Dimmable power supply for 12V LED strips

Other Devices & Integrations Lighting & Load Control
1

I know this subject has been discussed frequently over the past two years, but none of my searches seem to address my specific scenario.

I’m replacing the standard toggle switch in my kitchen, which currently switches two large T8 fluorescent fixtures. I’m going with the Aeon 18103 smart dimmer - so the fluorescents have to go. I like the fixtures, and considered switching the (8 total) bulbs with LED drop-in replacement tubes. However, at $40 per tube, and not-dimmable, they don’t seem to be a great value.

Alternatively, I am considering laying 4 x 48" strips of 12V double-density 5050SMD led stripping (warm white) in each one. Each 16’ roll of LED is 48 watts. Trying to source a ‘dimmable’ 120V to 12VDC power supply that plays nice with triac dimmers seems to be next to impossible - or prohibitively expensive.

I saw in another post where a user stuck with a non-dimming 12V power supply, and then used a small RF-based key chain remote to adjust the dimming on the low-voltage side. I suppose even that would be better than what I have now, but it seems to defeat the purpose of the dimming switch - and the practicality of the VERA.

Has anyone found a practical way to provide 50w of 12V power that is controllable (dimmable) by a VERA compatible dimmer?

2

I am in the process of building a dimmer based upon Hek’s Arduino sensor project. I have a prototype circuit fully working and it controls a 5M strip of 5050SMDs with a nice ramp up ramp down dimming effect. I took this route because the combination of a dimmable circuit-cut LED driver and a magnetic / triac z-wave dimmer switch seemed price prohibitive, as you have seen, relative to the cost of the LED themselves. Total parts cost is less than $20.

I plan to share the BOM/design/sketch in Hek’s Arduino forum as soon as I finish it - hopefully this coming weekend.

3

I have one of these controlled by a Cooper Aspire dimmer and it works perfectly.

http://www.elementalled.com/12v-dimmable-driver.html

Greg

4

have you thought about the:

http://pixi-lighting.com/flatlight-residential.html

I saw some chatter that they were dim-able, and they look like a suitable replacement to fluorescents… there is a 2ft by 2ft panel

5

Thanks for the replies. The Arduino thing sounds intriguing. As for the other power supply (>$100) and 2’ x 2’ LED panel (almost $200), these are outside of my budget.

I think I found a triac dimmable power supply that will handle a 40w load. I’ve sent a detailed request for information to the seller here:

http://www.aliexpress.com/item/Triac-round-dimmable-40W-led-driver-led-transformer/944996476.html

At this price, it’s worth a shot to see if it works.

6

Hi Erkme73 - did the Aliexpress item work? I’m thinking of doing the same thing for my closets.

Thanks!

7

Embarrassed to admit, I neglected to follow up with the seller. I sent them a request, and never heard back from them - and in the meantime, life happened. I got distracted and completely forgot about the project. And at this point, I have a few too many irons in the fire to get it going again… Sorry…

8

[quote=“Bulldoglowell, post:4, topic:179433”]have you thought about the:

http://pixi-lighting.com/flatlight-residential.html

I saw some chatter that they were dim-able, and they look like a suitable replacement to fluorescents… there is a 2ft by 2ft panel[/quote]

The Pixi panels are dimmable. Great lights, a total bear to install. They specify low-voltage electronic dimmers if you wish to dim. We went with the Leviton, which only slightly cheaper than the 2x2 Pixi panel. Happy with the results in both our laundry room and MBR closet. But neither cheap, nor for the faint-hearted.

–Richard