We’ve had a love/hate relationship with CFL bulbs since their introduction. One of our major concerns is their performance in dimming applications. I’ve been testing dimmable CFLs in my home for a couple months, and the results have not been great. Major problems? Flicker, and a very small dimmable range – its either full gas or barely any light – the dimmable range in between is almost non-existent.
Enter Leviton with their new Decora CFL Slide Dimmer, launched at this year’s International Builder Show. In their press release they claim “In auto mode, the dimmer detects whether the bulb is an incandescent or a dimmable CFL, determines high- and low-end dimming capabilities and adjusts the dimming range accordingly. This is an important feature, as dimming varies by bulb manufacturer, type and rating.”
They became available at Home Depot last month, so we are going to install a couple and test them. We’ll report back soon. If you are doing a green remodel on your home, and are planning to install CFLs, you might want to consider these dimmers.