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There are no 4-way dimmer switches, but this kit from Leviton is functionally what you’re looking for if your goal is to operate and dim your lights from three or more locations. The reason 4-way dimmers aren’t possible with traditional switches is due to the way that light switch circuits work, and this kit gets around that problem by not using a traditional light switch circuit. Instead, it uses a primary switch, a companion switch, and a plug-in bridge unit that allows them to connect wirelessly. LED fixtures such as downlights usually include the LED driver, either of a ‘constant current’ or ‘constant voltage’ type, depending on the LED array design. In either case, the same issue arises: the LED driver or power supply will try to patch up the missing parts of input voltage. By adding additional Leviton Decora Smart Dimmer Companion switches, you can set up virtual 3-way, 4-way, or even 5-way control over your lights. The primary switch has to be wired to the lights like a traditional dimmer, but the companion switch can be placed anywhere and doesn’t need to be connected to the main switch by physical wires. The connection is achieved wirelessly through your Wi-Fi network, so you do need to have Wi-Fi to use this kit. It works with Alexa, Google Assistant, and Apple HomeKit, so you can also use it to operate and dim your lights through an app on your phone or voice commands. Traditional dimmers are only designed to work with incandescent lights, although some also work with halogen, while LED dimmers are designed specifically for LED bulbs. “Traditional dimmers, which typically use knobs, usually absorb the energy not sent to the light,” says Sampayo. “For instance, if you dim your light to 30 percent, the remaining 70 percent is wasted by the regular dimmer in the form of heat. Your energy consumption remains at 100 percent.” That works with incandescent lights that exhibit reduced brightness when provided with less energy, but LED bulbs placed in that same situation won’t light at all, or may exhibit unwanted behaviors. The voltage rating of a dimmer switch tells you where you can use it. For example, residential electrical voltage in the United States is 110 - 120VAC. That means you can use any 110 or 120V dimmer switch in your home.
Many existing leading-edge dimmer switches have a relatively high minimum load, which often rules out their use with modest LED or CFL lighting circuits. However, leading-edge dimmers are by far the most common dimming control in existence. Trailing-edge Dimmers (Reverse phase dimmers) For an LED lamp or luminaire to work with a phase control dimmer, the electronics of its driver must be compatibly adapted. For example, the Kasa HS220, our best smart dimmer, works with Alexa and Google Home, but not with HomeKit. If your smart home is powered by Apple’s HomeKit, you’ll find that the Kasa HS220 just won’t work correctly. In that case, consider the very similar Kasa KS220 that works with HomeKit. When using trailing edge dimmers with LED, it is very important to remember the 10% rule. So, if you have a 400W trailing-edge dimmer, it can easily power 400W incandescent lamps. But with LEDs, the maximum load is only 10%, which means that the maximum load would only be 40W worth of LEDs. Advantages of Trailing Edge Dimmers Unlike incandescent bulbs, which are all dimmable by default, LED retrofit bulbs have a built-in driver in their base. The driver converts AC power to DC power and maintains a constant current to the LED. This is at odds with a phase control dimming system, since the driver attempts to compensate for the sliced-out portions of input voltage.Additionally dimmer switches work within a certain operational load range. If your dimmer switch has a range of 0 to 400W, it is possible to have 10 lamps each having 40W on it, or you can have 8 lamps each having 50W. You can have any combination as long as it adds up to a maximum of 400W. LED Lights and Dimmers Dimmers aren’t all about setting the mood though, and Sampayo says installing them in your home can save you money, too. “Practically speaking, the human eye can't distinguish between 90 percent and 100 percent light brightness, but your energy bill can,” Sampayo advises. “Being conscious of energy consumption means you could set your lights to never exceed 90 percent, ensuring a 10 percent energy saving without compromising on brightness.” By choosing a Varilight V-Pro you can make sure your installation is future proof. So far we've not found an LED brand that the V-Pro isn't compatible with. Its become the industry standard for LED dimming compatibility. Manufactureres invest more time and effort in making sure their dimmable LED lamps and integrated fittings will work with V-Pro. Smart Switches Toggle: These look like standard toggle light switches, but you can raise and lower the toggle to dim and brighten your lights instead of flipping on and off in two binary positions like you would with a traditional light switch. In other cases, the toggle itself acts as an on/off switch, and you adjust the illumination level with a very small slider that’s located right next to the toggle. These are best for applications where you won’t need to adjust the illumination level every day. A grid switch system is made of various mounting and switching components which allow you to mix many types of switches all on the same plate. This can be effective when you want a dimmer switch and an on/off switch on the same face plate.
Trailing-edge dimmers are more sophisticated than leading-edge dimmers. They provide a much smoother dimming control, absent of any buzzing noise, and is ideal for use in most premises. Dimmers allow you to achieve the exact light level that you desire in a room and consequently alter the mood. There are various types of dimming options available, but the most popular are ‘phase control’ (or phase-cut) dimmers. Phase control dimmers work by chopping out parts of the voltage and reducing power to the light source. The two types of phase control dimmer available are ‘trailing-edge’ and ‘leading-edge’ and they work in different ways which ultimately affects their compatibility with certain light forms: There are two types of dimmer systems that you can have in your home – trailing edge and leading edge. All of our bulbs and ceiling kits are suitable for trailing edge dimmers only.If you already have a smart home, or you’re in the process of setting one up, this smart dimmer switch from Kasa will make an excellent addition. Installation is simplified by detailed interactive instructions in the Kasa app, it works with several smart home ecosystems, and it connects directly to your wireless network so you don’t need to worry about buying and setting up a separate hub.
The Varilight V-Pro has no minimum load and will dim up to 120W of LEDs, without needing to be de-rated for LED. You just need to ensure that you've got no more than 10 LEDs on the circuit. Leading-edge: inductive loads (e.g. magnetic low voltage transformers), resistive loads (e.g. incandescent).
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Leading edge dimmer switches can buzz slightly as they operate on TRIAC and contain a small transformer with a coil. If you're just dimming a few LED lamps or downlights, don't get caught up too much with the technicalities of trailing edge vs leading as V-Pro will work out of the box.
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