Re: VU1 ESL bulbs with HA dimmers?

[Marc_F_Hult <MFHult@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

On Thu, 17 Sep 2009 15:36:29 -0700 (PDT), unfrostedpoptart
<david@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
<d8a1f691-bef0-4d34-9671-9e89e09234d4@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>:

>I've just been reading about VU1's new ESL bulb technology (http://
>www.vu1.com).  Looks really good and seems to address a lot of the
>problems of CFL and LED. They specifically talk about (and show) that
>it dims smoothly on normal dimmers.

All the CFL and LED lamps that we use that are designed to dim do so
"smoothly". Is 'non-smooth ' dimming something you've personally experienced,
or something that you've read/heard about? My own experiences with
'non-smooth dimming' is limited to the infamous 'full-on before dim'
characteristic of X-10 ( eg WS-467) dimmers.

If what you mean is that incandescent lamps not only have a greater _range_
in actual light output (lumens) than CFLs and LEDs, but also change color
temperature in a familiar and often desirable way when dimmed, then the
not-yet-available ESL lamp from VU1 will not satisfy your need either (but
new generation RGBx LEDs with new control mechanisms such as DMX might).

>I was wondering if anyone knows
>how they would work with X10/Insteon/etc electronic dimmers and the
>infamous local-control problems.

If by "local-control problems" you are asking whether they will work without
a neutral conductor as the X10 WS-467 does, I wouldn't hold my breath --
partly because the consumer demand for a lamp that provides the required
trickle circuit is miniscule.  While we still used WS-467's the air-gap
switch that was required by the use of the trickle current, those X$%#
switches were the single most frequent source of Home Automation 'failure'
because an unsuspecting elder or visitor or non-geek would move the air-gap
switch and so 'break' the light. Set WAF back a decade.

>I've given up on adding any more HA gear until there's a good,
>inexpensive, high-efficiency, light bulb available that I can actually
>dim!

I am generally pleased with the "good,inexpensive, high-efficiency, light
bulb [s] ... that I can actually dim" that we currently use. (Another example
not previously mentioned in this news group was replacing the
INSTEON-controlled MR16 halogen in my bed reading lamp with an MR-16 LED.)

... Marc
Marc_F_Hult
www.ECOntrol.org