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The improper lighting may seriously throw off the equilibrium of a room; if they're too bright, you can feel as though you're being questioned, while too dark, you might find it difficult to see your family's features across the room.
However, you are no longer limited to brightness at either extreme because of the magic of dimmable LED light bulbs and switches. The best dimmable bulbs allow you to easily regulate the lighting in your house while still being far more energy-efficient than their halogen or incandescent equivalents.
Prior to beginning, it's critical to understand the proper bulb type for your fittings; nonetheless, for everything else, we'll serve as your guide and discuss some of the best LED bulbs you can dim.
Let's finish illuminating your house now.
How to use dimmable LED light bulbs
It's easy to dim an incandescent bulb; just lower the voltage that is supplied. LED light bulbs operate differently. In reality, an LED is a light-emitting diode constructed from thin slices of semiconductor, not a lightbulb. This electrical circuit is known as a driver. Although they can be made to seem like incandescent bulbs, LEDs don't dim in the same manner that they do.
Analog: One method is to utilize analog dimming, which involves decreasing current so the LED doesn't light up completely. Although the results are variable, this type of LED can perform better with an incandescent dimmer switch. A difficulty with LED flicker is that some of them might not even light up.
PWM: Pulse width modulation (PWM) is a more effective technique that turns an LED on and off thousands of times per second. The effect is successful because the extremely intelligent human brain is content to take an average of what is occurring. In other words, what you actually see is something that is one-fifth as bright as usual if the LED is on 20% of the time and off 80% of the time. These lights use a trailing-edge dimmer, an LED-compatible switch, but they provide far more dependable performance.
Smart bulbs: Another option exists that completely does away with the need for a dimmer switch: the smart WiFi dimmable LED. Given that LEDs are a type of semiconductor, comparable to the components at the core of a computer, it shouldn't come as a surprise that some manufacturers have expanded the concept beyond simple brightness control.
As a result, "smart" dimmable bulbs that can be operated by virtual assistants (like Alexa) and smartphones or tablets have been created. Even if you're thousands of miles away, you can use your voice to activate them, set them to turn on and off at particular times, or control them through phone. Some are also capable of displaying up to 256 million different colors.
Most are WiFi-controlled. The finest, but not all, are compatible with standard home routers. It's crucial to determine compatibility and whether a wireless "bridge"—a device used to connect networks—is required. Z-Wave is a well-liked alternative (a low-power radio network) in places with spotty internet connection, and there are a number of Z-Wave smart dimmable LEDs on the market.
Brightness
Watts have traditionally been used to quantify the brightness of incandescent lights, but this is incorrect since watts are an energy consumption measurement. Lumens should be used to measure brightness. Although they are becoming more widespread, these markings on bulbs might be confusing. Because of this, LED lights in particular are typically tagged with terms like "100W equivalent," "60W equivalent," and so forth. However, they actually use a lot less power. Typically, a 60W comparable LED consumes only 7 or 8 watts to produce that level of brightness. 12 or 13 watts are used to equal 100W. This exemplifies why LEDs provide such remarkable energy savings.
1. What characteristics distinguish a decent LED bulb that can be dimmed?
When dimmed, a decent dimmable LED bulb should be able to keep the same color temperature. Furthermore, it must not flicker or change color when light is increased or decreased. The best approach to test this is to dim the lights in your room and use a light meter to measure the lumen output. If something changes, you might want to think about another alternative for your home's lighting requirements.
2. Do standard LED bulbs work with dimmer switches?
No, you must get LED lamps that can be dimmed. Regular LED bulbs may wind up harming your fittings since they lack the circuitry needed to dim appropriately.
3. Do LED lights cost more than halogen or incandescent ones?
Dimmable LED bulbs are now priced similarly to other types of dimmable bulbs. In addition, they typically cost less over time than incandescent bulbs due to their excellent energy efficiency. For instance, a 65w incandescent might produce the same amount of light as an 11w bulb, which is highly effective!
4. Do I require any particular hardware to install my dimmable LED bulbs to my current fixtures?
No, it's ridiculously simple! The same fittings as conventional incandescent or halogen lights are used with all dimmable LED bulbs. All you need to do is double-check the Edison Screw (ES) number on your current bulb fitting before purchasing a new one.
We hope the list we recommend is useful to you. Carefully review these recommendations and make the best choice for you.
Have a nice day.
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