Dimmer 2 installation issue

[Oriz 0]

Hello, 

 

I'm a new Fibaro user and having some issues here that i wish some one could help me here.

 

1. I'm having difficulties to install the Fibaro Dimmer 2 .

After i installed it (without N) , turning the switch on/off works only on some cases. Also, swiping the bar on the mobile app causes the light to flicker. 

I have a strip LED connected to a 12V. Is this something that should work? 

 

2. In my bed room, i have a box of 2 switches (each one control a separate light).

However, I have another box with only 1 switch that also controls one of the lights. 

I have managed to successfully connect Single / Double switches without any problems. Which module should i choose now? Double Switch will be ok? If so, how should i connect it?

 

Thank you all.

 

Edited August 13, 2017 by Oriz

[speedy 64]

On 8/16/2017 at 0:18 PM, Oriz said:

Hey again..

 

In regards to my first question, this is the lamp that i have in my living room. I want to order the RGBW switch but i'm still not sure if it will work on this. As you can see in the pictures attached, this is not an AC adapter, 

it's called LED driver which i'm not quite sure what it is. 

 

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This is a constant current driver with 850mA and its not dimmable. 

And RGBW will not work (this has been explained)

 

There is a solution:

You can find dimmable (on the primary 220V side)  constant current transformers so there is a way of dimming these types of lights with Fibaro dimmers.

I use them a lot and they work great.

I have not used this brand but i include it as an example:

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I use tridonic (or rebranded as many suppliers use this but rebrands to fit their needs)

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Just pick a transformer that corresponds to your constant current and the W of your light fixture and dim away  

Edited September 4, 2017 by speedy

[petergebruers 1,265]

11 hours ago, speedy said:

You can find dimmable (on the primary 220V side)  constant current transformers so there is a way of dimming these types of lights with Fibaro dimmers.

I use them a lot and they work great.

I have not used this brand but i include it as an example:

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Great Find! I have about 10 Mean Well power supplies and I can recommend them. Unfortunately, Although I do have different types, I do not have one from the PCD series...

 

The PCD-40-700B should be compatible with that light fixture, but it is slightly lower current rating (700 mA instead of 850 mA) resulting in a bit less brightness but longer LED life. I cannot tell if they are mechanically compatible.

 

I am pretty certain it'll work, except for 1 important uncertainty: you seem to have 2 supplies in one light. If you add switching supplies, like this one, in parallel to a dimmer (any dimmer) there is a slight possibility of instability, causing flicker or a ripple like effect. If you put only one supply on one dimmer, it is not an issue. I really cannot tell if the PCD series does or does not have this problem. You'll have to try it and find out... The PCD is quite modern, I expect it to be good quality. But I've never tried them so I thought I'd better warn you...

 

You can by them in Europe from TME:

 

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With this data sheet, your electrician can double check the existing supply to confirm it matches the PCD-40:

 

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[Oriz 0]

@

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initial values are :

parameter 1 - Minimum brightness level is - 1%

parameter 2 - Maximum brightness level is - 99%

 

After that, i re-calibrated the dimmer using parameter 13 (set to 1, without bypass). The issue still remains. Only when i changed the p2 maximum level to 60%, 

the light didn't turn off when dim to maximum level.

 

I think that i will check this with a different bulb, maybe a 100W or something. 

 

@

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Thanks for your input.. 

I will be happy to check this , but i'm not quite sure what to order.. keep in mind that i have 2 LED drivers.. so i need to buy 2 transformers? 

 

 

[petergebruers 1,265]

38 minutes ago, Oriz said:

After that, i re-calibrated the dimmer using parameter 13 (set to 1, without bypass). The issue still remains. Only when i changed the p2 maximum level to 60%, 

the light didn't turn off when dim to maximum level.

 

I cannot explain why calibration gives p2 = 99... but 60 is a perfectly valid number if this is a 2-wire setup. It will not influence your "dimming experience" a lot. If it bothers you, you will have to convert to 3-wire setup. You are probably missing a wire at the dimmer to do that, so it is not an easy solution.

[speedy 64]

3 hours ago, petergebruers said:

 

Great Find!

Thanks, yes these types of transformers are "new -ish" so they have been around for some years and solve all situations with constant current lights.

 

3 hours ago, petergebruers said:

 

I am pretty certain it'll work, except for 1 important uncertainty: you seem to have 2 supplies in one light. If you add switching supplies, like this one, in parallel to a dimmer (any dimmer) there is a slight possibility of instability, causing flicker or a ripple like effect.

 

I have used up to 3 drivers connected(with different loads connected, same W on all drivers) to one Fibaro dimmer V2 so from my experience there should be no issue using multiple transformers and lights.

Especially in this case where the load will be equal spread out to 2 drivers.

 

If there is a problem, its down to the specific driver brand in my experience.

Never mix drivers of different spec/brand though, that is always asking for trouble  

 

I have built up a "knowledge bank" with what devices work over the years, so it can be a bit of trial and error but Tridonic / Mean well are respected brands so they should work fine.

[petergebruers 1,265]

@speedy thank you for sharing your experience. I fully agree they are respected brands. I can only add that the flicker issue has been reported on a different product, similar to the halotronic electronic transformers, but I do not remember the details. A halotronic is a completely different kind of supply, but to an end user they might just be "dimmable drivers", that is why I mentioned it...

[speedy 64]

52 minutes ago, Oriz said:

@

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Thanks for your input.. 

I will be happy to check this , but i'm not quite sure what to order.. keep in mind that i have 2 LED drivers.. so i need to buy 2 transformers? 

 

Yes and no  

You could replace the 2 drivers with one driver depending on how powerful the LEDs are.

 

Replace 2 drivers: (Best option, that will work for sure depending on quality of the driver)

Buy 2 drivers with same spec 850mA (or less if you don't fint the correct one) and same wattage 45W and the you are sure it will work.

 

Replace 2 drivers with 1 driver:

This might be an option depending on the leds in the light (total power of the lights)

Could you take a picture of the spec sticker inside of the lamp?

 

And also a closeup of the LED strips so we can see the specification of the LEDs for more information?

 

Edited September 5, 2017 by speedy

[Oriz 0]

3 minutes ago, speedy said:

Could you take a picture of the spec sticker inside of the lamp?

 

 

I will upload it later on today when i get back home..

 

[speedy 64]

19 minutes ago, petergebruers said:

A halotronic is a completely different kind of supply, but to an end user they might just be "dimmable drivers", that is why I mentioned it...

 

That is very true! 

Halotronic with halogen lights have never given me an issue but changing to 12V LED lights using the same driver might give som very unexpected results.

12V halogen to LED changes using dimmable 230VAC to 12VAC transformers is always a little bit if trial and error, especially depending on the brand of the LED light and brand of the transformer.

Same thing where people change 230V GU10 to Led.

 

So people, as @petergebruers said: A dimmable driver comes in MANY shapes and forms, the driver/transformer must ALWAYS be matched to your specific situation!

 

Nothing is easy in the LED world  

 

Edited September 5, 2017 by speedy

[Oriz 0]

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I have attached the screen shots, tell me if this helps to figure it out what should i need to order.

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[speedy 64]

On 9/5/2017 at 8:33 PM, Oriz said:

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I have attached the screen shots, tell me if this helps to figure it out what should i need to order.

Sorry to say, there is only the information in the light to go on.

So you then need 90W as the fixture specified and my guess it that you then need 2 drivers with 45W / piece.

 

90W seems a lot for this light thoug (number of LED stripes and the type of stripe 5370) they probably only gave the maximum of the drivers as a max load and not the actual load.

So if you can't measure this light with a watt meter then you have to get drivers that can handle 90W, even if that seems like a lot.

 

Good luck.