Club 80-90 Forums

I have got some gu10 LED lamps to replace the 25 or so 50w lamps I have
Existing dimmers are 60w min so buzz
low wattage dimmers are out there but few and far between or I'm searching on the wrong thing?
some LED dimmers seem to be just normal dimmers with the word LED added and no min wattage listed
Any pointers?

cheers

I've overcome this problem on several occasions. It's the switch that doesn't perform well, not the led's themselves. Speak to MK and they'll explain what is you need regarding the switch. I would tell you but I'm too lazy to even remember the technical details, I just keep going back to the same wholesaler - they understand what I'm after!!

Problem arises when clients have 'designer' faceplates throughout the house and would like to retain the same dimmer switch when having the led's installed. Then, it's a case of dismantling the switchgear from the MK and reassembling it onto the one that matches the rest of the house.

Now whilst we're on the subject Paul, you can probably explain the trickery behind the next problem which will arise once you've fitted the led's/switch. A client spoke to me at the weekend about something he's observed in his kitchen that I did last year. When the led's are at their dimmest, when the electric under floor heating kicks in, the led's flicker for an instant (he wasn't specific about the length of time that a 'flicker' represents) and it bugs him as the UHF is constantly switching on/off. I'm guessing it disturbs those romantic suppers that his wife insists upon!! What's the science behind this, oh wise one?

Inrush current into heating causing voltdrop? Low resistance when cold, increases when hot? I guess the electronics in domestic dimmer is going to be pretty crude so won't have cap to ride out the volt drop? Bri

Under floor heating is going to pull a large current so my guess is a brief mains voltage dip that the led driver circuit has to react to.
LED drivers are constantly adjusting their circuits to maintain the LED drive current because LEDs need a constant current (not a constant voltage) as they are semiconductors.
Lamps like GU10s have a simple mains one chip driver which is less resiliant to mains voltage fluxuations than a more sophisticated driver which can keep a constant current output with large variation in mains voltage....

Oh no I'm actually boring myself now

It only occurs when the lights are at their dimmest, if they're turned up a smidgin it doesn't occur.

Yeh dimmers chop the mains so it will be more sensitive to fluxuations as it's being powered from a small slice of the cake

http://www.cef.co.uk/catalogue/products ... led+dimmer

we use these, they have a trimer on them to adjust the low output so you can really get the best dimming out of the lamp. We generally install Collingwood fittings with scholmoore dimmers which work very well together