Sigh - LED dimmable bulbs (again) which brand?

I have found that it doesnt much matter where or what brand you buy. Dimmables with leading edge dimming that I have are all flicker prone. Many have burnt out. The replacements seem to be holding up.

My guess is that the chip makers now have chips that work and don't die young and the 'bad' LEDS are now mostly history.

I think I buy in tens from LED lighting specialists, but haven't had to buy any that recently, or maybe the last were from Amazon.

I looked at LEDHut and discovered that I have bought from them and they sell LumiLife bulbs.

Now trying to revive my account.

They don't seem to have the bulb that I want in stock at the moment.

Thanks

Dave R

I think I went to something like 'lighting-specialist' or some such

My problem was dimmable SBC candles...a 'rara avis'....

I fitted dimmable bulbs to a new light fitting but with an old dimmer switch and they failed to dim

On recommendation on here I purchased a V-pro dimming switch from Screwfix and that dimmed the bulbs on the default mode of operation.

Some dimmable LED bulbs, such as the ones I purchased, may not work with leading edge dimmer switches. I didn't find that I had much choice finding a 5W E17 dimmable bulb.

The V-pro has 3 possible user configured options, two different methods of falling edge dimming and a one leading edge dimming. I haven't got the instruction in front of me but I seem to remember that the switches can also be user programmed for maximum and/or minimum brightness and the equivalent of a child lock to prevent accidental reprogramming. Programming is achieved with the single combined push on/off and rotary dimmer knob.

I have used Energizer and Morrisons with no problems.

I have dimmers (V-Pro I think) which will handle dimmable LEDs. I already have some LED bulbs, gradually replacing the halogen bulbs we used over 12 years ago. So thanks, but the dimmer shouldn't be an issue.

Cheers

Dave R

Having been very disappointed in the quality of light from dimmed LEDs I now eschew them. Incandescent bulbs get “warmer” as you dim them whilst LEDs just get dimmer. Without the added “warmth” of light that were used to the light just ends up feeling colder when dimmed.

If you want low level “warmth” LED lighting then pick a wattage that works without dimming.

Just my opinion.

Tim

Or buy warm coloured LED's to start with.

You’re missing my point. A “warm” coloured LED light stops being “warm” when dimmed.

Tim

That sounds like perception bias to me. You dim a 2700K incandescent and it reduces to say 2200K colour temperature. You dim a 2700K LED and it's still

Or are you saying there's some mechanism by which a 2700K bulb actually rises in measurable colour temperature when dimmed? Maybe the blue->yellow phosphors work less efficiently, or something?

There are apps to measure CT if you want to see if it does actually change:

Absolutely. As it doesn’t “warm” in the same way as an incandescent bulb when dimmed one perceives it as cooler.

It really come down to why one uses dimmers in the first place. I’ve only ever used them to produce a warmer, “more intimate”, atmosphere.

I dare say that the colour temperature *doesn’t* change, but that’s not what we’re used to when dimming a conventional light.

Tim

OK. You might also dim the lights so they don't compete some other kind of light, like the house lights in a theatre - maybe for watching a film or something. You may not want to sit in an orange gloom for that. Or to adjust for different levels of daylight (grey day, boost the lighting).

So if you want a 'dim' light, you have to buy a low wattage 2200K bulb to get the 'warm' effect you are expecting, rather than just a lower wattage regular bulb.

There are probably RGB LED bulbs which will follow an 'incandescent' profile as you dim them, although typically you'd use their controls not a traditional wall dimmer.

Theo

I have some Phillips Hue bulbs which are controllable over Bluetooth via their "switch". You might need to use the phone app to create the "more intimate" atmosphere, but once set up they can be selected from the switch. You need to make sure you get the bulbs which are colour changeable and it seems you may need a hub. Several YouTube videos on this.

I know its expensive, but its also versatile...

Dave

I used to have a CFL with inbuilt varilight/vpro dimmer. It did tend towards pinkish hue as it got dimmer.

Ummm..... The whole point of dimmable lights (to me) is to use one light fitting to give variable brightness depending on the need of the moment.

This is why we fitted dimmers to the lights in the main living areas.

Cheers

Dave R

If you’re only interested in “brightness” and not the “dead flesh” look that a standard dimmed LED gives, then fine.

Based on all my previous experience of light dimmers, I expect a change in brightness and colour temperature.

Tim

I don't think you're the only one. Philips and other manufacturers shift the colour to the red/warmer end.

Yes, though warm white -- extra warm white, not RGB:

One such is called "Glowdim", warms up as the voltage drops.

Thomas Prufer