Smooth Linear Dimming with Tremendous Energy Savings
MEGAMAN® has invented the world's first linear dimming CFL that is operable on conventional dimmer switches, and allows you to choose between full output or atmospheric lighting. The DIMMERABLE® lamps work perfectly on compatible incandescent dimmers or electronic scene setters with absolutely no additional control wiring and transformers needed.
Note: Dimmerable® Lamps operate differently to standard incandescent lamps and cannot be replaced one for one on a lighting circuit. Please see the instructions below to work out the loadings. Megaman® will not be responsible for installations completed where the loadings are ignored. The best type of dimmers for our lamps are inductive dimmers. The lamps are not recommend for soft start, digital, slide or touch dimmers as these can have a high in-rush current.
Notes:
Dimmer range limiting potentiometers require setting during installation.
Dimmerable GU10 lamps will be affected by overheating / incompatible fittings in the same way non-dimming reflector lamps suffer.
Dimming controls with preset levels need to be configured when installing system.
If the lamp is used with non approved dimmers, and unusual lamp performance is experienced (i.e. early extinguishment or flashing), lamp life will be effected. Simply changing the dimmer will not recover previously damaged lamps.
Installations with excessive electrical disturbance, or non-standard supply features, may require additional measures in order to be to be 100% compatible with Dimmerable lamps.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q1. Are Dimmerable lamps the same as other Dimming lamps?
A1. No because we use Ingenium technology that is semi-conductor controlled our lamps
in tests are more responsive and copy linear dimming more precisely than others available.
Q2. How many lamps can I put on a dimmer?
A2. Dimmerable lamps have a capacitive load which is different to how incandescent or
halogen lamps work on dimmers therefore you work out how many you can use differently.
You have to divide the maximum rating of the dimmer by 6 to get the amount of CFL power
you can use.
Q3. What happens if I overload the dimmer?
A3. If you exceed the recommended amount of CFL lamps loading the lamps will not dim
properly and will just operate as normal lamps. You will not be able to dim them and may
risk long term damage to the electronic components.
Q4. What if I under load the dimmer?
A4. If you under load the dimmer (which is hard) as most dimmers only need one lamp to
work then you basically are not putting enough power in to strike the lamp so the dimming
wont work properly or it will look like it is non responsive.
Q5. What is linear dimming?
A5. Linear dimming is how Incandescent or Halogen lamps perform when on a dimmer. If
you take a 100W bulb and dim it to 10% - you will get 10% light output and the voltage or
load will be 10% of 240V i.e. 24V. This saves you energy and money.
Q6. Why are Megaman lamps different?
A6. Ours are Compact Fluorescent lamps and as such they are a discharge lamp, this
means they operate by means of an electrical arc down the lamp. If we dim to 10% the
voltage will not be enough to keep the electrical arc struck. In essence we are dimming the
light output only.
Q7. So do I not get any energy savings when I dim lamps?
A7. Yes you do but not the same as linear dimming incandescent lamps. When you dim
our GU10 to 10% light output the load is 50% less i.e. 6W so you do save energy but this is
the lowest we can go without the lamp going out.
Q8 Are the lamps affected by switching?
A8. No our Ingenium technology soft starts the lamps and they are fine for 600,000
switching cycle’s without affecting performance.
Q9. Can I mix different types of lamps i.e. Candles and GLS on the same dimmer?
A9. Yes you can the most important thing is to work out the max amount of CFL power
you can use and then you can have any combination or type of lamps up to that level.
Q10. What if I put one Incandescent lamp in the circuit what happens?
A10. In some instances having just one standard lamp in the circuit will not affect
performance, some customers want four spotlights and three are CFL and one is halogen so
there is instant light in a room on entry. This is fine.
Q11. Will any dimmer work your lamps?
A11. We have tested over 120 dimmer brands worldwide for compatibility and found that
the production and quality of dimmers varies considerably. Not all dimmers therefore are
compatible. We have a list of approved ones available and can email it if required.
Q12. What is the most common problem?
A12 Assuming you can take say 10 x 50W halogen lamps off the dimmer in your lounge
and simply replace them with low energy dimming ones, you have to make sure the loading
is ok or the lamps will not function as you wish.
Q13. How do I look after them for best performance?
A13. Follow the instructions carefully and you can help extend the life of the lamps by
running them on full power for 1 minute before you start to dim them. This allows the lamp to
warm up and you will see a more responsive dimming range.
Q14. If I start them at a dimming level of 50% will they work?
A14. Yes they will but the amalgam pellet will take longer to vaporize, this controls the
mercury arc and so the lamp will take a bit longer to warm up and give full responsiveness
but should not affect life.
Q15 Does temperature affect them?
A16 No the lamps are designed to operate within a normal ambient temperature range
found domestically.
Q16 Do they contain mercury?
A16 Yes the contain Mercury in the Amalgam form. Our lamps are liquid Mercury free so if
they are broken no gas can escape. Amalgam is used in Dentistry and other industries. Our
GSU lamp for example has 1.9mg of Mercury whilst a ball point pen has 2000mg so the
scale of risk is minute.
Q17 How is this controlled?
A17 The RoHS regulations govern how much Mercury can be used. Megaman lamps
have the lowest amount in the industry.
Q18 What are the safety requirements and test they have to pass?
A18 All electronic lamps have to pass EMC tests and the relevant BS EN safety awards.
We have a full set of EMC certificates that are available for inspection; this means the lamps
will not cause interference to other electrical appliances in the room i.e. the TV.
Q19 Do all the lamps in the range perform the same?
A19 The larger wattage lamps (18W) are the easiest to make for dimming, this is what
most of our competitors have introduced. In fact this is all they have introduced. We use T2
diameter glass in our candles and GU10’s and it has taken years of development to create
an Ingenium chip that performs to our satisfaction.
