Dimmable LED's

[Chuck]

Jack,

I have many different brands of LED’s and all of them will dim but the dimming is not like it is with incandescents that are the gold standard for dimming. LED’s can be a rather jerky when dimming and will only dim so far and then either stop dimming or go off completely.

Also many of the older switches will just not work with LED’s. Many need at least a 40W load to work. I have an LED on an old X10 WS467 that will not go off. Many of the switches and modules need a small amount of power going through them all the time to make them work. LED’s are so efficient that they actually light up with that small amount of power.

I have had to replace many of my older switches with newer ones that will handle LED’s. It is costly to do so and that should be considered when making the change over. Before the incandescents disappeared I bought about 50 or so for $0.50 per bulb and will use them in a circuit where there is not enough wattage to work effectively. In my basement and shop I have about 30 watts of LED’s and one 40 watt incandescent to give me enough wattage to work on the switch.

The only way to see if the switch will work is to put an LED in and try it out. Leave it in there for a week and see because some of mine worked for a while then they started acting weird for some reason.

Another issue is using them in can lights. I got some Feit bulbs and put them in can lights (base up) and several failed within a few weeks. They have a 5 year guarantee so I called them and was told that the bulbs that I was using were not rated for can lights and were only for base down applications. Nowhere on the packaging did it say not for use in can lights. They replaced the bad lights anyhow but told me not to use them in can lights. I am still using them in the can lights because that is what I bought them for. LED do not like heat and will fail if they get too hot.

That is my experience with them. It was costly to switch over as I had to upgrade a lot of switches at about $40-$50 per switch. Almost all my switches are now Z-wave and they are more responsive, reliable and faster than X10 so for me the switch over was good. But then again I don’t have much of a life since I retired and playing with the HA system is fun, keeps me busy and my mind active.

Chuck

> On Aug 19, 2015, at 9:03 PM, Jack Stewart <jacks at amug.org> wrote:
> 
> I am about to start adding a number of LED's as replacement bulbs in my house.
> 
> I am not certain if I can rely upon all LED brands and styles labelled  "dimmable" to work with X10 dimming switches and dimming modules.
> 
> I'd be grateful for any information on what works and what doesn't work. (Cree seems to be one of the available and affordable brands around here.)
> 
> Thanks -- Jack
> 
> --
> Jack Stewart                     Mrs Stewarts Piano Lessons
> <jacks at amug.org>                <http://www.stewartpiano.com>
> --
> 
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