Flickering lights with newly installed dimmer

Standard Toaster · 06-01-2013 6:54pm #1

Hi,

I recently got a chandelier with x5 candle energy saving BC 9w bulbs. All fine so far.
It's a wee bit bright with the 5 lit so today I fitted a 250w dimmer switch. When fully powered it's fine but when I dim the lights they flicker like mad.

Is it the bulbs or would I be missing anything else? Any ideas? Homebase website doesn't say anything about the bulbs being dimmer compatible or not.

Zimmerframe · 06-01-2013 7:01pm

Standard Toaster wrote: »

Is it the bulbs

Yes.

slimjimmc · 06-01-2013 7:29pm

Most compact CFLs are not dimmable, causing the flicker effect. You might also need to change the dimmer switch.

See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Compact_fluorescent_lamp and scroll down to the section on dimming.

Standard Toaster · 06-01-2013 7:45pm

slimjimmc wrote: »

Most compact CFLs are not dimmable, causing the flicker effect. You might also need to change the dimmer switch.

See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Compact_fluorescent_lamp and scroll down to the section on dimming.

Thanks for the helpful answer slimjimmc, will probably pickup some cheap non-cfls during the week. Cheers.

Flickering lights with newly installed dimmer

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