Modern T5's that usually run on electronic ballasts definitely can. I can't say for sure which others do.
However the dimming ballast must have an unswitched live connection as well as the dimming signal from the switch (there's several different signalling formats, and dimming ballasts usually support multiple standards).
You could go with LEDs, using R G and B dice rather than whites. Add a 3 kn= ob colour control and you can have any colour or tint of white you like any= time.
All fluoros can be dimmed, its just beyond the ability of basic non-dim bal= lasts to do it without causing problems. If you dim a tube by more than abo= ut 20%, a little added power needs to be fed to the filaments to maintain t= heir emission and avoid premature failure.
NT
My Osrams use a simple pot for dimming.
On Sunday 13 January 2013 14:55 The Natural Philosopher wrote in uk.d-i-y:
Yes - university lecture rooms have had dimmable tubes IME - York, 1986 and more recently Imperial.
Not common in the home though.
OK. I could interrupt the circuit, fit the transformer and wire the lamps to the rest of the loop.
I'll have a look at the displays. They look an expensive solution from the catalogues.
Hi there thanks all for useful discussion. I have been also looking for some satisfactory information regarding this which I have already got from here!
Certainly not cheap, but worth it IMO for the instant-on response, unlike the CFL flicker and slow warm-up. Shopping around can get prices down. I have been using Peritus LEDs. I bough these from a supplier listed as being in Hull, but I suspect that they are an asian supplier with a shipper in Hull.
The MR16 21SMD bulbs cost me 5.99 each, GU10s about the same, R50s about £5. All for SMD 3.5W bulbs.
My school hall had dimming fluorescents in the '50s. Massive great rack of equipment - almost as large as the dimmers for the stage lighting. Seemed to me at the time a strange thing to spend so much money on.
So was I when I read the subject line.
I don't know about the larger fluorescents, but I bought T4 size ones to do a similar job to yours, Tim, and am looking to replace as they have a short life and are therefore uneconomic. I've replaced one light with 10w 12v halogens from Ikea but the holders were a real pain to fit.
Three of the ceiling (low) downlighter bulbs have been replaced with LED's with approval !
Rob
Oh well! I'm always slightly in front of the curve... I was too early to go for a pressurised hot tank in our flat, too early to fit a heat bank for our farmhouse conversion and now LEDs are not quite ready for what seems an ideal application.
I expect I'll end up fitting 8W and 16W fluorescents. Our main kitchen has a raft of recessed circular twin fluorescents which have never really given enough light. I think the wiring is daisy chained so might lend itself to a future LED conversion. I have resisted halogens on lamp life and appearance grounds.
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