The advancement in today's LED technology allows people to choose not only to use a LED lamp instead of an incandescent or halogen one, but even to choose the light output (the lumens), the light colour temperature (daylight, warm white, neutral white, and cool white), and the size and shape.
It is safe to say that soon the LED lamps will be available at a lower cost than ever, and they will replace the high consumption lamps with more energy saving light bulbs.
What's even more interesting is that many of the existing LED lamps are also dimmable, allowing people to dim the LED lamp sometimes all the way to 0%!
However, there are a few problems with the LED dimming - at this point in time.
Problems with LED Dimming
The LED lights offer a bright light in the light color you desire, so many times you may want to dim them.There are a few questions that rise up here:
- Are all the LED lights dimmable?
- Can we dim a LED light with any dimmer?
- How low can you dim an LED lamp, and how long can you keep it dimmed?
- If you dim the LED lamp, is the energy consumption also reduced?
- Is the LED lamp life decreased drastically if you dim it?
If an LED light bulb is not dimmable, it may not be marked so - but unless it is marked dimmable, don't assume that the LED lamp is dimmable.
Secondly, the dimmable LED lamps cannot be dimmed from ANY dimmer.
Simply changing a dimmable halogen lamp with a dimmable LED lamp doesn't guarantee that the existing regular dimmer will work with the LED lamp.
Most LED manufacturers have a list of recommended LED dimmers / LED dimmer modules that would work with a particular dimmable LED lamp, and it is best to make sure you use one of those dimmers, otherwise dimming may not work and the lamp/installation may be damaged.
Thirdly, the whole point of dimming is not only to decrease the level of light but also to save energy and consequently, money. So yes, dimming the LED lamp will save you even more energy and money.
Lastly, if the LED lamp is dimmable, dimming the LED lamp should NOT have an impact on the lifetime of the lamp.
All these considered, there are now more questions with most of our customers such as,
- So then how can I make sure I have the right LED dimmer for my LED lamps?
- Is there such a thing as a "universal LED dimmer" that works with most LED Lamps?
- And what do I do with my existing dimmers - do I need to buy the expensive ones and throw them away?
Is it that Simple to Transform a Regular Dimmer into an LED Dimmer?
Six months ago we would have recommended replacing the entire dimmer with a brand new LED dimmer - which costs a lot of money, may not be in the plate and finish you desire, and may not work with all your LED lamps.
But now there's such a thing as a "universal LED dimmer" made by Varilight - see the JP250P V-Pro 1 Gang 2 Way Trailing Edge 10W-250W LED Dimmer Module Replacement.
It is a normal size as a regular dimming module, so it can easily replace the existing dimmer in the back of your dimmer switch.
Of course, such a replacement should be done by a registered electrician - don't try to do any DIY with electricity and electrical devices such as these - so that it may be tested and work properly.
Do you need a smooth and silent dimming for your LED lights? Are your LED lights dimmable? Do you want to keep your existing dimmer plate and not replace it with one from this list of LED dimmers?Then your best solution is this LED dimmer module from Varilight, which is currently in stock and very highly recommended.
In conclusion, to answer the question in the title: yes, it is that simple to transform a regular wall dimmer into an LED dimmer - if the size of the dimmer module behind the dimmer plate allows it, you can simply replace it with the highly recommended Varilight JP250P trailing edge LED dimmer module. For more details on this, don't hesitate to contact us or leave us a comment below.
