How are LED tube lights dimmed ?

Mike86

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May 7, 2008
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There are quite a few LED tubes & bulbs that are dimmable using a regular wall dimmer. What is different in their driver circuitry compared to non-dimmable ones?

Looking at different products it seem most claim they do not flicker, or at least not until dimmed way down. Do the dimmable versions basically add a big filter capacitor?

I was looking at Toggled LED tubes & they have both regular & dimmable. However the dimmable put out a bit less light even if not using a dimmer.

If the dimmable tubes are bettered filtered to reduce flicker, would it make sense to buy the dimmable version even if a dimmer is not used just to insure that flickering is minimized?

Or is the technology such that there is no flicker with either type of LED tube?

Thanks for any suggestions & comments.
 

CigarPundit

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Dec 8, 2019
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I just replaced my shop light 48" fluorescent tubes with LED tubes. I believe they are made by Feit, and they do not say they are dimmable. No flicker though. I like them better than the fluorescent tubes they replaced.
 

Mike86

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May 7, 2008
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I have two kitchen 2x2 fluorescent fixtures, each with a pair of 40W U-bend tubes. I already converted one using a Toggled kit with 3 LED tubes. It was very bright so I removed the center tube & it looks "normal" now. I need to do the other fixture & and am deciding between another 3 LED conversion but with dimmable LED tubes, or doing a 2 tube LED conversion with non-dimmable tubes. The tube spacing on the 2 tube conversion is a bit closer & may make the uniformity of the of the fixture itself look a bit better.

Fitting a dimmer in the electrical box may be an issue. It has 2 switches and the one that would need dimming is a 3-way. The box is filled with wires & a dimmer takes more space than a regular switch. The dimmers I looked at have pigtail leads which take up space along with the additional wire nuts. I'd have to look at the electrical code to see how much stuff is allowed. Too bad the dimmers don't have screw terminals where the existing wires could be transferred to.
 

Dave_H

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Nov 3, 2009
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1,366
Location
Ottawa Ont. Canada
I have several 4-foot LED T8 tubes which either specify no dimming, or do not specify (which probably means the same).
Incidentally none of these work in a fixture with solid-state instant-start ballast which is supposed to work.

I suspect the workhorse T8/T12 4-foot fluorescents used in schools, factories, offices, warehouses etc. were not intended
to be dimmed at least with traditional ballasts although newer ones may allow it. Much easier to reduce light in larger
areas by switching certain sets off completely. Domestic use seems to the minority where dimming is desired.

Dave
 
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