LED Lighting Compatibility

LED Lighting in the home is becoming more popular due to the energy and money saving benefits it offers over traditional halogen lighting. One of the most common problems that an electrician faces when installing LED’s is enabling them to dim. Unfortunately, there is NO definitive rule that can be followed when dimming LED, due to the vast amount of types and brands available.

LED drivers can show considerable variation from one product to the next. In addition, the LED’s themselves react very quickly to changes in current, so even a slight incompatibility with the dimmer and/or the transformer can significantly affect the dimming capabilities.

The difficulty is only compounded by a lack of industry-wide dimming standards. For example, even the term “dimmable” has no universally accepted definition.

In fact the only thing that is consistent when it comes to dimming LED’s is that every control solution on the market faces the same problem.

The Environexus range includes two types of dimming technologies, both Leading and Trailing Edge.

We have tested many of the leading brands of LEDs, but we ALWAYS recommend that you conduct the below testing to ensure compatibility of a dimmer with the LED. It is important to try and recreate the environment where the lights will be installed by following the below steps:

1. Ascertain if the light fixture is actually capable of being dimmed. In some cases, this may be as easy as checking the specifications, but it is always advised that you try to manually dim before introducing any electronic dimmers.

2. Always test the quantity of lights that are going to be used on each dimmer. The overall watts on the dimmer can affect its dimming range and quality.

3. If power blackouts are an issue , test the light on a low dim level and cut off power, as there is no neutral on the trailing edge the light can behave erratically when power is restored.