Incandescent standard light bulbs are a thing of the past here in California and I used my last one over the holidays. If I put one of the flourescent bulbs in a dimmer controlled fixture it flashes at me in the off position.

Is there anything I can do to keep my current control system and dimmers? It's Starlight by CentraLite. Up until California meddled with my light bulb choices, it worked perfectly--easy programming and never crashed.

If not, what do I need to do to maintain lighting control?

Dimmable flourescent. Dimmable LED.



If you're talking about "tubes", then it's going to be crazy expensive.

There are updated halogen bulbs out there that use reduced power to meet the new regs and are fully dimmable. Sylvania has a line called Supersaver, but I am sure there are others as well.

Not sure how strict CA is but there are Halogen bulbs that meet the new national restrictions and are dimmable. Otherwise you could order a bunch of incandescents from Amazon to have around for the next few years.

Order Incandescent bulbs online.

this is the dumbest thing, i cannot stand the look of florescent and LED's are just too expensive.

I literly stocked up on 100w/75w bulbs to last me at least 5-6 years. (HD/Lowes) were clearing them out at rediculously low prices.

Stupid environmentalist. It is going to be a crazy expensive overhall for the ones that jump ship imediatly that have extensive lighting control systems until they can perfect the dim able LED's/fluorescent.

The government at its finest.

They are getting less expensive every day. Currently they are less expensive when you take into account how long they will last.


The law was passed under Bush, not known as much of an environmentalist.


I guess you would rather have the rolling brown-outs that are starting to become the norm accross the country

Bush passed a California lightbulb law?

The CEC (California Energy Commision) is always out ahead of the nation on forcing green technology. Efficient refrigerators was a smashing success for consumers--same cost, same performance and way less electricity. The ban on high power televisions hasn't been particularly rocky either as LCD/LED TV prices have fallen precipitously. In contrast, I'm not sure the ban on incandescent lighting was ready for prime time. I'm being asked to replace about $80 worth of incandescents with over $1000 worth of off brand or over $2000 worth of name brand alternatives.

I know, you get it back eventually in power savings but in my first two examples there was little to no premium paid to enjoy lower energy costs.

Compared with Gore's personal energy habits, Bush is pretty damn green.

Let's face it- using less energy will only use less fuel- it will never save money for the users. It costs a certain amount to run an energy company in a way that they make their profits and pay the shareholders. If we use less, that cost won't change much- they won't get the high volume discounts of fuel and the cost/unit of energy will increase accordingly.

Time to get off the grid, people!

There is a small amount of amperage that goes through the dimmer even when off. This is normally used up by an incandescent but it is not enough to show any light. With CFL, the small amount is enough to charge the ballast and flash some light every few seconds. If you get a small 120V bulb and socket, like C9 size, wire it in with the load circuit, it will absorb the extra current and eliminate the flash. I have never done this on starlight but have done it on other systems that had dimmers on flourescent fixtures that were programmed for instant on/off but suffered from the issue you are describing. Depending on the fixture, you may be able to hide it in the fixture or in the jbox behind the fixture.

The 72 watt Halogens are not expensive and are as bright as old 100 watt incandescents, I think I paid about $1 each for Philips ecovantage bulbs.