Help with Wake Up Light Dimmer not dimming enough

Other Devices & Integrations Lighting & Load Control
1

Greetings:
I wrote simple routine that takes my dimmer from level 1 to level 100, as a wake up light in my bedroom. Works OK, but one problem is that at level 1 it is about 30% of the light level (or brighter). I’m using a HomeProp dimmer. Is there a dimmer that works in Europe that dims way down to almost nothing and will step up as I make the appropriate calls? I believe that the problem is with the dimmer, not my software, as the same lack of dimming is noted with other interfaces.

Is it just better to go with a Philips Hue (or similar LED’s)?

Many Thanks

2

Are you currently using it with an LED bulb?

3

Philips Hue’s lowest still-on brightness is about 3% of its maximum. IMO that’s barely acceptable for a wakeup ramp. Almost all LEDs will be like this, on account of the way they tend to dim using pulse-width modulation (PWM). You may have to shop around to find a LED that dims well. Use a site like http://www.ledbenchmark.com/ as a guide; they publish dimming graphs.

4

@Futzle - I’ve never seen it before, but love LEDBenchmark.com. That is a fantastic resource. It would have saved me a lot of testing/failures.

5

I’m currently using 3 40 watt incandescent bulbs.

But thinking that Philips Hue might be a better way to go.

6

Agree. My kid (6’ 2") accidentally broke one of our MR16 fixtures and bulb swinging his arms in the kitchen. Looking to start transitioning these bulbs to LED replacements.