I have 18 BR30s on this switch so I figured that was enough wattage to prevent flicker (18 bulbs x 13 watts = 234w load).
I installed all this Wednesday and all worked fine for a day. Then 24 hours later I am noticing flickering at any level of brightness, however more pronounced at lower dim levels.
Yes. They each utilize a special switch for 3-way configs, so make sure you get the correct mate to whichever you choose.[/quote]
Your links being the master capable of 3-way (as in has the traveler) and just requiring a proper aux switch on the other side? If so, do you have a good example of an accompanying aux switch people have had success combining with these?
yea, I agree. I didnt realize the distaste for the GE/Jasco switches until troubleshooting all of this. Ill try one of your suggestions and see what happens.
Do you have any information on which is the cheapest switch that supports instant status but which also dims good in all levels?? I want to use it with LED bulbs. It doesn’t have to be rated more than 150 watts for LED.
Don’t forget the Leviton VRMX1-1LZ, which is a 1000W universal dimmer (works with incandescent, florescent, LED, and magnetic low-voltage loads) that is scene capable (with instant status). The dimmer bar is temperamental, though. I’ve found that you can usually fix that by removing and resetting the bezel assembly (it’s meant to be removed so you can change paddle colors). And it matters little to me, because I never dim my dimmers on the dimmer (!), I do almost everything on phone or tablet, directly or with scenes. VRMX1 runs in the $mid-70s cost-wise and is a good alternative to the VRE06. Neutral required.
I have a ton of Leviton Vizia RF dimmers sitting around, if you’re looking for some. The model I have, I believe, is RZI06-1LX. They support instant status. I have lots installed, I just have more dimmer switches than I have dimming lights. I’m looking for either Monster or Leviton relay switches in trade!
I can confirm the model number when I’m home, if you’d like.
By the way, the neutral alone is not sufficient to prevent flickering. There are two issues at play when selecting a dimmer for a particular load: the presence of (and need for) a neutral, and the method of dimming.
The neutral basically determines how the switch powers itself. If an electronic switch or dimmer has no neutral, it needs a way to complete a current path for its own power supply, and the most direct way to do that is through the load–gotta complete the circuit somehow (and using the ground wire is a no-no). No-neutral devices pass a small amount of current through the load even when off–this is the current required by the electronics for the switch/dimmer’s own operation. This doesn’t work so great with electronic loads like LED and CFL, but it works famously with incandescent, which is why you often see incandescent dimmers that don’t require a neutral. Sometimes you can work around the load type limitation by ensuring that the load meets a minimum wattage (40W seems to be the rule of thumb), but this isn’t the only reason LEDs and CFLs flicker, and it’s really just a hack.
The other reason is the dimming method. Some dimmers are leading edge dimmers, and some are trailing edge. Electronic dimmers chop the AC waveform to effectively reduce the root mean square voltage, and this accomplishes the dimming. Leading edge dimmers chop the front (leading edge) of the wave and pass the back on to the load. Trailing edge dimmers pass the front of the wave and chop the back (trailing edge). MLV and universal dimmers often pulse the output throughout the waveform, an even more complex approach. But to the issue of flicker, many incandescent dimmers are leading-edge type, which is fine for incandescent loads, but not always suitable for the electronics in LED and CFL. These electronically-ballasted loads work better on trailing edge dimmers.
So, even if you have a neutral, or sufficient pass-through load, if the dimmer’s output waveform isn’t compatible with the load, you can still get flicker and buzz.
(edited for clarity and mixed up types–more caffeine required when posting)
@rigpapa - This is an excellent explanation. Unfortunately, there is little option for the consumer to determine if a particular switch uses leading or trailing edge and even in the few cases where you can find that information, the bulbs don’t tell the user what they need.
@Z-Waver so true. I wish all the manufacturers were more clear, but they use more basic language that omits detail and leaves one assuming and guessing.
Again, I want to pitch the Leviton VRMX1 universal dimmer, which has instant status, dims all of the LEDs I’ve ever tested with it (mostly TCP Elite and Cree) and costs half (or less in many cases) of what the VRE06 costs these days.
Evolve is specific in the LRM-AS documentation that it’s for incandescent loads only. That said, I’ve used it with a few good quality LED bulbs on my bench and it works VERY nicely, I must say. But I was not testing for safety or longevity. I’ve got a DZMX1 being delivered tomorrow, hopefully, and I’m eager to test it.
I’ve just installed a Linear WD500Z-1. I get some flickering with a set of philips led bulbs and it’s odd because it isn’t instantly, 5-10 minutes later I will get intermittent flickering.
While wiring I did have a bit of a hard time…I did all the usual black-black, white-white, green-copper but then for the blue wire I had no load wire available. There was a red wire not being used, I tried that but no dice. So I have the blue load wire connected with this white wires and it behaves normal less the flickering.
Any thoughts? Maybe it is the bulb? CNET rates my bulb as poorly for flickering though I find it odd as I have another GE dimming switch and the same bulbs don’t show the same issue.
I’ve just installed a Linear WD500Z-1. I get some flickering with a set of philips led bulbs and it’s odd because it isn’t instantly, 5-10 minutes later I will get intermittent flickering.
While wiring I did have a bit of a hard time…I did all the usual black-black, white-white, green-copper but then for the blue wire I had no load wire available. There was a red wire not being used, I tried that but no dice. So I have the blue load wire connected with this white wires and it behaves normal less the flickering.
Any thoughts? Maybe it is the bulb? CNET rates my bulb as poorly for flickering though I find it odd as I have another GE dimming switch and the same bulbs don’t show the same issue.[/quote]
I think that you need to eliminate possibilities until you are left with your answer.
The strong possibility that you have miswired the switch. You just tried some stuff and it seems to work? But not quite right? POSITIVELY identify every wire in the circuit and then wire the switch correctly as per the instructions and numerous posts on this forum!
The bulbs are rated poorly, for flickering. Your bulbs are flickering… Perhaps try another brand bulb on the circuit and see if it flickers as well.
Dimming is accomplished by chopping off a piece of the current’s sine wave. Some dimmers chop the first half and other dimmers chop the second half, called leading or trailing edge. Some bulbs are only compatible with one or the other type of trimming and will flicker on an incompatible dimmer.
For future posts, it is helpful if you provide specifics about the dimmers and bulbs. Brand alone is not sufficient. For instance the Philips LPrize A19 bulbs are leading edge dimmable, which could result in flickering, while the Philips BR30 is leading and trailing edge dimmable which will be more resistant to flickering.
I’ve just installed a Linear WD500Z-1. I get some flickering with a set of philips led bulbs and it’s odd because it isn’t instantly, 5-10 minutes later I will get intermittent flickering.
While wiring I did have a bit of a hard time…I did all the usual black-black, white-white, green-copper but then for the blue wire I had no load wire available. There was a red wire not being used, I tried that but no dice. So I have the blue load wire connected with this white wires and it behaves normal less the flickering.
Any thoughts? Maybe it is the bulb? CNET rates my bulb as poorly for flickering though I find it odd as I have another GE dimming switch and the same bulbs don’t show the same issue.[/quote]
I think that you need to eliminate possibilities until you are left with your answer.
The strong possibility that you have miswired the switch. You just tried some stuff and it seems to work? But not quite right? POSITIVELY identify every wire in the circuit and then wire the switch correctly as per the instructions and numerous posts on this forum!
The bulbs are rated poorly, for flickering. Your bulbs are flickering… Perhaps try another brand bulb on the circuit and see if it flickers as well.
Dimming is accomplished by chopping off a piece of the current’s sine wave. Some dimmers chop the first half and other dimmers chop the second half, called leading or trailing edge. Some bulbs are only compatible with one or the other type of trimming and will flicker on an incompatible dimmer.
For future posts, it is helpful if you provide specifics about the dimmers and bulbs. Brand alone is not sufficient. For instance the Philips LPrize A19 bulbs are leading edge dimmable, which could result in flickering, while the Philips BR30 is leading and trailing edge dimmable which will be more resistant to flickering.
