| Electronics > Beginners |
| SMPS LED bulbs dying running off dimmer switch |
| (1/1) |
| lordvader88:
In a rental house someone has a dimmer switch for some of the mains 120V lights. And were using LED bulbs, and 1/2 of them stopped working. IDK if they used the dimmer or not. I opened 1 up figuring a series LED fried, but they all work. There's some type of buck converter in there. I mapped it all out but to me the design seems very strange so far. There's 1 inductor that must be open, so maybe I found the problem. In general tho none of the "eco" bulbs with a SMPS in the socket should ever be used with a dimmer switch right ? I should tell the landlord either use incandescent's or take out the dimmer (since tenants can't be trusted with simple instructions like don't use the dimmer) |
| Zero999:
As a general rule, LED lamps cannot be used with a standard dimmer circuit. It can cause problems with flicker, damage to the lamps or dimmer circuit. Special LED lamps which are designed to work with a standard dimmer circuit can be purchased, but they're more expensive and are slightly less efficient. |
| JS:
Yes, put a switch, incandescent or dimmerable lamps. JS |
| james_s:
My observation is that about 80% of the LED bulbs from reputable brands can be used on dimmers. Special LED rated dimmers are preferable but most will work to some degree on a standard dimmer. If in doubt, look at the package, it will say. I have lots of Philips, Cree and Feit LED bulbs that are dimmable. |
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