CFL bulbs - 12V AC vs. 12V DC

Scott Anderson
2 Posts
Dec 30, 2007 10:15 am
CFL bulbs - 12V AC vs. 12V DC

Does anyone know the impact of using 12V DC compact fluorescent bulbs in a 12V AC system (i.e. using the output from a typical low voltage lighting transformer)?  I know that most bulbs (mine in question are made by Phocos and available at this store) have 12V DC polarity specific fixture installation requirements.  Last night I installed an 11 watt Phocos 12V DC CFL bulb into one of my 12V AC lighting fixtures and it lit/worked just fine.  However, does this reduce the life or in any way damage the CFL bulb?

 
 
John Tyson
6 Posts
Jan 1, 2008 03:20 pm
Re: CFL bulbs - 12V AC vs. 12V DC

Gosh, if you have 12 Vdc why not try those 12 Vdc LED bulbs.  I have some here I am experimenting with and they use lots less power than compact florescent units.  Mine have 32 or 36 LEDs in each screw in bulb unit. If you want to run them from ac then ac LED units are available too.
 
 
Scott Anderson
2 Posts
Jan 3, 2008 06:35 am
Re: CFL bulbs - 12V AC vs. 12V DC

Agreed, the 12V LEDs on the market are generally both DC and AC compatable.  The problem is that the brightest 12V LED bulb I could find (that was not a spot/flood light style) generated only about 150 lumens.  If I need something in the 300+ lumens range, the only alternative appears to be incandescent or CFL.  Since CFLs only appear to be 12V DC (not AC), looks like incandescent is the only option.

Do you know of any 12V AC/DC LED globe-type bulbs (again not a flood or spot light type) that generate that many lumens?
 
 

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