Halers dimmables don't go very dim(hamilton hartland dimmer)

[tombola]

Hi, I have a dual hamilton hartland dimmer.

One controls 6 Halers dimmable LEDs, the other 9.

Everything works great but the lights don't go that dim - and I need to do a lot of turning just to have any affect.

Have a done something dumb or is this dimmer not suitable?

Any help appreciated.

Tom

 

[riveralt]

What is the dimmer range - some hamilton hartland are min 40w to 400w?
What is the led wattage?

If the leds are 7 watts then you are only at 42 or 63 so you are not going to get much dimming range.

You might need something like this.

http://www.ledgiant.co.uk/led-dimmer-switches?gclid=CNXIrIb2hK4CFUoifAodSg_x3Q

 

[tombola]

Ah, cheers. They are 10w so on circuit there's 60w and 90w on the other.

I guess this is it?

Tom

 

[riveralt]

Ah, cheers. They are 10w so on circuit there's 60w and 90w on the other.

I guess this is it?

Tom

I assume that the dimmers are wired correctly BTW.
Also, if these are the H2 Halers you must be rich, very rich.

Halers have a list of those dimmers that work with their led downlights so it might be worth contacting them to ensure yours is on it.
http://www.dclighting.co.uk/catalog...11&PHPSESSID=c6a7dcf2a56ff7cdc892bd36d1dfaf30
Scroll to the bottom right and download the list.
If yours is on it and the wiring is correct you may be a problem with the dimmer.
Incidentally, most of the H2's on sale are 7.9w rated.

 

[tombola]

Hey fellas, one year on and I still haven't fixed this (new job and new kid - I've excuses

My lights are:
http://www.fastlec.co.uk/halers-h2-...gclid=COibtrfJpbcCFYXItAodV1YAcQ#.UZqOYBXTW90

6 on one circuit, 9 on the other.

At the moment the two circuits are controlled by one of these:
http://www.hamilton-litestat.com/browse_by_product/Dimmers/76_2X40_.html

Is one of these dimmers better?
http://www.hamilton-litestat.com/browse_by_product/Dimmers/76_2XTE_.html

Sorry to ask bone questions, I'm still trying to work out what a VA is.

Cheers,

Tom

 

[EFLImpudence]

I'm still trying to work out what a VA is.

It's a watt, which varies with the voltage - W = V x A (I = V/R so P = VI)

 

[ban-all-sheds]

I'm still trying to work out what a VA is.

It's a watt,

Sometimes.

 

[securespark]

Why quote half of what EFLI said???

Pointless.

He said:

It's a watt, which varies with the voltage - W = V x A (I = V/R so P = VI)

which to me sounds a pretty good explanation.

 

[ban-all-sheds]

So Watts and VA are always the same, are they?

News to me.

 

[bernardgreen]

If the power factor of the load is 1 then the number of watts is the same as the number of VAs

watts = VA times power factor.

 

[ban-all-sheds]

I know.

Hence:

I'm still trying to work out what a VA is.

It's a watt,

Sometimes.

Secure's complaint that not quoting all of what EFLI wrote made my post pointless is bizarre - what I left out has no relevance to power factor...

 

[riveralt]

Tombola, according to both sets of Hamilton dimmer instructions, when you use either of these dimmers with LED's then you have to de-rate them by 75%.
Checking the Halers website, they recommend a max of 5 H2 lights for a 250w dimmer and 10 for a 400w dimmer.

So you are running into trouble from both the dimmer and the lights themselves.

The best option is still to contact halers (Collingwood) and ask them for recommendations.

 

[SimonH2]

FWIW, my mate has the same lights working on Varilight dimmers - sets of 4, 7 and 8 units on 3 dimmers. They don't go down to "is it still on ?" levels, but they do go quite low.

And for riveralt, yes he spent a lot of money on lights ! And a lot of shiny accessories as well.

 

[tombola]

Tombola, according to both sets of Hamilton dimmer instructions, when you use either of these dimmers with LED's then you have to de-rate them by 75%.

Sorry mate, what do you mean by re-rate them please?

 

[plugwash]

Sorry to ask bone questions, I'm still trying to work out what a VA is.

Dimensionally VA and W are the same unit.

However those who work on AC power systems have adopted the convention of using W for "real power" and VA for "apparent power".

"real power" is the transfer of energy from supply to load averaged over at least a full cycle.
"apparent power" is the result of multiplying RMS voltage with RMS current (again with the RMS taken over at least a full cycle).

If the load acts like a resistor a resistor then real power and apparent power are the same. However if the load does not act like a resistor then real power will be lower than apparent power.

Real power divided by apparent power is known as the "power factor".