Do your LED bulbs blink when dimming? If so, all of the following could be a possible cause. We refer you to the overview of dimmers that are compatible with your LED lamps.
If your LED lamps blink without the use of an LED dimmer (i.e. with a normal on/off switch), then points 5 to 8 may be applicable.
- Led lamp is not dimmable
Not every LED lamp is dimmable by default. The packaging or the lamp (or transformer) itself should always mention "dimmable", "dimmable" or a dimmability logo when it is dimmable.
When you put non-dimmable LED bulbs with a dimmer on dimmer mode, the bulbs do not receive enough power which causes them to flicker.
- Led bulb is connected to incandescent/halogen dimmer
Dimmable LED lamps in combination with an incandescent/halogen dimmer often cannot be dimmed (or not far back). This is because the minimum power of these "regular" dimmers is often still too high for the low total wattage of the LED lamps. In addition, the electronics of a traditional dimmer usually do not work adequately for LED lamps.
- Led lamp is connected to the wrong type of led dimmer (phase cut/near cut).
There are two types of dimming techniques for LED lamps: phase cut (RC) or phase advance (RL). Which dimming technique your led lamp uses is determined by the (internal or external) dimmable driver of your lamp. So choose an LED dimmer that uses the same dimming technique as your LED lamp/led driver. Don't you do this? This can cause unstable light and damage the lamp or dimmer in the long run.
Possible dim techniques are:
Phase cutoff = Trailing edge (RC)
Phase intersection = Leading edge (RL)
- Led dimmer power & settings
The further LED lamps dim, the less energy they consume. It is therefore important to choose an LED dimmer with the lowest minimum power, so that the lamps do not blink at the lowest light level.
It is also wise to choose an LED dimmer with a MIN and possibly a MAX adjustment. This way you can manually adjust the dimmability and light stability in the lowest and highest light levels. With this you always achieve a better dimmability and more stable light than with a dimmer without these settings.
- Led lamp (low voltage) is connected to the wrong transformer
Do you have low-voltage LED lamps (e.g. 12V) connected to your traditional halogen transformer? Or is the connected total wattage lower than the minimum wattage of the LED transformer? Or is the dimming technology of your transformer not the same as that of your LED dimmer? If so, your led bulbs may flicker.
- Fluctuations in the grid
Fluctuations in the grid, also called ripple and surge voltages, can be caused by:
Other appliances on the same group
If other (large) devices on the same group turn on or off, this may cause a small flash in the light of the led lamps or the lamps may turn on harder/slower. This is because LED lamps are very sensitive to interference pulses from outside. A typical example is the turning on of an air conditioner, freezer or refrigerator.Leakage current
Another cause of flickering LED lamps can be leakage current. This involves the loss of a very small amount of current/voltage caused by wiring and other electrical components. -
Faulty driver
Have your led bulbs never flickered and now they suddenly give a (regular) flicker (on/off/on/off)? Probably the driver of your LED bulb is defective. This can happen by overheating, e.g. by exceeding the maximum ambient temperature. -
Led bulbs are connected in series
Have you connected your LED lamps/led spotlights in series or parallel? With a series connection you use 1 circuit, where you connect all the led spots/lamps to each other. The disadvantage of this is that when one bulb breaks down, the rest will not be able to light anymore. Also, when connected in series, your lights will not all receive exactly the same amount of power, which can affect the stability of the light. In a parallel circuit you have each LED spotlight/led lamp separately connected to the installation wire.
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