Is my light fixture dimmable?
What makes a light fixture dimmable is the dimmer controlling it and the light bulb. So it is the light bulb that determines whether you can dim or not (and not the fixture).
It’s important that the dimmer matches up to the light bulb technology in order for it to work properly, because not all bulbs are dimmable, and not all dimmers dim all bulbs.

These are the most common light sources:
* halogen bulbs (dimmable)
* incandescent bulbs (dimmable)
* energy saving lamps (non-dimmable)
* LED lamps (there are dimmable and non-dimmable LED bulbs).

Can you dim any LED bulb?
In a word, no. Dimmable LED bulbs and their non-dimmable counterparts use entirely different componentry, so putting a non-dimmable bulb on a dimmable circuit will not work. This isn’t true of the reverse though; a dimmable bulb will work just fine on a non-dimmable circuit, it just won’t dim…
LEDs that are dimmable are typically labelled as such on the box. If it isn't labelled as dimmable, it's safe to assume it isn’t.
Use only dimmers designed for LED to dim LED light bulbs!
Please note that dimmable LED lamps currently have a lower dimming range than a filament lamp. LEDs currently dim down to about 10% of the total light output whereas filaments may go down to 1-2%.

Your light bulbs flicker and hum? Your light bulbs are not dimming correctly?
That does not mean that the LED bulbs are defective or that the dimmer is broken!
How is this possible?
- a non-dimmable lamp is used. (non-dimmable bulbs will NOT work in dimming circuits)
- the dimmer is not designed for LED lamps (use only a compatible dimmer)
- the power load of the LED lamp is below the minimum required by the dimmer.
- the dimmer is incompatible with the LED lamp technology
- different type of LED lamps are used in the same dimming circuit. The dimmer probably won’t be capable of providing a common signal to each light source. (Ensure that all your bulbs are of the same type and from the same manufacturer).

Can dimmable LED lighting be controlled using a standard dimmer?
Standard dimmers will be under loaded in most LED applications, exacerbating flickering and strobing effects, which, in turn, can drastically shorten lamp life. Standard dimmers are also not equipped to exploit the full brightness range, resulting in a disappointing user experience. Standard dimmers are made to work in high-power circuits and have a mechanism that allows them to dim light from a traditional filament by altering the voltage. But LED lamps have a different functionality. They operate in much lower voltages. So use only dimmers designed for LED lamps, because the dimmers for halogen and incandescent light bulbs cannot ‘read’ the low loading of a LED lamp.

How to select the proper dimmer for LED bulbs?
There are numerous types of dimmer switch available, but by far the most popular are leading edge and trailing edge phase-cut dimmers. Without getting too technical, traditional leading-edge dimmers are designed specifically for high-power circuits and dimming traditional filament bulbs where a variation in voltage is required. Dimming LED bulbs is a lot more complicated, particularly considering the inclusion of an LED driver in the design. Most LED bulbs require a trailing-edge mechanism to work effectively. Traditional dimmer switches are designed to work on lighting circuits with a high load. In a lot of cases LED bulbs won't work with traditional dimmer switches because the load on the circuit is not high enough to meet the minimum load on the dimmer switch. A typical trailing edge dimmer has a minimum load of around 50-60 watts. This is fine when you're dimming 50 watt halogens, but not when you're using 6 watt LED bulbs. If the load on the circuit isn't high enough, the dimmer won't work. Newer, leading edge dimmer switches, are designed with a lower minimum load which helps address this problem.

The load can be calculated by taking the wattage of each bulb and multiplying it by the number of bulbs on the circuit. For example, if you have 10 bulbs, 5 watts each, the load on the circuit will be 50 watts.

Can dimming LED lamps save more energy?
Yes!  Dimmed LED lights mean a reduction in energy consumption.

Which dimmers does zangra sell?
»Here« you can find our full range of dimmers.