What are common dimmable bulb issues? Ghosting These lamps and switches will have a minimum load that is within the normal watt range of an LED bulbs. This can be fixed by using a lamp or dimmer switch that was specifically made for LED bulbs.
Traditional bulbs use much higher amounts of watts compared to dimmable LED bulbs. Dimmer switches have a minimum load that restricts the lowest number of watts that can be passed to a light. Why is my dimmable LED flickering?ĭimmer switches made for traditional bulbs will pass too many watts to your dimmable LED bulb and cause it to flicker. So fast that you can’t tell it’s being turned on and off and instead it looks like the light is being dimmed.
Pulse Width Modulation is a fancy way of saying we turn the light on and off really, really fast. Pulse Width Modulation is a method of reducing the average power delivered by chopping it up into discrete parts.
Smart switch vs smart bulb drivers#
For this, LED drivers employ something called Pulse Width Modulation or PWM for short. The desired dimming effect we want from an LED is reliant upon the driver.
Smart switch vs smart bulb driver#
It falls upon the driver of an LED to take whatever electricity the switch is feeding into the LED bulb and turn it into something that is digestible for the LED to produce the light we want. The circuitry, or driver, within an LED converts the high-voltage AC input current to low-voltage DC current to power the light. Unlike traditional bulbs, which send varying amounts of current through a filament to produce light, LED lights have complex built-in circuitry (also called a driver) that can only control the diode to be either on or off. LED lights, by their nature, have 2 states: On or Off. What makes an LED dimmable?Ĭircuitry (or a driver) within an LED uses Pulse Wide Modulation to cut incoming current into pieces so that the LED turns on and off very fast resulting in a dimming effect. Dimmable LED bulbs operate at a range of power less than 10W therefore rendering the dimmable LED bulb useless with the dimmer switch. That same bulb is used with a dimmer switch that has a minimum load limit of 25W. This is where a lot of folks experience problems: LED bulbs on dimmer switches made for incandescent or other types of bulbs.įor example, a traditional bulb that uses filament may require 60W to be powered. They were not made to operate at the low voltages that LED lights use. Most often minimum load for dimmer switches is higher than what and LED light requires. Minimum load is the lower limit of voltage that a switch can provide. They are restricted by something called minimum load. The key here being that these dimmer switches were designed to function with high-power circuits. That’s right, and remember one way we said a dimmer switch works? By reducing the voltage going into a light bulb. One of the keys to this increased efficiency is reduced voltage. LEDs don’t use as much power as a traditional light bulb saving up to 75% more energy as compared to traditional light fixtures. One of the technology’s most appealing aspects is the energy efficiency. You’ve certainly heard by now all the great benefits of LED lights.
LEDs on the other hand are a bit trickier. Traditional incandescent bulbs are easily dimmed and work well with a wide range of dimmer switches. This is accomplished using resistors or eliminating the top part of the waveform. First, by either reducing the voltage going into a light bulb or by switching current on and off. Dimmer switches accomplish this in one of two ways. What’s most important? The answer might surprise you! Table of Contentsĭimmable bulb Types What is a dimmer switch?Ī dimmer switch is a mechanism that allows you to control the intensity and therefore brightness of a light. Smart LED lights can make it easier for you to create specific moods depending on what time of day it is this makes them perfect for retail stores! Dimmable bulbs, on the other hand, don’t require Wi-Fi because they only need an electric current (aka electricity) to work like any regular lightbulb would. Smart LED, also known as “smart” or “connected” LED, is a type of light bulb that interacts with your Wi-Fi signal to allow you to change the color and brightness from anywhere in the world. Smart LED is a new technology that has been around for just a few years, while dimming bulbs have been used for over 100 years. LED and dimmable bulbs are two different types of light bulbs.
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