How To Change A Light Switch To A Dimmer

Your Complete Guide to LED Dimming, Dimmers and Dimmable Calorie-free Bulbs.

Understanding the dimming procedure may seem challenging, which is why we've put together a user-friendly 4-step guide to LED dimming, dimmers and dimmable light bulbs.

Beneath is the rest of the article where the topic of dimmable LED calorie-free bulbs is looked at in more than item. If you still require additional assistance with choosing the right production for your needs, please contact our experienced customer service team by calling 01494 723 286 and we will be more than happy to assist.

4 Steps to Dimmable LED's

Dimming the lights tin can be 1 of the most satisfying things to do subsequently a long day at work. Nevertheless, in that location are a few factors you need to consider before choosing LED light bulbs and dimmers, follow this guide to help guarantee a polish dimming process.

one. Check The Light Bulb

Check if the lite bulb yous are about to use is dimmable. Dimmable light bulbs work fine on a non-dimmable circuit; however, non-dimmable light bulbs will not work on a dimmable circuit.

You tin observe this information on product packaging or on our product listing pages.

2. Check Your Existing Dimmer

The type of dimmer switch and it'due south minimum/maximum load range volition bespeak the compatibility with LED light bulbs.

There are ii chief types of dimmers: "Trailing Edge" and "Leading Edge"

Trailing edge dimmers piece of work all-time with LED lite bulbs and leading-edge dimmers work all-time with traditional incandescent and halogen calorie-free bulbs.

3. Exercise The Maths

To detect out how many LED lite bulbs your dimmer switch tin can back up,divide the minimum and maximum load of the dimmer by 10.

For example:

Dimmer is rated 100W-400W

Dimmer Min Load: 100W / x = 10W
Dimmer Max Load: 400W / ten = 40W

This means that when this dimmer is used in conjunction with LED light bulbs, the load must existbetween10W – 40W.

So, add upwards the combined wattages of the LED lite bulbs to find out how many tin exist supported by this dimmer.

Notation: The total wattage of the LED calorie-free bulbs on the circuit MUST exceed that of the calculated minimum load of your dimmer.

Using an LED load outside of this range could cause flickering or poor dimming performance and could atomic number 82 to an early failure of the LED lite bulbs.

four. We Are Here to Aid

Our squad accept extensive feel with dimmer switches and LED lighting.

For more information, telephone call our friendly and knowledgeable client service squad and we will be happy to assist.

I'thou not a betting man, but if I was asked to wager why most people cull dimmable lite bulbs over their standard counterparts, I'd probably go with their aesthetic potential.

By manipulating a tiny knob on one'south living room wall, it'due south possible to completely alter the mood and ambience of a room at the driblet of a hat. However, this really carries with it a host of less obvious but equally favourable benefits such as reduced energy consumption and improved longevity – the longer your light bulbs are dimmed, the less energy they employ and the longer they last. Got it? Great.

The proliferation of LED light bulbs in recent years has magnified these benefits yet further, with massively reduced wattages and hugely inflated lifetimes pregnant that our light bulbs are now lasting longer than e'er before.

But (there's always a but), the advent of LED has also completely changed the dimmer game. Dimming your traditional incandescent light bulbs is still fairly straightforward, as I'll explain below, but dimming LED low-cal bulbs is somewhat trickier.

This dimming for dummies guide aims to address each of the whys and wherefores from the wonderful world of dimming, and it's my hope that you'll emerge on the other side a bonafide dimming dynamo.

Earlier we dive headfirst into our dimming odyssey though, we've included a FAW of questions beneath.

Can I dim any LED light bulb?

In a word, no.

Dimmable LED light bulbs and their non-dimmable counterparts use entirely different componentry, so putting a non-dimmable light bulb on a dimmable circuit and expecting it to work is a bit like chucking a toaster into the ocean and expecting it to swim – it's only going to end in a crushing disappointment and some seriously damaged electrics.

This isn't truthful of the reverse though; a dimmable light seedling will work simply fine on a not-dimmable circuit, it just won't dim. But hey, at to the lowest degree your electrics won't accept been blown to pieces.
Can I use my existing dimmer to dim my LED light bulbs?
This would entirely depend on the type of dimmer y'all accept. If you lot've been using your dimmer with incandescent or element of group vii lite bulbs in the by, I'd wager (not a betting man, remember) that it'south a leading-edge dimmer, though this may non ever be the case. This supposition is based on the idea that leading-edge dimmers have been around much longer and are therefore more ubiquitous than the newer trailing border variant. In this instance, it'due south best to check what kind of dimmer switch yous accept.
What'south the Departure betwixt Leading Edge vs. Trailing-Edge Dimmers:?

Okay, then there are numerous types of dimmer switch available, simply by far the most pop are the two that nosotros'll be concentrating on today – leading edge and trailing edge phase-cut dimmers.

As their proper noun implies, both piece of work by trimming the voltage at various phases of an alternating electric current's sine moving ridge, thereby reducing the power they ship to the lamp. Now, at this juncture, I'm aware that there'll be some among you that are itching to know exactly how this works, which is why I've kindly included a our leading border and trailing edge dimmer guide here. Yous're welcome.

For those of you that are still with united states, information technology'south all-time to think of things equally simply as this…

• Leading-edge dimmers are by the far the more pop of the ii. They've been around much longer and are traditionally used to dim traditional incandescent and mains element of group vii light bulbs. This lends them a much higher wattage range (normally anywhere between 250W and 1000W) making them less likely to work with LED calorie-free bulbs, though this tin can exist possible if the required tolerances are met.

• Abaft edge or LED ready dimmers have been designed specifically for utilize with LED calorie-free bulbs. As such, they share a number of characteristics that make them much more compatible, such as comparable wattage ranges and inherently digital makeup. The required wattages for these dimmers are much lower, making them more compatible with the lower wattage of LED light bulbs. Again though, trailing border dimmers CAN also be used to dim traditional incandescent calorie-free bulbs if the wattage tolerances are even so met, and they do this more finer than using a leading-edge dimmer to dim LED light bulbs.

The best manner to avert confusion here is to cheque which dimmers are uniform with a certain type of lite seedling. Most manufacturers rigorously test their products for compatibility with a range of dimmer switches and the results are usually readily available on their respective websites.
Tin I dim traditional incandescent light bulbs with a leading-edge dimmer

Dimming traditional incandescent light bulbs is relatively straightforward. Any leading edge dimmer carries with it a minimum and maximum load. As long as the light bulb or light bulbs paired with the dimmer sit within these tolerances, everything will piece of work but fine.

The virtually common modules available by and large limit their loads to 250W, 400W, 600W and 1000W at the acme terminate and 25W, 40W, 100W and 150W at the lesser respectively. So, by way of example, if you use iv x 100W incandescent light bulbs on the 400W module it'll work just fine, just if yous attempt a single 100W light seedling on the 1000W variant it would exhibit a number of issues, from flickering and excess racket to outright failure.
Tin can I dim LED light bulbs with a trailing edge dimmer?

The fault that many people make is assuming that trailing edge dimmers piece of work in the same way every bit their leading-edge equivalents. This is a mistake – they are more expensive, infinitely more than complex and absolutely vivid when used properly.

They use a complicated, albeit sophisticated electronic system that yields a whole slew of benefits from silent operation to smoother control. They also generally take a lower minimum load than leading-border dimmers, which is why they're better suited to the more minor wattages associated with LED light bulbs.
How many LED lite bulbs can I use on my dimmer?

One of the biggest problems people experience when installing trailing edge dimmer systems is working out just how many LED light bulbs it volition support.

The main root of this trouble is the massive disparity between incandescent and LED wattages. When a dimmer's rated wattage is defined, it doesn't have account of an LED light bulb's drastically superior efficiency.

So, imagine we have a 400W trailing border dimmer. Information technology volition have 4 x 100W incandescent light bulbs without any issue and you can dim them to your center'south content.

Notwithstanding, this doesn't mean that you tin can then go and stuff 40 x 10W LED light bulbs on at that place and nonetheless brand up the 400W. Oh no. This isn't Disneyland. I'm afraid you'll need todivide the dimmer'due south maximum wattage past 10 to get its relevant value for LED light bulbs.

In this case, it would be able to take 4 x 10W LED light bulbs or less, providing that the minimum wattage is nevertheless met.

However, it's important to stress that this logic purely serves as a rule of thumb and is past no means exact. This is one of the myriad reasons why full compatibility cannot be guaranteed, which leads me neatly on to my side by side and terminal point…
Why are my LED calorie-free bulbs flickering or not dimming correctly?

You're nether-loading your dimmer!
This is a fairly common problem when people remove their old incandescent light bulbs and but replace them with LED equivalents. Imagine you take two 60W filament lite bulbs paired with a leading-border dimmer that has a minimum load of 25W and a maximum load of 250W. In theory, this fix up should work perfectly: the combined wattage of the light bulbs equals 120W, which is well above the dimmer's minimum requirement but likewise well below its maximum. At present imagine that you decide you lot desire to improve the efficiency of your domicile and invest in some sexy new LED light bulbs. These clock in at just 6W apiece and volition absolutely eviscerate your lighting nib – upshot. Unfortunately, though their combined wattage of 12W gets nowhere nigh the 25W minimum and and then they'll nigh likely flicker, fail or blow your electrics. So what's the solution? A low wattage trailing edge dimmer of course!

Yous're over-loading your dimmer!
This is probably the most common error that people make when switching to LED, whereby they forget to divide the dimmer'southward maximum wattage by 10 when considering its tolerances for LED. Recollect to do this before assessing where your light seedling sits in terms of its wattage. If you've divided the dimmer'south rated wattage past 10 and your LED light seedling(s) cumulative wattage sits betwixt its maximum and minimum values, crevice on.

Apparently bad luck.
Sometimes, you do all you can and the world still just wants to lookout man you struggle. You see, the virtue of LED light bulbs is that they don't run on mains voltage alternating current, they instead use low voltage direct electric current. This bestows a number of their most laudable benefits, but information technology also means they require an electronic commuter to convert the voltage they receive from the mains. These are built into the low-cal seedling itself (which is why you tin retrofit LED Lightbulbs Straight to existing fixtures without having to rewire them) but they need to be uniform with a dimmer'south components to dim properly. If they're not, they won't, and unfortunately, this isn't something you accept much control over – it all comes downwards to the manufacturer. This is why most manufacturers will normally provide a list of compatible dimmer switches that have been tried, tested and certified for use with their LED calorie-free bulbs.
What can I do to make certain my light bulbs dim properly?

Make sure your LED low-cal bulbs are dimmable.
This is by far the easiest bit. A bones ability to read the low-cal seedling'due south packaging and product clarification should ready you right here.

Upgrade your dimming circuit from leading edge to LED-ready abaft border.
Leading-edge circuits Can work with LED technology, merely information technology'due south much trickier to fathom, presents much more of a risk and won't exercise wonders for the longevity of your light bulbs.
Apply a compatible dimmer.

For the most part, we would recommend our Varilight range of dimmer switches. They're compatible with an extensive number of LED light bulbs and behave very accommodating tolerances, from low minimum loads to generous maximum capacities.

Move to a non-dimmable excursion.
How much do you actually utilize your light seedling'southward dimming function? Once a yr at Christmas when the family's circular probably isn't enough to justify the additional headache. The easiest and most efficient style to remove any potential ready of issues is to only remove the environment in which they're immune to arise.

Ensure that all your light bulbs are of the same type and from the aforementioned manufacturer.
This ensures that all the drivers in the circuit are fabricated by the aforementioned people and therefore remain mutually compatible throughout. If yous utilise a smattering of Philips calorie-free bulbs that are compatible with a particular dimmer but then intersperse them with light bulbs from some other brand, you're going to compromise your circuit as a whole.

Supercede low voltage light bulbs with mains voltage versions.
This removes the need for external transformers and minimises the risk of compatibility issues here besides. As to a higher place, if ALL of your calorie-free bulbs are made by Philips but require a third-political party transformer to convert their voltage, information technology also needs to be uniform. If it isn't… you get the picture.

Dimming LED light bulbs Tin can certainly be tricky, but when done properly the benefits are endless, from the improved efficiency and longevity of the light bulbs to smooth, silent dimming that looks infinitely better than its incandescent equivalent.