People like to (as The Queen Of The World likes to say) complicate a cornflake. Case in point: dimmer switches. I've been swapping dimmer switches for simple on/off ones for literally (mumble mumble) decades. It's dead simple.
Except now it's not. Most new light bulbs are LED type, because Congressional Lobbyists for General Electric wanted all of us to pay $5/bulb instead of 50 cents. Thanks ever so much, Congress. But the Twilight Lone experience doesn't end just at sticker shock. Consider the failure points:
- Your LED bulbs must be "Dimable". They won't dim if they're not, and you'll pay a premium for this.
- Your dimmer switch must be for LED bulbs. It won't work with normal incandescent ones (assuming you can even get these anymore). You will (wait for it) pay a premium for this.
- The new dimmer switches are bigger than the old ones. This isn't a problem if you have only one switch in the electrical box; this is a big, big problem (see what I did there?) if you have multiple switches in the same box, covered with a multi switch face plate.
That last one means that there are lights that I simply cannot dim, because I can't swap out an existing on/off switch for one of the new, high-falutin' (and expensive) LED dimmer switches because it simply won't fit.
Gee, thanks for jacking everything up, Congress. Nobody's life, liberty, property, or sanity are safe when you're in session. Jerks.
12 comments:
Maybe something weird in your area but when I swapped out all my bulbs in my dining room the pre-existing dimmer switch works just fine. I'll try to remember to look next time I'm at lowes (I'm rebuilding a foreclosure right now) but I don't recall seeing different dimmers for LEDs, on the other hand I haven't looked and am not using them, besides, I don't see any lights these days other then LEDs.
Lutron has an entire line of switches/dimmers for LEDs at Lowes.
In addition to multiple switch issues, I have run into issues where another branch ties in at the switch box, adding two, sometimes three, junctions with twist caps to the in-the-box space mix.
I have two rooms with 25 year old dimmer switches. The dimable LED bulbs work fine in both of them.
Oh...thanks, now NOT going to try to change mine out.
I worked at Lowe's Home Improvement 4 years ago. They have a large selection of dimmers. There are or were different kinds. There are some that are incandescent-LED-CFL-fluorescent compatible. Then there are some that are more restrictive on the types of devices controled.
One big issue with almost all of the dimmers from the Big Box Stores and even the electrical supply outlets is that they create a great deal of radio frequency interference (RFI). This YouTube video from a couple of Amateur radio operators describes the problem and solution that one of them had.
Don't forget to thank Bush who signed that piece of legislation.
"Your dimmer switch must be for LED bulbs."
Just ran into that issue when I replaced the light fixture but not the switch. Too many dollars later it works fine. Thank goodness for Congress, that light's energy use might have pushed us over the Climate Change edge faster than a commie coal plant in China.....
The old dimmer switches should work fine. The limitations will be with the LED bulbs themselves. "Edison bulbs" will dim down to almost nothing; a red glow. LED bulbs have a cutoff voltage at which point the diodes in the rectifiers in the bases of them will not fire. The bulbs will dim to a point where they either just cut off or flash. This is usually pretty low light though. Just know that dimmer switches are for aesthetics only. They don't save you any energy. They're voltage dividers that shunt a varying degree of voltage to a resistor. That's what dims the bulb. If you feel the switch plate of a dimmer switch while it's actually dimming a bulb, it's going to be warm. This is the wattage that would have gone through the bulb being dissipated as heat. It's wasted, outright. You are right though, that the LED's need to be rated as "dimmable." That being said, most of them are now.
Yes, LED bulbs are a bit more expensive up front, but the upside is that they draw a FRACTION of the wattage to provide the same amount of light as their Edison counterparts. A "75-watt equivalent" bulb only draws 9 watts! I could turn on EVERY LIGHT in my house now, and the total draw would be less than that of THREE 100-watt Edison bulbs. I've got three "150 watt equivalent" LED bulbs in the jelly jar lights in my barn that are drawing 37 watts each. That's the light of 450 watts worth of Edison bulbs for the draw of less than one! And these bulbs actually put out more light (lumens) and BETTER light than a 150 watt Edison bulb. LED bulbs also generate WAY less HEAT than Edison bulbs.
Unlike those awful "CFL" (Compact Fluorescent Lamp) "Obama bulbs," LED bulbs are one time where technology got it right...
ALL THIS being said, MANDATING ANYTHING is ALWAYS wrong! Good tech will stand on its own and sell itself. Also, LED's don't like being cooped up in small fixtures. The rectifiers in their bases get too hot and burn out. You must be sure your LED bulb is rated for outdoor use if using in exposed locations. And FORGET ABOUT using an LED bulb in the oven! These laws are put into place by people who don't even pump their own gas, let alone think about things like this! "How many politicians does it take to change a lightbulb? NONE! Politicians DON'T CHANGE lightbulbs... They hire illegal immigrants to change them..."
Oh; and one more thing; if you're a ham operator or listen to the radio a lot, LED bulbs generate a TON of Radio Frequency Interference (RFI). "BillB" alluded to this with the dimmers. It's not just the dimmers. It's the BULBS! Again, politicians don't think about things like this...
Get the (wait for it!) dimmable LEDs with a remote. Sure, they cost even more, but you don't have to replace the electrical box and dimmer. They work well and can be dimmed all the way down.
Handyman here. Have been replacing blown out capacitors in ceiling fans. The light circuits have a 3 wire capacitor that the led bulbs are blowing. The capacitors are labeled incandescent. Owners have said they had used the led bulbs for months and they turn the lights on and hear a pop and that's all she wrote...
I test the used bulbs in another fixture to find the problem child. Some owners have said they have noticed the bulbs flickering before they burn out the capacitors.
Parts $10-$25 Labor varies depending how high up the fan is. Quickest replacement 5 minutes.
the people of Rome often had great complaints about the tribunes and assemblies of the people, and went with the decisions of the Senate. i forget the exact incidents but you can find them in Livy
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