Your Universal Remote Control Center
RemoteCentral.com
Lighting & Home Control Forum - View Post
Previous section Next section Up level
Up level
The following page was printed from RemoteCentral.com:

Login:
Pass:
 
 

Topic:
Halogen Floor Lamps...
This thread has 4 replies. Displaying all posts.
Post 1 made on Wednesday January 19, 2005 at 14:39
DrJoe
Founding Member
Joined:
Posts:
January 2002
193
I've read some of the threads on halogen lamps, and have some questions.

Most of the threads maintain that it is best to leave the halogen bulbs fully on.

My 120V floor lamp seems to be of the type described in this article: ttp://x10ideas.com/articles/displayx10article.asp?articleid=8
i.e. the lamp is in three screw together pieces, and the switch is on the stem. The switch has three positions, off, low on, full on.

The fact that the lamp is designed to dim (albeit to a discrete level), seems to imply that this is not a HORRIBLE thing for the bulb. I have had several of these lights for years, and don't seem to replace the bulbs very often (once a year? once every two years?) -- seems the ceramic stems go bad due to heat load before the bulbs go bad. And I use the "low" setting on them regularly.

So the question is, what type of switch do you really need for these bulbs -- a standard incandescent 120V lamp plug in module? Is there REALLY any problem with dimmimg them? And do I really have to remove the switch as described in the article I linked above? If so, why? I would have thought it would be just as good to leave the switch on "bright". How does the dimmer switch in this type of halogen work?

Thanks,

Joe
Post 2 made on Wednesday January 19, 2005 at 18:40
Larry Fine
Loyal Member
Joined:
Posts:
August 2001
5,002
Joe, the issue is with 'cascading' dimmers. Just as with a ceiling fan being controlled by a wall-mounted or other speed controller, the light itself should be left on the 'high' setting at all times.

A halogen lamp is still an incandescent load; it's not that dimming is bad, it's using two dimmers. The kind you have, with only two settings, most likely uses a series diode for the 'low' setting.

Yes, simply leaving the lamp's switch on 'high' will suffice, in which case you can use any dimmer that is rated for the wattage. If you want to use the lamps control, use a non-dimming remote.
Post 3 made on Thursday January 20, 2005 at 07:40
automan1
Founding Member
Joined:
Posts:
April 2002
393
"A halogen lamp is still an incandescent load; it's not that dimming is bad,"

Dimming a halogen lamp, thus running it cooler, will prevent the halogen cycle from working properly, removing any benefit of using halogen bulbs.
OP | Post 4 made on Thursday January 20, 2005 at 10:10
DrJoe
Founding Member
Joined:
Posts:
January 2002
193
I've read about the halogen cycle, but I've also read that the cycle isn't interrupted unless the bulb drops below some critical temperature. The implication being that the "dim" position of the lamp switch is above that point. This would seem to imply that dimming the bulb between full on and some minimum amount should not affect bulb life. Is there any plug in module that will allow you to set a minimum dim position without a computer interface?

Thanks,

Joe
Post 5 made on Tuesday June 21, 2011 at 17:39
DAW
Lurking Member
Joined:
Posts:
August 2005
2
Well they do not contain mercury, so is easy to claim they are as friendly as CFLs.


Jump to


Protected Feature Before you can reply to a message...
You must first register for a Remote Central user account - it's fast and free! Or, if you already have an account, please login now.

Please read the following: Unsolicited commercial advertisements are absolutely not permitted on this forum. Other private buy & sell messages should be posted to our Marketplace. For information on how to advertise your service or product click here. Remote Central reserves the right to remove or modify any post that is deemed inappropriate.

Hosting Services by ipHouse