Dimmable LED's

[Kiko]

I bought three dimmable ECS P15 ceiling fan-size bulbs and an LED-compatible slide dimmer by Leviton.

I am happy that the bulbs do not buzz or flicker when dimmed. But I am not happy with the level of dimming. I am used to dimmers that dim to just a small trickle of light. These bulbs are still way too bright, even when they are dimmed all the way.

Is there a better dimmer for these bulbs or a different bulb/dimmer combo that dims all the way down like incandescent bulbs do?

 

[Speedy Petey]

That is inherent in LED bulbs. Some will dim down pretty low, but I have not seen any that will dim to a trickle like an incandescent.

 

[Sponsor]

 

[Bluebinky]

Is there a low-end adjustment on the dimmer? The Leviton dimmers I've seen needed to be adjusted much lower for LEDs.

 

[ActionDave]

........ I am used to dimmers that dim to just a small trickle of light. These bulbs are still way too bright, even when they are dimmed all the way.

I agree with Petey, you're not gonna get this from a LED.

 

[Runs with Bison]

You might want to check out the new Osram dimmable LED's. I've been using the soft white versions recently and really like them. I'm using them in cans and fixtures. They turn down really low at least with the 2012 vintage dimmers they are connected to. So far I've seen no odd behavior from them. However, I don't know that they'll go as low as you want.

The 40W equivalent (model OSRAM 6W LED A19 270) uses 6W to produce 450 lumens for about $8/bulb. The 60W equivalent (OSRAM 8.5W LED A19 2) uses 8.5W to produce 800 lumens at $10/bulb. I'm finding them to be brighter in ceiling fixtures than the same wattage incandescent.

For some cans where I need brighter light than those listed above I'm using the Sylvania model #79075 dimmable soft white which is a 100W equivalent using 20W to produce 1600 lumens. These aren't as "full globe" as the Osram 60 and 40 equivalents and are well suited to cans. They seem to have good turndown, but I don't know if it is enough for your purposes. They are pricey at $22/per. They are listed as A21 bulb dimensions and they are heavy!

There is also a 75W brother to the Sylvania 100W equivalent above. I haven't used it but it is given as model 79084 in A19 dimensions. It uses 14W to produce 1100 lumens and runs about $18 per.

 

[Runs with Bison]

Update: tested the Osram 60W equivalent dimmable and it demonstrated full turndown with my dimmers. I don't know if that would pose a problem if operated that way frequently, but it didn't have any problem achieving any light level I wanted between max and off while testing. Also, my lux meter showed it put out nearly twice as much effective light as a 60W incandescent (fan bulb) at full power. I had noticed the same visually. The incandescent was not new and I haven't tested it's actual power draw so I can't conclude that this is the norm yet. (Actually, I tested two bulbs of each time in a fixture at the same time, so there is some averaging as well.) I really hope these particularly LED's continue to perform well for decades to come, because I'm accumulating a bunch of them...

 

[Kiko]

Thanks for all the replies.

I tried adjusting down the dimmable range with the Leviton CL dimmer, but it didn't dim any less than it had prior to the adjustment.

I swapped it out for a Lutron Skylark CL dimmer, which has a dial built into it for adjusting the dimmable range. This worked perfectly, and the bulbs dim all the way down to zero light. The only issue is that at the lowest light output, the bulbs flicker really fast. But the light is so dim, it doesn't appear to be much of an issue. I'm sure, future generations of dimmable LED's will address this issue.

BTW, these are size A15 bulbs, which are needed for the three (small) tulip fan lights.

 

[Runs with Bison]

Kiko-

I would be wary of a setting that was low enough to cause flicker. It might shorten their life. Glad you found a solution though!

You might consider changing out the bells on the fan lights to allow A19 bulbs to fit in without projecting. This is something I've done several times in the past with 100W equivalent CFL's in fans. But it depends on the fan light kit and bell selection available.

Before I went to LED in other fixtures I went through changing all of the bathroom fixture bell's with a longer variety so that I could use 40 or 60W equivalent CFL's in them rather than the fan light incandescents. (This is something I've done in other homes as well.) The bathroom switches in the home don't have the dimmer.

 

[Kiko]

Thanks RWB,

I hadn't thought about getting longer bells. These bulbs stick out even further because I had to put in E17 to E27 socket adapters for the LED's.

As for the flickering, sometimes it seems like they are flickering really fast at every point in the dimmable range. But if they fail before 2035, they're going back to Home Depot.