bulb fan site called 'switch hitters', Rob purchased it from the owner in a mistaken attempt to enter another type of site market.
Realising the joke was on him he decided to try humour instead.
 (Mehitabel_Itrang, Tue 26 Jan 2021, 16:00, , Reply)
This is a normal post 'witch shitters' I don't get it.

(I helped save b3ta! FeralCatMan Unusual disease collector., Tue 26 Jan 2021, 16:58, , Reply)