Using Non Dimmable Bulbs In A Dimmable Fixture?

[billt460]

Am I OK as long as I keep the fixture on the brightest setting? These are 1,600 lumen A-26 Daylight LED bulbs. (5,000 K).... 2 of them. They're in a remote control ceiling fan light fixture. I have them up and running, and everything seems normal. I just don't want to damage anything.

 

[Zee09]

I have done that for decades and other than the obvious I never had an issue...Is it kosher? Not sure but no issues.

 

[DCDG]

Am I OK as long as I keep the fixture on the brightest setting? These are 1,600 lumen A-26 Daylight LED bulbs. (5,000 K).... 2 of them. They're in a remote control ceiling fan light fixture. I have them up and running, and everything seems normal. I just don't want to damage anything.

I see no harm with it if the bulbs weren't happy they'd be flickering or staying on very dim with the fixture switched off.

 

[Hall]

If you don't use the dimming function, it's effectively a standard non-dimming light fixture. No issues.

 

[DCDG]

If it makes you feel better I recently installed a 3 way Decora style rocker switch in please of a single pole works just the same. lol

 

[y_p_w]

Shouldn’t be a problem. Dimming works by chopping up power output into switched on-off cycles. But it generally requires a light that operates at a consistent, fixed voltage. At least for LEDs lights that are meant to take AC, those use an AC-DC conversion. The non-dimmable ones I’ve installed are all variable voltage, like a 100-277V where it produces a consistent DC voltage to drive the LEDs. But the dimmable ones are rated for maybe 110-120V. I think it works better with dimmers.

But yeah. If you leave a dimmer at max setting, that’s just the same as a closed switch that doesn’t have that on-off cycling.

 

[Leo99]

I don't think you'll damage anything but some dimmers will buzz if they don't like the LED bulb. If they're not buzzing, they're happy with your bulbs.

 

[Gyro Gearloose]

I put a new slide dimmer on an existing fixture and found out that the bulbs weren't dimmable. At first nothing happened but then about half way down from full bright the magic smoke escaped from the dimmer. I always wondered if I got a bad dimmer or the power supplies in the bulb started adjusting and drawing more amps trying to maintain the bulbs at full brightness and overloaded something. I didn't repeat the experiment. The bulbs will be fine but the dimmer, YMMV.

 

[billt460]

This brings up something else you don't hear discussed much. Most everyone now illuminates their homes with LED's. They're everywhere. No one even sells incandescent bulbs anymore, with the possible exception of oven bulbs, along with a few other specialized applications.

The fact is today's world runs on LED's... A 15 watt LED produces roughly the same amount of illumination as a 100 watt incandescent bulb. That translates to 85% less juice per bulb, for what amounts to the same amount of light.... Now, count all the bulbs in your house, inside and out.

Other major high usage appliances like TV's, refrigerator / freezers, and air conditioners all run far more efficiently today, than they did just a few years back.... Yet has anyone's electric bill gone down? Mine sure as hell hasn't. Makes you wonder just how conveniently that all worked out.

 

[dlundblad]

This brings up something else you don't hear discussed much. Most everyone now illuminates their homes with LED's. They're everywhere. No one even sells incandescent bulbs anymore, with the possible exception of oven bulbs, along with a few other specialized applications.

The fact is today's world runs on LED's... A 15 watt LED produces roughly the same amount of illumination as a 100 watt incandescent bulb. That translates to 85% less juice per bulb, for what amounts to the same amount of light.... Now, count all the bulbs in your house, inside and out.

Other major high usage appliances like TV's, refrigerator / freezers, and air conditioners all run far more efficiently today, than they did just a few years back.... Yet has anyone's electric bill gone down? Mine sure as hell hasn't. Makes you wonder just how conveniently that all worked out.

Your usage certainly has gone down. The bill has just gone up like everything else.

 

[billt460]

Another thing is one would think with all of this wattage we're now "saving" nationwide, by applying all of these energy efficient lights and appliances throughout our lives, the lesser demand would alleviate the stress on the overall power grid.

But no, the exact opposite has happened. The "brownouts" in places like California are as bad, or even worse than ever before. Other areas of the country, like the Midwest and Great Lakes regions, all are complaining the power grid is still taxed to the max and beyond.

Many are predicting that the possibility of blackouts this Summer are worse than ever. This in spite of all of the "savings" on energy by the use of LED's, along with everything else becoming more energy efficient, and consuming much less juice.

And I won't even get into all the solar panels you see screwed to the roofs of today's homes and businesses. Still even more supposed, "savings".... In fact many advertise and talk of their systems selling power back to the energy companies. Where is all of that energy going?

Yet the bills keep rising, and the grid keeps failing as if nothing has changed. Makes you wonder what would happen if we all went back to incandescents tomorrow? Would everything blow up? Something doesn't add up, that's for sure.

 

[mk378]

Switching back to incandescents makes no economic sense. You don't even save on bulb cost since the incandescent will need to be replaced several times over the life of one LED.

 

[billt460]

Switching back to incandescents makes no economic sense. You don't even save on bulb cost since the incandescent will need to be replaced several times over the life of one LED.

My point was the difference in energy consumption if it were to happen all at once... Not that I think it should.

 

[mk378]

Consumption per house is down, but the number of houses has increased.

If you do something that increases the usage of your house the electric company will gladly sell it to you.

 

[RedSpider]

Because there are a LOT more people now. The population has grown by almost 10-mllion in the U.S. in the last five years alone. And how many more electric cars in just the last few years? How many more phones and laptops are being charged nonstop? The grid is never going to see any less strain than it does today. Tomorrow will be worse.

 

[billt460]

Well, my wife went to Lowe's this morning to get some potting soil and other assorted crap. And she came home with a 4 pack of dimmable 1,600 lumen LED bulbs.

So I changed them out. They dim nicely. It's not something I would have spent $20 on. But seeing as she did, the least I could do was install them.