Lamp modules and low-energy bulbs
I've been doing some research and can't seem to find a definitive answer
Most countries, including the UK, have now banned the sale of incandescent light bulbs in favour of the low-energy kind. The X10 lamp modules, LM12, etc. all state, however, that these are the ONLY bulbs that can be used.
Is there any way of using or dimming a low energy bulb with these modules? I found this post which may suggest the use of certain dimmable bulbs may be possible:
http://www.avforums.com/forums/10086264-post18.html
Has anyone tried this or had any experience?
megaman 'dimmerable' bulbs
I've had some success with megaman gx53 9w 'dimmerable' bulbs, and the new-style X10-2 plug-in dimmers. I run 6 bulbs off one dimmer, which just about reach the minimum load. I know letsautomate recommend against this combination, but I've only had one bulb (out of 6) fail in the last year, and the dimmer appears to be fine. The dimming response curve isn't even slightly linear, half brightness seems to be at about 15%, but I'm sure that software could compensate for that.
Unfortunately, 9w bulbs aren't really bright enough for the room, so I'm now going to change them over to 13w non-dimmerable bulbs. I'm going to use 3 on/off channels of 2 bulbs each, then the software will turn them on and off individually to achieve the commanded brightness level.