toddhutch Posted February 14, 2023 Posted February 14, 2023 I have a number of places in the house where we have 24 VDC LED strips. Right now they are being driven with a on off switch that goes to the LED Driver. I'd like to change these to dimmable switches and I'm wondering which LED driver is recommended for this application. I've search online about this, and there are discussions from 2016 and some that are a little newer. I looked at a Magnitude and found that their drivers were not recommended for Insteon 2477DH which I'm using 2477D. My understanding is H is just the high wattage designation.https://magnitudeinc.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/E-Series-24V-Dimmer-Compatiblity-List-REV012.pdf I'm using their E40L24DC-KO for the simple on off now and it works great. When I try and dim, it works down to about 20% then it starts to flicker. So what LED driver should be used in when wanting to dim 24 VDC LED strips? I'm not finding LED drivers that reference insteon. Thank you in advanced! Todd
gduprey Posted March 9, 2023 Posted March 9, 2023 My suggestion would be to try a magnetic transformer (i.e. real transformer vs electronic switched power supply). They are linear and don't have that same "fall off" that a switch-mode power supply might at lower levels and seem overall to behave a bit more reliably with dimmer. Downside is they are larger. That said, there are a few things that are likely to come up: 1) LEDs show any disturbance in the power line, so at low levels, even the 60hz line frequency often becomes "visible", even if mostly in peripheral vision (at higher levels, I think there is enough brightness for you're eyes "persistence of vision" to smooth over something as quick as 60hz). Capacitors on the transformer output could help, but I've not seen a LED driver with any, so the output is always pulsed DC. 2) I've had some jankiness with some Insteon and other dimmers with switch-mode or transformer based low voltage at low dim levels. That is, unexplained occasional pulses (vs regular ones) and dips. I think it is just showing any small surges in the power (i.e. fridge starting/stopping) or other brief variations you can see. I have the "impression" (i.e. not tested out) that this is likely related to the dimmer not working as well when the load on it drops below some minimum. I suppose a way to test this would be to parallel as 120V incandescent light across the same high-volt leads the transformer has (incandescent being a purely restive load and presenting a consistent load to the dimmer). Not sure that is a valid permanent solution, but if debugging, worth a try. In general, dimming to low level is a bit problematic. I think a lot of it comes down to presented load to the dimmer, the characteristics of switch-mode power supplies at the lower-end of their operating range and the nature of LEDs themselves, not having any "buffer" in displaying input power like an incandescent. That last one, I think, might be helped out by adding some filter and storage capacitors to the transformer output, but again, starts getting a bit more complicated. But if it's important, it can be done, it's just not always easy or "off the shelve" for dimming down to the last 15% or so (though I'd love to hear if someone has a better buffered and load adjusted power supply that does handle it). 1
toddhutch Posted March 9, 2023 Author Posted March 9, 2023 Thank you for your response. I'm open for any solution at this point, and open to solutions that use other manufactures devices for the automation. Dimming to 1% is required and having no visible artifacts is required.
Recommended Posts