Dimmers not working - leading, trailing, TRIAC - very confused!

[bernardgreen]

But, I'll stick with my traditional incandescents

So will I, dimmed incandescents give soft light, dimmed LEDs do not.

until LED technology is standardised / proved reliable / proved safe / cheap enough!

ignoring the stull made in factories without effective quality control,

LED technology in the LED element is reliable and safe and dropping in price,
the technology used to provide the controlled current through the element(s) is the weak point and will remain so until some form of standardisation in terminology is created and the industry conforms to it.

 

[ban-all-sheds]

So will I, dimmed incandescents give soft light, dimmed LEDs do not.

Use RGBW lamps, then you can have whatever colour you want.

 

[bernardgreen]

Use RGBW lamps, then you can have whatever colour you want.

Maybe but under volting a filament lamp gives a very satisifying glow which I have yet to see from any LED light source,

LED light lacks the infrared spectrum which while not "visible" does affect the eye and the brain's perception of the light

 

[JohnW2]

Maybe but under volting a filament lamp gives a very satisifying glow which I have yet to see from any LED light source,

Maybe, but it's a very inefficient (aka 'expensive to run', for a given light output) approach, since the lumens/Watt drops dramatically if one significantly 'under volts' a filament lamp/bulb. The 'lumens/Watt' (i.e. lumens per £ over a given time period) is bad enough at design voltage, but it gets much worse if one reduces the (average) voltage.

Kind Regards, John

 

[bernardgreen]

Maybe, but it's a very inefficient

Some times efficiency is less important than getting the required lighting effect. And the so called "wasted" heat is not lost. it reduces any heating bills

 

[JohnW2]

Some times efficiency is less important than getting the required lighting effect. And the so called "wasted" heat is not lost. it reduces any heating bills

In the winter, yes.

Kind Regards, John

 

[ban-all-sheds]

And the so called "wasted" heat is not lost. it reduces any heating bills

Please cite results of double-blind tests which prove that.

 

[winston1]

And the so called "wasted" heat is not lost. it reduces any heating bills

Electrical heating is much more expensive than say gas, so that is still a waste.

In summer of course the "wasted" heat increases the air con bills.

 

[stillp]

This link was sent to me earlier: http://professional-electrician.com/products/zano-controls-whats-fix/

 

[JohnW2]

This link was sent to me earlier: ...

Thanks. That link appears to be to "professional-electrician.com", but I was interested to read, amongst other 'interesting' things ... "A small copper coil built into a TRIAC dimmer vibrates at different frequencies to disrupt the power reaching the lamp, controlling the light output.". Interesting concepts and 'professional' language!

Kind Regards, John

 

[stillp]

Yes, nonsense isn't it!

 

[JohnW2]

Yes, nonsense isn't it!

It sounds like it. What exactly is "professional-electrician.com"?

Kind Regards, John

 

[stillp]

An e-mail journal intended for electricians. Has some interesting press releases sometimes.

 

[JohnW2]

An e-mail journal intended for electricians. Has some interesting press releases sometimes.

Written by 'electricians' as well, do you think?

Kind Regards, John

 

[stillp]

An occasional contribution. They have a feature "Caught on Camera" that reminds me of the old Photo of the month on here, featuring various botched jobs.