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dimmer switch and LED lighting


Al B

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I'm about to replace two flourescent lights in my kitchen with  Soft White LED fixtures. While doing this, I plan to replace the ON/OFF switch with a dimmer switch. My question is, Can a dimmer switch designed for incadescent lighting be used for LED lighting ? My LED's are dimmable.

Edited by Ron Dudelston
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this came up before...

saved the link...

http://www.ledsmagazine.com/articles/print/volume-9/issue-6/features/understand-triac-dimmer-issues-to-ensure-compatibility-magazine.html

With old incandescents you are just reducing the voltage across the element but with LEDs you are lowering the voltage to the electronics which fire the LED. It's like low voltage to your TV or stereo is not good.  AIUI....

Edited by Stick486
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After reading the link, I guess my next question has to be, Has  a satisfactory dimmer  switch been developed to accomodate the LED's since 2012? Since the LED units indicate they are dimable  it would seem that dimmers have been developed.

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19 minutes ago, Chips N Dust said:

I just did a google search for dimmer switches for LED's and it appears that they do make them. Home Depot was the only site that I look at that. I am sure others places have them too.

WOW, At $100.00 for the dimmer, I guess I'll forget the dimmer for now. Plus the fact that a seperate 14-2 wire has to be run to the lighting fixtures from the switch.  According to some of the reviews by those who have installed this dimmer, certain other types dimmers will work .

Edited by It Was Al B
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1 hour ago, It Was Al B said:

WOW, At $100.00 for the dimmer, I guess I'll forget the dimmer for now. Plus the fact that a seperate 14-2 wire has to be run to the lighting fixtures from the switch.  According to some of the reviews by those who have installed this dimmer, certain other types dimmers will work .

I replaced a couple of dimmers to match my LED's that I put in and I bought a couple at Menards for like $15 each.  The key to an LED dimmer is that they have an adjustment screw on the side to tweak to take the flicker out of the light.  If you use a regular dimmer the flicker and it will drive you insane.

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It's really a PITA to figure this stuff out. Our house is loaded with dimmer switches, and I've already replaced quite a few with snap switches. I've found some lamps will work with the existing dimmers  (the newer models, like Sylvania "Ultra" series) where the older style lamps would not. the technology is evolving rapidly. That said, I love the LED lights....but it is like being on the "bleeding edge" at the moment.

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16 minutes ago, Fred W. Hargis, Jr said:

That said, I love the LED lights....but it is like being on the "bleeding edge" at the moment.

 

Fred, I just tried to send you a PM, but got a message saying you don't get them?

Anyhow, where are you using the LED's?  Do you have any in the ceiliing?

Cal

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  Al, try looking at an electrical supply house near you, maybe Roberts is nearby They might be able to match something up at a reasonable price. A lot of the new dimmers for LEDs require a second pair of wires for control. New construction requires a neutral at the switch box now, motion sensors need it.

 Manufacturers now make an MC cable that contains a hot, neutral, ground & a pair of low voltage wires for dimmer control within one jacket, not sure of pricing but if you have to fish a wire down the wall this might be a solution. 

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Cal, some others have a problem sending me messages as well. I thought John was looking into why (he was one who couldn't send me a message) but it appears to be a system problem, I have some messages I've received so I know they are turned on. Anyway, We have a ton of canned lights in this house and so far I've converted the most used ones to LEDs...these are the interior flood lights (BR 30). I've also converted one exterior floodlight to LED (man, those are really expensive). In our table lamps I've switched them all from CFLs to LEDs. For my shop I bought the tube type LED fixtures after I compared the light from them to some very expensive T5flourescent fixtures. In all cases it appears to my eyes there is more light, though the lumens calculation doesn't say so. In the case of the canned and table lights, the dimmers work as long as I buy the premium bulbs. Our basement had just plain old 100 watt incandescents screwed into those porcelain sockets fixtures. For those I bought the cheapest LED bulbs I could find (about $1 each at Blowes). The replacements were 60 watt equivalent and it still seems like there is more light.  At our ;last house I had converted the dining chandelier to all LED (those decorative flame tip candelabra base things) and the dimmer didn't work with them, I switched it a snap switch....I hope to do the same thing in this house once those bulbs become cheaper.

 

 

Edit in: I just tried to re check the PM settings and now I can't fond them...where is that switch?

Edited by Fred W. Hargis, Jr
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  • 4 weeks later...

LED dimmers at Home Depot cost $13.50 and up. They wire in just like any regular on/off switch. No extra wires required. You have 1 hot wire coming in and 1 hot wire going out plus ground. I built my house in 2005 with dimmers on almost every light. Canned lights throughout every room. I switched to dimmable CFL's when they came out. Paid a fortune for the new bulbs and they never dimmed very well. Then they came out with LED's and dimmers made just for CFL's and LED's. As I've replaced CFL's with LED's, I've been replacing the dimmers also. The ones I've bought cost $24 and can be used as a single or 3 way switch, since many of my switches are 3 way and I want all the switches to match whether they are 3 way or single pole. In a 3 way situation you only use 1 dimmer and 1 regular switch.

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  • 2 weeks later...

I've installed LED lighting in my bedrooms, den, living room, kitchen overhead lights and installed a new chandelier in my dining area. The den is on a conventional dimmer which works fine. I guess I can safely assume the dimmers will work  on the new chandelier  and all other lighting with the possible exception of the kitchen lights. Since these don't use conventional LED bulbs, I'm not sure what would happen with a dimmer. Since we are accustomed to the incadescent lighting I opted for the soft white bulbs and fixtures to maintain the  same color light. To me, the daylight color is brighter but has a cold look.

Edited by It Was Al B
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  • 1 month later...

Fuhgetaboutit

The led technology is not standardized.

The dimmer  technology is not made for led lighting it requires a real load.  So if you want to dim a series of LEDs using say a Leutron Dimmer you gotta have at least one incandescent bulb in the circuit.

What happens with LEDs is that they don't draw enough voltage to communicate effectively with the dimmer.  The result is that they flicker and won't actually shut off.

 

There are lists you can consult where people have matched dimmers and LED bulb manufacturers but it all seems a goose chase to me.

 

So if you want variable LED lighting use an old school Rheostat  ( aka Fire Hazard)  or install multiple LEDs  each series with it's own on / off switch to change the lighting amount.

 

I've learned that LEDs are lousy for any photography and they are lousy for medically necessary tissue examinations.

 

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