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Control4 Dimmer and LED bulb


Beav

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I recently bought some Sylvania 10 watt LED bulbs and tried using them in some fixtures where I have some of the older C4 dimmers (LDZ-102), they work fine at first but after a day or so when you turn the light off the bulb some what remains on. I have tried it with several dimmers in the house but the same results. At first dimming works fine, light will turn off fully but a day later the bulb will not completely go out. Is it something with a combination with these dimmers and brand bulb? Also I’ve read Cree are very good bulbs and dim well, has anyone tried them?

Thanks

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Are your dimmers installed with a Neutral connected?

If they are installed without a neutral, you may get a glow even when they're "off", due to the parasitic power usage to power the dimmer electronics.

If they have a properly connected neutral, the "off" state should be fully off.

RyanE

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31 minutes ago, SMHarman said:

Your original question asks about C4 dimmers (LDZ-102), but you attached pictures of the 8 channel panel dimmer.

Sent from my E6603 using Tapatalk
 

I haven’t attached any pictures. Not sure where you’re seeing that. My question is for the LDZ-102

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Probably the advertisement picture, I've seen C4 stuff show up on it.

 

What are the LED bulbs rated at for wattage, and how many per circuit?

 

Are the dimmable bulbs? I've seen a similar issue on bulbs that weren't marked dimmable - they still dimmed, but would have this issue (though it was all the time - ie they wouldn't 'work for a bit' then start glowing)

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Just now, Cyknight said:

Probably the add picture, I've seen C4 stuff show up on it.

 

What are the LED bulbs rated at for wattage, and how many per circuit?

 

Are the dimmable bulbs? I've seen a similar issue on bulbs that weren't marked dimmable - they still dimmed, but would have this issue (though it was all the time - ie they wouldn't 'work for a bit' then start glowing)

They are 60 watt replacement dimmable bulbs, and they will dim. I’ve tried them in a single light fixture as well as bathroom or kitchen fixtures that have four or five bulbs. They all the the same result. They will dim but like I said after about a day or so the bulbs still have a glow when you turn the lights off. 

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Most likely too little wattage. The older dimmers need a minimum load of 25watts.

Your 60 watt rating is equivalent output, not actual wattage, which is probably more like 7 watts LED. If you leave an incandescent in the group (if it's a multi bulb fixture), it'll probably shut off, and confirm issue. That was one of the big deals with the new dimmers, they'll handle as small as 2 watt loads.

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On 11/13/2019 at 2:34 PM, RAV said:

Most likely too little wattage. The older dimmers need a minimum load of 25watts.

Your 60 watt rating is equivalent output, not actual wattage, which is probably more like 7 watts LED. If you leave an incandescent in the group (if it's a multi bulb fixture), it'll probably shut off, and confirm issue. That was one of the big deals with the new dimmers, they'll handle as small as 2 watt loads.

That was indeed the case. Thank you

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  • 2 weeks later...
On 11/13/2019 at 12:34 PM, RAV said:

Most likely too little wattage. The older dimmers need a minimum load of 25watts.

Your 60 watt rating is equivalent output, not actual wattage, which is probably more like 7 watts LED. If you leave an incandescent in the group (if it's a multi bulb fixture), it'll probably shut off, and confirm issue. That was one of the big deals with the new dimmers, they'll handle as small as 2 watt loads.

Yeah, the new Adaptive Phase stuff is really nice. 

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  • 2 weeks later...

I'm about to convert 28 lamps of three different styles over to LEDs in a ceiling soffit.  I have six old style C4 dimmers, so I'm concerned about the off flicker discussed here.

I should have no problem with the 'on' load with at least four lamps on each switch, but I'm a bit confused by the comment that the off state flicker is expecting at least 25 watt load. Are the dimmers actually chopping the full 110V to a very short time interval such that the 'on' load is being seen by the switch?  In the same vein, my old control settings were in the 45 pct., or higher level.  Am I likely to see flicker at that level?

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I believe the flicker 'on off' being discussed is really only an issue if your dimmers are wired 'Switch Leg' (without a neutral wire).

If your electrician wired up the dimmers with a dedicated neutral to each dimmer, the electronics of the dimmer doesn't use 'parasitic power' to power the electronics through the load.

I'm guessing your minimum load will be lower than 45% with LEDs, because they are a lot brighter at equivalent dimming levels.

I have 'old-style' dimmers in 2/3rds of my house (all wired with neutrals), and there's no flicker when they're off, and they dim down to (varies between mfg and bulb) around 4-9% before shutting off.

RyanE

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Thanks, RyanE.  These were all built in to my home as part of the new construction, so they are all tied down properly.  

I'm mainly trying to avoid getting into a sorting problem with different suppliers on the LED side.  I also noticed on another thread that there is a capacitor that would damp out the low power ripple if I get stuck on that off condition.  These lights are on tracks, so if I get stuck, that may get me out of the bind as an after effect bandaid.  I do expect the 'on' levels to be significantly lower for similar results.

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