I read in the Guardian that halogen bulbs are to be phased out in favour of LEDs. And a good thing, too. I have already replaced all my halogen bulbs in this way except for those being powered through dimmers.
When halogen bulbs become no longer available, with what shall I replace such bulbs powered through dimmers?
LEDs, quite a wide range of them are compatible with dimmers (although perhaps not all types of dimmer). I’ve been using dimmable LED headlights on my bicycle for many years.
My understanding is some halogens will still be available, for use in locations where LEDs or other lighting technologies (CFL) won’t operate. One example is the halogen globes used for oven lights. LEDs generally have a maximum ambient operating temperature of 60-80oC. Temperatures above this most likely will result in premature/rapid bulb failures.
Thanks very much for this. One of the FAQs prompts me to ask - will a “dimmable LED” work with a dimmer which hitherto worked with halogen bulbs? Or does a “dimmable LED” require a special LED dimmer?
Maybe not…but a dimmer switch must be compatible with a dimmable LED. If you know the brand and model of the dimmer you currently have, check to see what the manufacturer says about using it with LEDs.
Some switches have the brand visible on the switch surface of under the removal face plate (that is if the switch has a remove face plate). The model number may also be under the face plate of on that part of the switch covered by the face plate.
I have removed our halogen down lights, and most of the incandescent globes and replaced them with LEDs, including ones on a dimmer. I used dimmable LED globes where there was a dimmer, and it has worked every time.
I have bought the LEDs based on their Lumen output, not their wattage. I have found the same stated wattage can have a variety of Lumen output. For more information have a look at Lumen (unit).
In places where the brightness of a halogen is required I have picked higher Lumen. Elsewhere where I needed softer lighting I looked for lower Lumen output.
So the bottom line with your dimmers it try to replace/have replaced the existing halogen light fittings without replacing the dimmers - as long as you buy dimmable LEDs. For lights with normal on/off switches normal LEDs will work.
A final note: Although the LEDs don’t produce nearly as much heat as the halogen globes, for ceiling mounted downlights, they still recommend that you ensure you the fittings are not covered in the ceiling, or buy fittings with a heat basket to lift the insulation etc away from the fitting.
I’ve replaced all my diimmable lights with LEDs. We inherited them with the house. I’ve found their performance problematic. I purchased new dimmers for two lights and these failed to operate at all. never really saw the need for dimmers and we just leave them on full all the time.
There are also switch dimmable LED lights you can buy ie you quickly cycle the switch and the lights dim in preset steps eg 75%, 50% and 25% and back to 100%.
But you if really need to use a dimmer get LED lights that suit the version of the dimmers you have, there are 3 types of loads dimmers are designed to work with:
R type load ie General Lighting Service (GLS), Incandescent and High Voltage (HV) Halogen
L type load ie Low Voltage (LV) Halogen with a magnetic transformer (wire coil type)
C type load ie LV Halogen with electronic transformer
Dimmer types
R (leading edge type dimmer) for use with R type loads
RC (trailing edge type dimmer) for use with both R and C type loads
RL (leading edge type dimmer) for use with both R & L type loads
RLC which should be compatible with all 3 types of loads
Many LEDs in Australia seem to work well with R and RL type dimmers but do not work well with RC and RLC type dimmers. If you find your LEDs are not working well with the dimmers check they are compatible before blaming the LEDs for being faulty, it may just be the wrong type for the dimmer.