Hey folks… I’m looking for your recommendations for the best DUMB lightbulbs to be used in combination with smart dimmers. I want good bulbs with decent CRI, probably high lumens because they’re on dimmers so why not, and they should dim really well down to very low levels with no flicker, etc.
Thanks for your thoughts. I’m US based, but since this is a global community feel free to add other good choices globally, I’ve looked and not found too much on this topic.
I am afraid you want something impossible.
Traditional dimmer for incandescent lightbulbs – a device that controls voltage. Incandescent lightbulbs can operate with decreased voltage, they just use less current and produce less light. This dimmer is not suitable for LED lightbulbs.
Smart dimmer – I’ve seen smart ”dimmers“ are typically just remote controls that tell some device to increase/decrease brightness. They don’t dim on their own. I can’t see how they operate with a dumb lightbulbs.
dumb LED lightbulb – a standard lightbulb screw + power supply (converts input AC voltage to a lower voltage DC) + set of LEDs that use the lower voltage + enclosure.
LED dimming – typically uses PWM, which means the LED essentially blink. By changing duty cycle, the LED appears to light more or less. This means the LED lightbulbs aren’t flicker-free, but some blink of pretty high frequencies (my lights blink on 1000 Hz and 586 Hz), which is acceptable for me. While I don’t like the fact it flickers, I find those frequencies acceptable. They are definitely much better than some cheap (non-dimmable) lights that flickers at double of the input frequency (100Hz flicker in my case) due to poor power supply.
While is is probably possible to dim LEDs by adjusting the voltage, you get much lower efficiency at lower brightness. You also could theoretically decrease brightness by turning some LEDs off. I haven’t seen such device designed for this, though.
Also, if you want to buy a lightbulb abroad, be aware of the voltage. On Europe, we typically use 230 V 50 Hz. In USA, you probably have 120 V 60 Hz. Some devices can work with both voltages and frequencies, but you should check it first.
The world of new bulbs seems to grow daily, so it is very hard to get to a solution without buying and testing a bunch of bulbs in your exact environment. With my Lutron Caseta dimmers, I started with this Lutron database. I am not sure if they are keeping it current or not:
https://www.lutron.com/en-US/Pages/LEDCompatibilityTool/Compatibility.aspx
I have moved to thinking have intelligent bulbs controlled by software rather than a dumb bulb with a smart dimmer in line is a better direction. However, cost and configuration requirements need to be factored into the ‘answer’. Good hunting and hoping your ‘bottom drawer’ of rejected tries stays small 
Interesting, I’m not even sure how to respond to this. There are plenty of LED bulbs in an A19 shape with an E26 base (the most common lightbulb form factor for home use). Lot’s of them don’t dim particularly well but plenty are marketed as dimmable LEDs. Perhaps they don’t dim well due to the problem of having to dim based on adjusting the voltage as you say. Still, it doesn’t seem impossible. Here’s two I was considering so far which seemed to get mostly good reviews:
Thanks for your thoughts and I’d missed that LED Compatibility Tool you provided, which will be helpful for my scenario… Yeah there are way too many to chose from, and actually that tool provides too many options still, but I’ll spend some time with it and see if it points me at some options that are corroborated with reviews on other sites. Neither of the two I had on my short list so far showed up in the results of that tool.
I didn’t specify the dimmers I’m using before in the original post but I guess I will because it does seem like the combination of dimmer and bulb makes a difference… and therefore it would be nice to hear if anyone has a real preference and personal experience.
I’ve got a few ELV-dimmed LED fixtures and a few tricky situations where those ELV fixtures are on the same circuit as some can lights which will take an A19/E26 bulb. In those cases I’m sing Lutron RRD-PRO-WH dimmers (super expensive). In other cases where it’s MLV or just fixture with a replaceable bulb I’m using Lutron RRD-6ND-WH (still expensive). Both are part of a Radio RA2 “Inclusive” system that I have full access to program myself. I honestly don’t love it, and there are a few cases where I may end up using something like an Inovelli Red Z-Wave dimmer with the internal relayto have a wall switch but also have color control of the smart bulb (like in the can just outside my office, red light=“on a call”).
I forgot to also point you to the Lutron user forum, link below. Again, since I have stepped away from the Caseta world, I am not sure how current this keeping. That said, I found a number of end user experiences with various bulbs and Lutron products. Also, below, I had some good luck with this Great Eagle brand of bulbs and Lutron. Some of the high power bulbs made some noise, but part of trade offs. Longevity of the various bulbs is another under told story of some LED bulbs, so if you find something that works, buy extras, because ‘they will be gone’ by the next time you need them. And you end up with a whole replacement again to get colors and functions match if you have multiple bulbs.
https://forums.lutron.com/forumdisplay.php/82-Caseta-Wireless
I had a long journey finding the right bulbs and setteled for IKEA. They are cheap and dim low without flickering.