Someone asked me and I don't know. Do they dim quantised
or continuous, eg 1/2, 1/4, 1/8 with an existing lamp dimmer
control, do they flicker on lower settings? What colour do they
emit at (if possible) 10 percent of full rating? At 10 percent is
overall power consumption more than an incandescent at 10
percent? Comfortable pinkish /orange at that level for a
conventional bulb 100W run at 10W or so.
You sure ask a lot of questions for someone from Jersey.
Several years ago I bought a GE dimmable CFL, which I never installed.
(Still sitting there.)
What do you mean by a "conventional" dimmer" -- a rheostat? Once you get
below a certain voltage, the lamp will shut off, whether or not it "dims".
The common type of dimmer in the US uses PWM. The Scottish-invented X10 is
the best example of this design. The X10 has 255 levels, but the GE dimmable
CFL works with only the first top 10 or so. The light gets dimmer, then goes
out abruptly. You don't have the range available with incandescent lamps.
I don't remember the color changing at all. It's controlled by the laws of
quantum mechanics, not the line voltage, so it shouldn't change. I don't
remember it flickering, either.
As for power savings... You can't meaningfully compare tungsten lamps
running at x% with fluorescent lamps running at x%.Tungsten lamps get less
efficient (that is, the percentage of electricity they convert into
/visible/ light drops) as the voltage drops. If you "always" dim a
particular incandescent light, you should replace it with a smaller lamp you
don't need to dim. This will use less electricity.
(If this isn't clear... A 100W bulb running at 50W produces less light than
a 50W bulb.)
By the way, tungsten-halogen lamps should not be dimmed "just a bit". If the
filament runs at a temperature slightly below the point at which the halgoen
reaction starts, the bulb will burn out prematurely. (I've seen this.)
Halogen bulbs should be dimmed "substantially".