Weird Insteon dimmable light issue (new bulbs?)

[ctviggen1]

I have this odd Insteon light issue.  I have two ceiling fans, one in each daughter's room.  I replaced the bulbs to go for brighter bulbs. Went from LED to LED.  Both of these have dimmable switches.

Now, the lights act strangely. Often, when you turn them on, they go to about 50-60% power, stop, then go to 100% power.  Or they go to 100% power.  Don't know what's going to happen. But when you dim them, they do not dim smoothly.  It looks bad, as they dim "choppily". 

I was thinking when I heard it was one room, maybe the Insteon switch was bad.  But now that it's two rooms, I'm wondering if it's the bulbs.

Anyone have a similar issue when changing LED bulbs?

(Unfortunately, I threw away the other LED bulbs, thinking I would not use them again. I'll have to go buy other bulbs to compare, and I'll have to pull one of the bulbs so I don't buy the same ones.)

[atmarosi]

Yea LED + dimming is quite the science experiment.  They all are setup differently so they all work differently. 
 

i haven’t found an exact perfectly working LED that’s dimmable with Insteon…still have some spare illegal bulbs!

[ctviggen1]

Thanks.  The other bulbs I had seemed to work well, but they were not bright enough.  This is the normal "have one light in the middle of the room" build. I always want more light.   

I'll have to change bulbs again.  That's too bad. 

[Techman]

LED bulbs have a built-in driver circuit. Some LEDs are not compatible with the triac dimmer that Insteon uses. I've had good results with FEIT led bulbs.

[Brian H]

Also when on a dimmer. Verify the LED bulb is rated to be on a dimmer. Not all of them are made for a dimmer.

Also may have mounting restrictions. Like not in a totally enclosed fixture or damp locations.

Edited September 16, 2023 by Brian H

[lilyoyo1]

Try the Phillips warm glow for line of bulbs. Most work really great work insteon

Edited September 17, 2023 by lilyoyo1

[jec6613]

10 hours ago, lilyoyo1 said:

Try the Phillips warm glow for line of bulbs. Most work really great work insteon

*If you can find them...

They seem to be discontinuing them in favor of pushing people to Hue, but yes they were the best dimmable bulbs using normal dimmers.  If you like them, make sure you buy enough spares to last a while (like I did).

The Warm Glow are so good because they have two sets of LEDs inside of them, one that's a low power warm set, and another that's a higher power closer to daylight set, and some electronics to activate them with different ramp rates - being effectively two different power light bulbs in one package they can dim lower by using the warm LEDs, giving them the excellent response to dimming.

Despite all that, Hue still dim better, but require an always-on circuit (Lutron does sell a Zigbee remote switch that installs over a normal toggle, at least).

[lilyoyo1]

2 hours ago, jec6613 said:

*If you can find them...

They seem to be discontinuing them in favor of pushing people to Hue, but yes they were the best dimmable bulbs using normal dimmers.  If you like them, make sure you buy enough spares to last a while (like I did).

The Warm Glow are so good because they have two sets of LEDs inside of them, one that's a low power warm set, and another that's a higher power closer to daylight set, and some electronics to activate them with different ramp rates - being effectively two different power light bulbs in one package they can dim lower by using the warm LEDs, giving them the excellent response to dimming.

Despite all that, Hue still dim better, but require an always-on circuit (Lutron does sell a Zigbee remote switch that installs over a normal toggle, at least).

They aren't discontinuing them completely. They're integrating the technology through their product lines so it's no longer a specific line. 

You'll find the description as flicker free with warm glow effect. They can easily be found on Amazon and at home depot though stock varies locally. They'll be happy to ship to you though. 

Hue and most halfway decent (purpose built) electronically controlled bulbs will dim better than a standard led bulb that has to work with a broad range of devices that they have no control over. 

Even with those types of bulbs, lower isn't always better. The fact is, at the lowest levels, the output really isn't usable. 

[jec6613]

32 minutes ago, lilyoyo1 said:

They aren't discontinuing them completely. They're integrating the technology through their product lines so it's no longer a specific line.

For A19 this may be true, but certainly GU10, BR20, PAR20L and PAR38 are almost unobtainable.

[Techman]

Take a look at the FEIT bulbs

https://www.feit.com/collections/flood-spot-lighting

they dim well and don't flicker. I've used them for years without issues.

 

[lilyoyo1]

1 hour ago, jec6613 said:

For A19 this may be true, but certainly GU10, BR20, PAR20L and PAR38 are almost unobtainable.

Not necessarily....a quick search on Amazon would pull those up except for par38 which is mostly an outdoor bulb (yes some people use them indoors).

Due to how most recessed lights go in today, theyve focused on integrated lights vs standard bulbs with limited need. 

[ctviggen1]

Thanks, all.  Sorry it took me so long to get back to this. 

I started looking at Amazon...what a confusing array of bulbs.  I think I had Fiet bulbs before, as I got them from Costco, which I think used that brand.  The problem is that there's only one light in these rooms, and 40W equivalent isn't bright. 

Philips would be great, but they are so expensive.  Each fan uses 3 bulbs, and I have 7 ceiling fans in my house (all 7 I installed myself, 6 of which including the electrical box) (only 4 of which are controlled by Insteon though, and one of those uses other bulbs, so 3 fans).  But that's 9 bulbs. 

Let me see what I can find.

[ctviggen1]

Yikes!  Feit 50W equivalent E11 bulbs are $10/each at Home Depot.  That's $90 for three ceiling fans.  Though it looks like a halogen equivalent is $8/bulb, so not much cheaper. I guess I'll have to bite the bullet.

[larryllix]

2 hours ago, ctviggen1 said:

Yikes!  Feit 50W equivalent E11 bulbs are $10/each at Home Depot.  That's $90 for three ceiling fans.  Though it looks like a halogen equivalent is $8/bulb, so not much cheaper. I guess I'll have to bite the bullet.

I have been finding that dimmable bulbs seem to be disappearing off the face of the earth now. I have only ever bought dimmable bulbs in the past as I believe they have better power supplies in them to not be blinking so badly with every power glitch.

 

Don't forget to count the A/C cost savings into those lower heat bulbs. You will likely save that much energy cost in one year.
 

Edited September 25, 2023 by larryllix

[RPerrault]

if this is a hunter fan (i think its a hunter), they have a small box wired into the lights on the newer models - i removed it - no problems with dimmable led (candelabra base) 

 

[FloridaGary]

On 9/17/2023 at 1:37 PM, Techman said:

Take a look at the FEIT bulbs

https://www.feit.com/collections/flood-spot-lighting

they dim well and don't flicker. I've used them for years without issues.

 

Same here. Feit bulbs and no issues for years. Dimmed at 50% and no flicker.