Lutron Bows Multi-Bulb Dimmer Technology For Incandescent Bulb Phase-Out

In advance of the federal government’s energy efficiency requirements that will result in a phase-out of incandescent light bulbs, starting with 100-watt bulbs in 2012 followed by 75-watt bulbs in 2013 and 60-watt bulbs in 2014, Lutron introduced a new in-wall dimmer that controls the four major residential light types. The dimmer works with halogen, compact fluorescent and LED bulbs, in addition to incandescents, said Michael Maholick, marketing director for Lutron’s Residential Products and Solutions group, who said the company is trying to “stay ahead of the market.”

Compact fluorescents, and newer LED bulbs, have been difficult to dim because they're not designed to common standards and “voltage fluctuations differ,” Maholick told us. Lutron claims its HED phase-adaptive dimming technology alleviates many of the issues that occurred in the past when trying to dim CFL and LED bulbs including: reduced dimming range, light “drop outs,” lights not turning on from low levels and lights turning off unexpectedly. The dimmers can operate a mixed load of light sources, such as halogen and LED, on the same circuit, Lutron said.

Lutron first announced the technology at CEDIA in its HomeWorks QS and RadioRA 2 high-end residential lighting control systems due to roll out next year (GED Sept 24 p1). The wall-mount and lamp dimmers will be available over the next two weeks in Lutron Diva and Credenza lines at home improvement stores, lighting showrooms, electrical distributors and direct from Lutron’s online store. Suggested retail prices are $39.75 for the in-wall dimmers and $15 for the Credenza lamp dimmers. Maholick said those prices are in line with its standard incandescent dimmer prices. The company said one dimmer can save consumers $50 a year in electrical bills.

The new dimmers are said to “reliably control the widest range of dimmable light sources” available in the market today, and Lutron has put in place a testing program to certify CFL and LED bulbs from various makers that are compatible with the dimmers. According to Maholick, new models are added regularly. As of Oct. 15, Lutron had tested and certified 85 bulbs from suppliers including Cree, Ecosmart, GE, Halo, Lighting Science, Philips, Sylvania and TCP as dimmable by the Credenza and Diva devices. The company has to get the dimmer UL-certified for each bulb listed on the website, Maholick said. Not all bulbs submitted for testing have made the list, he said, saying “quite a few don’t meet spec.” The list is published and updated monthly on the Lutron website, he said. The tests are based on protocols from the National Electrical Manufacturers Association (NEMA), he said.

With the popularity of LED lights growing quickly, Lutron felt the need to develop a dimming solution and educate consumers about the upcoming changes in residential lighting technology, Maholick said. He wouldn’t say how much Lutron has spent on the testing program, but it was a “significant investment.” Throughout the lighting chain, from light engineers to consumers, “People don’t know how to dim the new light sources,” he said. The company wants to “make it simple for consumers to future-proof their homes,” he said. Citing NEMA figures, Maholick said there are more than 150 million residential dimmers in use in the U.S. and LEDs are predicted to overtake the bulb market sometime between 2015 and 2020. No trade-in program for dimmers or bulbs is currently in place. Maholick said the company is looking at “programs like that.”