LED Lights in Dimmer Sockets

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Incindre

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#169789 25-Mar-2015 18:50

So I just moved to a new apartment and am going through and replacing all the lights with LED's for those sweet sweet savings.

I've replaced the 100W incandescent bulbs from the identical dimmer units in all 4 bedrooms with 18W Philips Master LEDbulb MV designed for dimming.

Everything works perfectly and as expected in my room... but in the other rooms using the dimmer control panel results in issues:
Reasonably smooth dimming for the first quarter of the turn, then the brightness stays the same for a period before jumping down in two large steps before going out completely.
When this happens, simply turning the dimmer switch back to its full position does not reactivate the light, and the switch needs to be turned off and on again.

I can confirm that the dimmers work perfectly fine with incandescent bulbs, and I've no issues with the set-up in my own room (and yes, I have switched all the bulbs round to confirm that the problem is not with the bulbs).

Would any of you electrically minded people know why one unit is fine, and the other three units all display near identical bad behaviour?

gregmcc

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#1267844 25-Mar-2015 19:12

the LED lamp is preforming as expected, unless you purchase dimmable LED lamps with the correct dimmer (there are several different types) you can't use standard LED bulbs on a dimmer

reven

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#1267846 25-Mar-2015 19:15

i havent found any LEDs to even the energy efficient bulbs that work with my dimmable lights, most the leds stay on all the time, some will turn on/off, one is just super dim always.

Niel

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#1267903 25-Mar-2015 20:55

With dimmers you get leading edge and training edge controllers. You need training edge while most are leading edge (easier/cheaper to make). I have not done LED dimming myself, but apparently even with the correct dimmer it might not be as smooth as you are used to with incandescence.

You can never have enough Volvos!

Fred99

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#1268170 26-Mar-2015 10:06

Niel: With dimmers you get leading edge and training edge controllers. You need training edge while most are leading edge (easier/cheaper to make). I have not done LED dimming myself, but apparently even with the correct dimmer it might not be as smooth as you are used to with incandescence.

This document gives some insight into what looks like a complete mess to me:
http://www.lighting.philips.com/pwc_li/us_en/connect/tools_literature/downloads/2014-03-5-Dimming-Compatibility-List-Mains-Voltage-Lamps.pdf

A compatibility chart of 110V dimmers available in the US, some leading edge, some trailing edge. Some dimmers work with some dimmable bulbs (from one maker - Philips in this chart) - not others, the type of driver used by the LED light maker varies between bulb type.
Presumably the situation is the same here - but I haven't seen a compatibility chart/database. Lighting retailers don't seem to be able to offer an answer - from my experience.

Philips sell wall dimmers in the US - designed for LED. "Sunrise SR150LED120". Price is about US$45. Google doesn't find me a 230V version. They also make wifi-controllable lamps, with RGB&W LED, feature of which is that colour temperature can be varied - an incandescent light colour temperature will get warmer when it's dimmed - which is desirable for home "mood" lighting but probably not for commercial applications, RGB&W LEDs can be made to mimic this (& more).
I've given up for now with the dimmer and ceiling pendants in our lounge - I'll stick with 90mm halogen globes until something new comes onto the market which I know will work, otherwise I'll spend a fortune buying stuff to try out almost randomly.

wellygary

8345 posts

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#1268195 26-Mar-2015 10:25

Niel: With dimmers you get leading edge and training edge controllers. You need training edge while most are leading edge (easier/cheaper to make). I have not done LED dimming myself, but apparently even with the correct dimmer it might not be as smooth as you are used to with incandescence.

And that would be "trailing" edge, not "training" edge, :),