Reducing the brightness of a LED light
#1
04-29-12, 08:30 PM
Reducing the brightness of a LED light
I bought a LED recessed light a few months ago it blends well with the other recessed lights except it's a bit too bright but not by much. Is there a way to reduce the brightness of a light source like using a resistor?
#2
04-30-12, 05:02 AM
Group Moderator
First, check to see if your LED bulb or fixture is dimable. Some can be dimmed while others cannot.
#4
04-30-12, 05:10 PM
Group Moderator
I would do some searching about your bulbs and see what type of dimming control they require. Dimming a LED bulb is considerably more complex than an old fashioned incandescent bulb.
An old fashioned light bulb is just a piece of wire getting hot. It really does not care if the electricity voltage is turned up or down or if it's switched on/off very quickly. LED lights are high tech electronic devices. Some dimmer switches simply reduce the AC voltage while others turn the power on and off very quickly. None of that matters to a glowing piece of wire but to the electronics (think computer) in a LED bulb it matters.
Some bulbs work with varying input voltage and are designed to maintain their brightness, basically fighting the dimmer switch or simply turning off saying "I quit". Others
are dimable using traditional analog dimmer switches. The electronics in the light bulb see the reduced input voltage as a command to dim the bulb (again think computer). Then you have electronic dimmer switches that quickly turn the power on and off for varying lengths of time... well, dimming a LED light bulb is not a simple yes or no question.
An old fashioned light bulb is just a piece of wire getting hot. It really does not care if the electricity voltage is turned up or down or if it's switched on/off very quickly. LED lights are high tech electronic devices. Some dimmer switches simply reduce the AC voltage while others turn the power on and off very quickly. None of that matters to a glowing piece of wire but to the electronics (think computer) in a LED bulb it matters.
Some bulbs work with varying input voltage and are designed to maintain their brightness, basically fighting the dimmer switch or simply turning off saying "I quit". Others
are dimable using traditional analog dimmer switches. The electronics in the light bulb see the reduced input voltage as a command to dim the bulb (again think computer). Then you have electronic dimmer switches that quickly turn the power on and off for varying lengths of time... well, dimming a LED light bulb is not a simple yes or no question.
