VARILIGHT Intelligent Trailing-Edge Dimmers (V-Pro) LED Dimmer Switch by Varilight

Product Information

The voltage rating of a dimmer switch tells you where you can use it. For example, residential electrical voltage in the United States is 110 - 120VAC. That means you can use any 110 or 120V dimmer switch in your home.

Unlike incandescent bulbs, which are all dimmable by default, LED retrofit bulbs have a built-in driver in their base. The driver converts AC power to DC power and maintains a constant current to the LED. This is at odds with a phase control dimming system, since the driver attempts to compensate for the sliced-out portions of input voltage. Because of its energy efficiency and long lifespan, LED lights are often the smartest choice for your home. If you want to create mood lighting and get the most of your LED lights you should use a phase cutting dimmer. This is the most popular among dimming control devices. Trailing edge dimmers are usually found within more modern homes and lighting systems. Trailing edge has several advantages, including less electrical interference and ‘buzzing’ which ultimately gives you more control and silent running. The main benefit of using a trailing edge dimmer is that they are able to handle lower wattage loads, therefore meaning that they are far more suitable for illuminating LED bulbs. This means that you don’t have to sacrifice ambience in your home by reaching the high minimum wattage of a leading-edge dimmer. The most important requirement when installing a dimmer switch is a neutral wire, because a lot of modern dimmers require a neutral wire. Homes built prior to 1985 typically won’t have a neutral wire unless the wiring has been updated and brought up to code, so this is an important consideration. Similarly, you can upgrade your existing dimmers and so avoid compatibility headaches. What’s more, such an investment is likely to extend the lifespan of the lamps you buy, giving you an added incentive.Do your research to make sure your lamps and dimmers are suitable for the same type of dimming. Where possible, it can help to match your lamp manufacturer to your dimmer manufacturer. For example, we would recommend using a BG dimmer switch with BG Luceco's dimmable lamps For example, the Kasa HS220, our best smart dimmer, works with Alexa and Google Home, but not with HomeKit. If your smart home is powered by Apple’s HomeKit, you’ll find that the Kasa HS220 just won’t work correctly. In that case, consider the very similar Kasa KS220 that works with HomeKit.

Toggle: These look like standard toggle light switches, but you can raise and lower the toggle to dim and brighten your lights instead of flipping on and off in two binary positions like you would with a traditional light switch. In other cases, the toggle itself acts as an on/off switch, and you adjust the illumination level with a very small slider that’s located right next to the toggle. These are best for applications where you won’t need to adjust the illumination level every day. If you are installing a trailing edge dimmer, you will need to work out how many lights be on each circuit and install a suitable system. For best results with low voltage lighting use VARILIGHT electronic transformers. There is no limit on the number of transformers you can use as long as you keep within the maximum rating of the dimmer. VARILIGHT electronic transformers are suitable for controlling 12V a.c. rated LEDs (MR16). V-Pro dimmers are not suitable for wire-wound "toroidal" transformers. Widest Compatibility: Our V-Pro LED dimmerseries comprises programmable intelligent dimmers with a choice of dimming modes for thewidest compatibility. All V-Pro dimmers offer superior dimming technology to deliver the best possible dimming performance from an LEDload. Dimmers allow you to achieve the exact light level that you desire in a room and consequently alter the mood. There are various types of dimming options available, but the most popular are ‘phase control’ (or phase-cut) dimmers. Phase control dimmers work by chopping out parts of the voltage and reducing power to the light source. The two types of phase control dimmer available are ‘trailing-edge’ and ‘leading-edge’ and they work in different ways which ultimately affects their compatibility with certain light forms:

LED lights and dimming

A grid switch system is made of various mounting and switching components which allow you to mix many types of switches all on the same plate. This can be effective when you want a dimmer switch and an on/off switch on the same face plate. Leading edge dimmer switches can buzz slightly as they operate on TRIAC and contain a small transformer with a coil. If you're just dimming a few LED lamps or downlights, don't get caught up too much with the technicalities of trailing edge vs leading as V-Pro will work out of the box.

For an increased chance of compatibility, trailing-edge dimmer switches tend to work better with the capacitive load of an LED driver. The Varilight V-Pro LED Dimmer 1 x 300Wis from the award-winning V-Pro range. It has an industry-wide reputation for delivering one of the best LED dimming performances available. Research & Investment Dimmers aren’t all about setting the mood though, and Sampayo says installing them in your home can save you money, too. “Practically speaking, the human eye can't distinguish between 90 percent and 100 percent light brightness, but your energy bill can,” Sampayo advises. “Being conscious of energy consumption means you could set your lights to never exceed 90 percent, ensuring a 10 percent energy saving without compromising on brightness.”

Trailing-edge: capacitive loads (e.g. electronic low voltage transformers, LED drivers), resistive loads (e.g. incandescent). Smart home integration can provide you with a lot of options that aren’t available from a traditional dimmer switch. “Smart switches have gained popularity in the era of home automation,” says Brady. “They can be controlled remotely and integrated into smart home systems.” If that sounds interesting, then you may want to consider a smart dimmer. Brady cautions that it's important to pay special attention to compatibility, as smart dimmers are typically designed to work with smart home systems. Trailing edge dimmer switches have a much lower load than leading edge and inductive dimming modes. This is no longer a concern with the zero minimum load of the V-PRo. The Varilight V-Pro contains both trailing edge and a modified leading edge mode in one, these modes can also be programmed. On initial startup, the V-Pro will initialise itself and adapt to the exact LEDs that are on the circuit. Programming only needs to be done to fine tune the dimming results if required.

If you already have a smart home, or you’re in the process of setting one up, this smart dimmer switch from Kasa will make an excellent addition. Installation is simplified by detailed interactive instructions in the Kasa app, it works with several smart home ecosystems, and it connects directly to your wireless network so you don’t need to worry about buying and setting up a separate hub. Choosing an LED compatible dimmer switch used to be difficult and a bit of a lottery. This was because dimming technology differs from LED to LED and the wattage is much lower than incandescent. Varilight solved this problem many moons ago with their V-Pro series of LED compatible dimmer switches. Many existing leading-edge dimmer switches have a relatively high minimum load, which often rules out their use with modest LED or CFL lighting circuits. However, leading-edge dimmers are by far the most common dimming control in existence. Trailing-edge Dimmers (Reverse phase dimmers) Additionally dimmer switches work within a certain operational load range. If your dimmer switch has a range of 0 to 400W, it is possible to have 10 lamps each having 40W on it, or you can have 8 lamps each having 50W. You can have any combination as long as it adds up to a maximum of 400W. LED Lights and Dimmers The dimming capabilities of trailing edge dimmers that are compatible with your LED driver gives impressive results. The brilliant colors and glow of your LED lights are retained when dimmed. They are also cooler and live longer. The dimming capability range of trailing edge dimmer is 100% compared to only 40% for leading-edge dimmers. This means that you can dim your LED light until it is completely off. Conclusion

How to avoid LED dimmer compatibility issues

There are two types of dimmer systems that you can have in your home – trailing edge and leading edge. All of our bulbs and ceiling kits are suitable for trailing edge dimmers only.