Discuss Why are 'most' LED dimmer switches limited to 10 led's? in the Electrical Forum area at ElectriciansForums.net

Welcome to ElectriciansForums.net - The American Electrical Advice Forum
Head straight to the main forums to chat by click here:   American Electrical Advice Forum

HappyHippyDad

-
Esteemed
Arms
Reaction score
5,578
As in the title.

The varilight V-pro and MK intelligent dimmer both say they can dim up to a maximum of 10 LED's. Why can they dim no more, even if the maximum wattage is not reached? I can find no explanation on their sites.

Zano produce a dimmer which can dim a much higher amount of LED's, what's the difference?

I need to dim 26 x 5 watt led's on a 2 gang dimmer (white). Each gang has 13 LED's. The Zano Zlineled will do this but I'm wondering if there are any others as it's fairly expensive?

Cheers all..
 
You could test it for us with the V-Pro Happy! Then we’ll all know that we can push the boundaries - go on, do it and report back. It’s only 3 more, what can go wrong?
I wonder though whether it’s down to the individual circuitry all adding up - so you could have 10 x 15 floods (150watt Max) but can’t have 30 x5 watts because of the additional circuitry.
I love electricity but it still remains a mystery to me!
 
As in the title.

The varilight V-pro and MK intelligent dimmer both say they can dim up to a maximum of 10 LED's. Why can they dim no more, even if the maximum wattage is not reached? I can find no explanation on their sites.

Zano produce a dimmer which can dim a much higher amount of LED's, what's the difference?

I need to dim 26 x 5 watt led's on a 2 gang dimmer (white). Each gang has 13 LED's. The Zano Zlineled will do this but I'm wondering if there are any others as it's fairly expensive?

Cheers all..


It could be due to the inrush current at switch on. Having said that, the Varilight V Pro we had in the kitchen had a very annoying soft start, so perhaps not. It got swapped out for a switch pretty quick!
 
The zano ones that bing a lot of lamps have an additional black box thing, the varilight dimmers are just the plate and switch.
 
Think it's to do with inrush current.

Generally I think in the real world having 11 good quality 7 watt downlights would likely be no problem at all

Yes, that makes sense regarding the in rush current, thanks.
You could test it for us with the V-Pro Happy! Then we’ll all know that we can push the boundaries - go on, do it and report back. It’s only 3 more, what can go wrong?
I wonder though whether it’s down to the individual circuitry all adding up - so you could have 10 x 15 floods (150watt Max) but can’t have 30 x5 watts because of the additional circuitry.
I love electricity but it still remains a mystery to me!

I'm tempted :). I have a 2 gang v pro at home I could take down and try!
However, just because it works once or twice doesnt mean it'll last. I bet it would be fine though.
 
I like the varilight dimmers as it brings dimming LEDs into the domestic budget, they have the intelligent programming which has helped in the past. Haven’t yet needed to try Zano but the price difference is enormous.
 
I recall replacing a varilight dimmer on an existing install, where it had banks of 10 or so LED lights, and the dimmer got fried. Replaced it with one which ‘accepted’ up to 20 or so? Perhaps have a closer look at the varilight web site.
 
I'd also go with inrush current or maybe phase angle (power factor). Problem would be that dimmer manufacturers have no control over the quality of the lamps they're dimming.

Cheap lamps have no inrush current prevention or PF correction so they're a hostile load to have to drive from a dimmers point of view.

I'd probably be inclined to push the lamp limit higher than stated (number of lamps, not rated wattage) if the lamps were high quality like Enlite for example.
 
Dimmer manufacturers like any other manufacturer will have done comprehensive testing.

They will have tested lots of combinations of LED from lots of different manufacturers and determined what they think is a safe reliable limit for their own Dimmers.
Others manufacturers will have different ideas on the limits they apply even if the circuitry is identical.

It's not that MK can't dim more that 10, they just won't guarantee it.
 
I'd also go with inrush current or maybe phase angle (power factor). Problem would be that dimmer manufacturers have no control over the quality of the lamps they're dimming.

Cheap lamps have no inrush current prevention or PF correction so they're a hostile load to have to drive from a dimmers point of view.

I'd probably be inclined to push the lamp limit higher than stated (number of lamps, not rated wattage) if the lamps were high quality like Enlite for example.
Thanks Marvo,
The lamps actually are enlite :)
 

Reply to Why are 'most' LED dimmer switches limited to 10 led's? in the Electrical Forum area at ElectriciansForums.net

OFFICIAL SPONSORS

Electrical Goods - Electrical Tools - Brand Names Electrician Courses Green Electrical Goods PCB Way Electrical Goods - Electrical Tools - Brand Names Pushfit Wire Connectors Electric Underfloor Heating Electrician Courses
These Official Forum Sponsors May Provide Discounts to Regular Forum Members - If you would like to sponsor us then CLICK HERE and post a thread with who you are, and we'll send you some stats etc

YOUR Unread Posts

Electrical Forum

Welcome to the Electrical Forum at ElectriciansForums.net. The friendliest electrical forum online. General electrical questions and answers can be found in the electrical forum.
This website was designed, optimised and is hosted by Untold Media. Operating under the name Untold Media since 2001.
Back
Top
AdBlock Detected

We get it, advertisements are annoying!

Sure, ad-blocking software does a great job at blocking ads, but it also blocks useful features of our website. For the best site experience please disable your AdBlocker.

I've Disabled AdBlock