How to Troubleshoot a Dimmer Switch | Ask This Old House
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- čas přidán 25. 07. 2024
- In this video, This Old House master electrician Heath Eastman helps a homeowner fix flickering lights controlled by a dimmer switch. Heath shows us the most common issues that homeowners can run into with their dimmer switches.
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Master electrician Heath Eastman takes us on a road trip to solve a homeowner's dimmer problem. After the homeowner explained that she upgraded the switch to a dimmer and that her track lighting is now flickering, Heath knew just where to start. After checking out the switch to ensure that it was compatible, the two discuss the different types of dimmable switches available.
Flickering Lights are a Common Problem
Dimmable lights are a desirable feature. They allow homeowners to adjust the lighting for the time of day, conserve energy, or even set the mood for a movie or romantic dinner. Many homeowners install dimmable switches to achieve this effect, but they end up with lights that simply flicker rather than dim, or switches that don’t do anything at all. Both issues are very common.
Where to find it?
Heath breaks down different types of dimmer switches and helps a homeowner troubleshoot why her dimmer switch is flickering.
It’s important to first identify what kind of transformer will be connecting the dimmer switch. There are 2 main types of low voltage transformers, and they have some distinct differences:
Electronic Low Voltage Transformers - step down 120VAC line voltage to 12VAC or 24VAC. This is executed with electronic circuits. ELV’s are smaller, lighter and more cost effective but have a lifespan of about 5-6 years.
Magnetic Low Voltage Transformers - step down 120VAC line voltage to 12VAC or 24VAC. They use copper, wound around a steel core. MLV’s are also larger, heavier, and more expensive, but have a lifespan between 15-20 years.
Universal Dimmer - designed to work with dimmable LED, dimmable CFL, incandescent and halogen bulbs. They are not usually compatible with MLV or ELV loads.
Incandescent or Halogen Dimmer - designed specifically to control incandescent and halogen bulbs. They are not designed to control LED and CFL bulbs.
Magnetic low-voltage (MLV) Dimmer - works well for recessed lights which are usually magnetic low voltage.
Magnetic low voltage lights are also often larger and heavier than electronic low voltage lights.
Electronic low-voltage (ELV) Dimmer - controls electronic low voltage transformers and dimmable LED load types.
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How to Troubleshoot a Dimmer Switch | Ask This Old House
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The "all in one" dimmer with the tape on the label is a "Lutron Maestro." Works for most household applications. There is a "companion dimmer" if it's a 3-way.
FYI, Maestro is just the style (with the LEDs on the side). It has nothing to do with what types of loads it can dim and there are more than a dozen types of Maestro dimmers. There are Maestro dimmers that could only do incandescent, magnetic low voltage, Electronic Low Voltage, and the Maestro MACL-153M-WH that is more universal as it can do most forward phase dimmable lights except for MLV. Then you have all the Maestro dimmers that work with the Radio Ra or Homeworks Systems.
Another great video guys! 👌
Heath is so good! Great video. 👍🏼
Is there a good way to see on the dimmer itself if it is LED compatible? I am getting some flickering and the bulb life has not been as expected, and it's not a bulb issue.
Does any one remember these dimmer switches, they had a knob one would push the knob por/pour on or off, then turn it right or left por/pour amount of dimming? Like the volume control on a radio!
My solution for these is to just stick to halogen bulbs on these trackheads and when the transformer or socket dies on them, just get an integrated forward phase/triac dimmable LED trackhead that matches the type of track you have (whether it's H-Style, L-Style, or J-Style). Those LED trackheads were designed to work with 120V power (they still have a built in driver) and will dim much better. You can find them for like $30 each
Dimming MR-16's, whether it's on a Magnetic transformer or Electronic transformer is a big challenge and often a complete crapshoot because they were all designed for a resistive halogen bulb. When you use an LED bulb in them, you're adding an extra point of failure in there because the bulb has a tiny LED driver in there that converts the 12 volt AC to DC voltage that the LED can use. Not only that, there is substantially less load on the transformer than it was designed for so for some electronic transformers, you're not even meeting the minimum load requirement so even with a regular switch, it would flicker. So you have 120VAC converted to 12VAC which is then converted to a random DC voltage which then feeds the LED itself. Then you modify the sine wave of the 120V and expect everything to work and this is what you get! Lutron had a great technical white paper on the challenges of dimming MLV and ELV LED lights but for some reason they took it off their site, but it talked about how when you put a capacitive load on a system that was designed for a resistive load, you get spikes. If someone from Lutron is reading this, put it back!
What brand and style tool bag does he have ?
Easy Peasy jobs with good company. Cant ask for a better work day. 👍👍
It's probably a better idea to donate the take out bulbs to someone like Habitat for Humanity, since people still use these.
Or give them to Lobstah fisha men
Good idea! Every Habitat for Humanity manages their inventory donations differently. Best bet is to call your local Habitat ReStore.
What a dumb idea. You’re trying too hard to be a democrat
I have a very expensive dimmer the kind with the neutral connection specifically designed for led bulbs and two led bulbs specifically for dimming. The problem I have is all the dimming happens in the first half of the dimmer. It will dim all the way down and all the way up just like its supposed to but it all happens in the first half of the dimmer. The second half does nothing because they are all the way on at this point.
Bulbs are on the compatibility list.
Just installed a dimmable led Leigh’s fixture works freak but then went to install a dimmer switch and nothing but flickering and I’ve called the company and both said it’s compatible…I’ve tried everything at this point I’m just thinking the dimmer switch is wrong some how
Question should I use a dimmable bulb in a fixture that is not a dimmer?
It would work just fine.
you guys forgot to put gaffers tape on the side of the dimmer switch where it shows Lutron's logo 😬
will this work with a brighter switch?
Oh well no more flashing lights and living room what a party pooper bye-bye disco all jokes aside good work and I learn something new.
How about a video on how to troubleshoot a switch that appears to do nothing? I have two of those.
Check for voltage, continuity, then check if you have any breakers that are tripped/always tripping (switch could be causing a fault instead of working) and if any of your outlets nearby dont always work (could be tied to that switch).
4:30 was he trying to tell Heath she knows know to change her bulbs...
Pretty common mistake by folks, they buy the switch but forget to check if the bulbs are dimmable.
OK, what about a dimmer that worked for years and now when you go to turn it off, it dims all the lights instead of turning them off?
Poor dimmer might be on its way out.
@@kensebben1 I replaced it with a regular switch.
@@Kevin-mp5of no
Did you recently switch to LED bulbs. LEDs rely on DC current, which means that there is a small inverter can converts the household AC current to DC and since LEDs use so little electricity, they can sometimes continue to glow after they lose power. But if switching to a normal switch fixed it, it probably was not that...
The dimmer in my bedroom worked for years & now the bulbs are flickering. Didn't change anything, but found that if I hit the front of the dimmer switch (slap it), they quit flickering.
Short inside the switch. You should replace it so it doesn't arc in the box.
😅 👌👍
Tohmee has a dimma!
On his wheena!
Nice expensive tool bag!
Guy kinda looks like Brendan Fraser
Perbarht
love when the home owner is a cutie!
Perv
You're a perbaht
Go play some more of your childish video games.
be great if govt stayed out of my light fixture and we still had 50c bulbs still...
@@Kevin-mp5of itd be great if people made relevant comments too. but like ya say...
You can still buy 50W halogen MR-16 bulbs. They are not part of the government ban.
Meow
@@Kevin-mp5of 🐈💨
She wanted to take him upstairs. Dang I would have to