PDL 600 series and dimmers with LED lights

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mattwnz

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#233706 29-Apr-2018 01:12

Has anyone had PDL 600 series light switches installed in their house recently? If anyone has, how have you found the dimmers work with the dimmable LED lights? Or can you retrofit other manufacturers dimmer modules in them? I like the look of this switch as I can put a stainless plate on it, and have black plastic switches, and it is a well know long standing brand.

Thanks

Benoire

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#2004386 29-Apr-2018 08:13

I've got PDL dimmes and LEDs, they look like 600 series ones... They work fine, although they do not dim the LED units as much as they did with regular fittings. My LEDs have a max wattage of 12w and I wonder whether the dimmers are not fine grained enough in their control so they're not amazingly dim at lowest setting.

mdf

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#2004391 29-Apr-2018 08:28

We've got pdl switches and faceplates with dimmers. The electrician had to come back to change the dimmers since they didn't like the LEDs the installed. I think you match the dimmer to the lights, not the switch.

andrewNZ

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#2004394 29-Apr-2018 08:36

Led's specify leading and/or trailing edge dimming (if they are dimmable). The dimmer needs to be a compatible type.

Most dimmers used to be the wrong type for most led's.

andrewNZ

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#2004397 29-Apr-2018 08:45

PDL 600 comes in both.
If your led specs both you're probably fine.

RunningMan

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#2004398 29-Apr-2018 08:50

andrewNZ: [snip]Led's specify leading and/or trailing edge dimming (if they are dimmable). The dimmer needs to be a compatible type.

This. Grab the 600 series brochure and look at the dimmer modules (not the pre assembled dimmer and switch on a plate). You'll see several variations, pick the one recommended by the manufacturer of the LEDs being installed.

KellyP

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#2006099 1-May-2018 15:56

mattwnz:

Has anyone had PDL 600 series light switches installed in their house recently? If anyone has, how have you found the dimmers work with the dimmable LED lights? Or can you retrofit other manufacturers dimmer modules in them? I like the look of this switch as I can put a stainless plate on it, and have black plastic switches, and it is a well know long standing brand.

Thanks

I have two PDL 654PBM dimmers. They're working well with two different types of dimmable LEDs.

One is Philips, not sure of the model or type but I can find out if you're interested.. The other ones are a set of these.

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wazzageek

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#2008087 4-May-2018 19:45

We've got the PDL 600 "universal" unit dimming four dimmable lighting direct downlights. Works well, with the caveat that the lights don't go quite as low as we'd like.

sparkz25

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#2008115 4-May-2018 20:30

pdl make dimmers to suit their 600 series but a cheaper brand and nz made is one is a allsales agencies asa500

http://www.allsalesagencies.co.nz/asa-products/dimmers

thet come with all the parts to install in to a pdl 600 grid plate

Chrisclarke

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#2008308 5-May-2018 08:20

Slightly more expensive than the 600 series, but have a look at the new PDL Iconic series. Their top spec dimmer has 0-100% LED dimming and can be controlled from an app too. Nice colour faceplate options and customisable backlight on the switch. Just installed in a new room and they are amazing.

spronkey

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#2032492 9-Jun-2018 13:24

I like the 600 series stuff, probably prefer it to Iconic a little, but Iconic does have some modern advantages.

I recommend the Kiwi Electronics K005U dimmer for LEDs, which has adjustable min and max, trailing and leading edge mode selection, 0-100% dimming with good lights, and has been the most compatible I've used so far. It retrofits nicely into PDL 600 plates.

dolsen

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#2032541 9-Jun-2018 14:25

I've used the trailing edge pdl dimmers (624TM) with multiple led lights and drivers and, to be honest, I'm not too impressed. As others have mentioned, that dimmer does not seem to dim enough. The lowest dim level was only about 20% brightness.