Using the Intermatic InTouch CA600 with dimmable LCD bulbs - Yes it can work

Other Devices & Integrations Lighting & Load Control
1

Hi All,

I just thought I would pass along this tidbit I just learned today regarding using the CA600 with dimmable LED bulbs. This may be common knowledge to Z-Wave veterans, but I didn’t know this and it has been driving me nuts trying to figure it out.

I have CA600 switches and I use them in a ceiling fan light with 3 Costco Feit dimmable LED bulbs and they work flawlessly with the CA600. I have a similar fixture in my home office using the same CA600 switch, but it only takes two bulbs. When I put the same LED bulbs in it they glow when turned off. The Feit bulbs each use 9.5 watts and apparently 3 of them, (28.5 watts) provides enough of a load to stop the glow. The two in my office don’t because they only provide a load of 19 Watts. If I add a 100 watt incandescent bulb to the office fixture with one of the LED bulbs the bulb stops glowing. I did some additional testing with the 3 bulb fixture and found that if I remove two of the bulbs the remaining one starts to glow when the fixture is powered off.

If my understanding of this is correct than all I need to stop the glow when using dimmable LED bulbs, (at least with the CA600 switch) is to ensure that the total wattage of the bulbs in a given fixture is at least 28.5 watts. If my understanding is incorrect, please don’t hesitate to clarify it for me. Like everyone else I’m trying to learn the ins and outs of this technology and trying to help others as I can.

I’m going to head down to the hardware store and see if I can find two dimmable LED bulbs with at least 28.5 watts load to test this theory. I’ll post additional info on my finding if anyone is interested.

Hope this helps other Z-Wave newbies like me.

Gordon

2

All,

As an added note. I purchased two Phillips A21 15 Watt 1145 lumen bulbs, (for a 30 watt total load) and when I installed them both in the fixture the glow from the LED’s when the CA600 is powered off stopped.

Gordon

3

Glowing and blinking when off is a known issue with LED bulbs and dimmers that do not utilize a neutral wire. No neutral or two wire dimmers pass current even when Off. The minimum load to overcome this is usually closer to 40 watts.

The behavior is also impacted by the actual bulbs. Different manufacturers and models may behave differently. For instance, Philips bulbs are usually quite excellent and I would not be surprised if the Philips bulbs worked even below your discovered minimum load level. Cree bulbs also work very well.

4

Hi Z-Waver,

Thanks for the info. I’m not sure why, but even with a single Phillips A21 bulb the bulb still glowed, but two of them did not. Maybe it’s something specific to do with the CA600 switch.

I also bought four more of the Phillips bulbs off of Amazon at a much better price point than my local hardware store and free shipping and no sales tax makes it an even better deal.

Gordon