LED Lights and GE Dimmers

Other Devices & Integrations Lighting & Load Control
1

I have several GE Dimmers, they worked great with standard incandescent lights. Replaced with LED lights and now when on <20% dim level, Vera does not pick up that those lights are on.

Curious, has anyone else had this problem? Is there a minimum power draw to alert the zwave network that the switch is on?

I also had issues with a circuit with 5 lights, all switched to LED and would flicker (on off when they came on, usually stop after 30 seconds, not always) Solved that problem by changing 1 light back to incandescent.

2

This topic has been covered ad nauseam on this forum.

If you are using dimmable LED bulbs, you need a dimmer that is capable of dimming LEDs, not incandescents. Dimmers without a neutral are not recommended. The following dimmers are known to work well dimming many LED bulbs including Cree and Philips. Note that neutral wires are required by these dimmer switches.

Linear WD500Z-1 Z-Wave 500-watt Wall Mount Dimmer Switch
Leviton DZMX1-1LZ Decora Z-Wave Controls Scene Capable Universal Dimmer
Leviton VRMX1-1LZ 1000W Vizia RF ZWave Universal Magnetic Low Voltage Dimmer (Supports Instant Status)

3

Agree with Z-waver.

However,… the newest GE dimmers claim they work with LED. I have a few, but haven’t installed any yet.

4

Thanks all, never would have thought that the dimmer would not work with dimmable LED bulbs

5

tomgru: Can you please list the model number of the newest GE dimmer that supposedly works with LEDs. Thanks. I can’t find it on the GE/Jasco website.

6

I got the 45712 from Worthington

I also have a 45639 GE/Iris brand from Lowes that says on the package that it works with dimmable LEDs, but it seems to refute that on their website.

7

I just put in one of the new GE\Jasco “Iris Compatible” dimmers from Lowes and they do work, albeit with some issues.

  1. 3x 100W Cree bulbs were super bright but never dimmed past 25% brightness…even when the dimmer was set at 1%. My Aeotec Smart Switches go down to a “barely on” level at 4% and then turn off.
  2. 3x 60W Cree bulbs dimmed to about 50% brightness at 1% on the dimmer. They also hummed so loud at all levels that it would be unusable in anything but a loud room. Again, the Aeotec Smart Switches go low enough that I leave to 60W bulbs on all night as night lights in a hallway, but with a very mild amount of hum.
  3. Status updates are pretty wonky. I can turn the light on from the web interface and from the app and the status is updated without issue. I turn the light on from the switch and an hour later the status still hasn’t updated on Vera.

I put in an order for a Leviton VRMX1-1LZ to compare. I am thinking the GE’s are going back (or being relegated to a little used area) in favor of the Leviton’s. Added bonus: all Leviton Top Products are 20% off at amazon through 12/22/2014 - Leviton top product promotion