Dimmer switches

[Hammy]

Allright guys, hows it going? Have a little problem with dimmer switches. A customer im working for has asked me to install dimmer switches in two rooms that im working in. The first room has 6 12v 35w lamps with individual 60va dimmable transformers. Every dimmer i have bought has a loud buzzing from it, i have tried varilight, get, and mk mains and LV dimmers. Each time there is a loud buzzing. Is there also a buzzing from IR dimmers as i think thats we are going to use. I fitted Lutron dimmers in a house which were almost silent but i know they are really costly. There is also a room with 10 35w on one switch and 8 35w on another. Would i take the 35w when sizing the dimmer or would i rate it according the transformers? The Lutron 2 gang only give 250va per gang but the 1 gang has 500va. Any ideas on ultra quiet dimmers or experience with Lutron or anything else on the market?

 

[bugsy]

Allright guys, hows it going? Have a little problem with dimmer switches. A customer im working for has asked me to install dimmer switches in two rooms that im working in. The first room has 6 12v 35w lamps with individual 60va dimmable transformers. Every dimmer i have bought has a loud buzzing from it, i have tried varilight, get, and mk mains and LV dimmers. Each time there is a loud buzzing. Is there also a buzzing from IR dimmers as i think thats we are going to use. I fitted Lutron dimmers in a house which were almost silent but i know they are really costly. There is also a room with 10 35w on one switch and 8 35w on another. Would i take the 35w when sizing the dimmer or would i rate it according the transformers? The Lutron 2 gang only give 250va per gang but the 1 gang has 500va. Any ideas on ultra quiet dimmers or experience with Lutron or anything else on the market?

You would be better off installing a Lutron GRX 3000 or C-BUS
However these are not retrofit items , so I suggest you use Rako they won't 'Buzz' and are quite easy to install

 

[rosemore]

I have just done 2 rooms with 14 lights in each using lutron. I used their boosters after talking to their tech department, they was excellent. They certainly dont buzz but you have to make sure you get the right booster for the right type of light. There's a free uk number on the instructions for their tech dept. You have to reprogramme the faceplate, which can be a little tricky; I had to reset it and start again several times. good luck

 

[TPES]

Check the total load on the circuit, I have had buzzing before because the circuit was on it's limit. I have reduced the total load and then had no buzzing from the dimmer, so nothing wrong with dimmer. Not saying this is the case for you.

 

[pushrod]

Allright guys, hows it going? Have a little problem with dimmer switches. A customer im working for has asked me to install dimmer switches in two rooms that im working in. The first room has 6 12v 35w lamps with individual 60va dimmable transformers. Every dimmer i have bought has a loud buzzing from it, i have tried varilight, get, and mk mains and LV dimmers. Each time there is a loud buzzing. Is there also a buzzing from IR dimmers as i think thats we are going to use. I fitted Lutron dimmers in a house which were almost silent but i know they are really costly. There is also a room with 10 35w on one switch and 8 35w on another. Would i take the 35w when sizing the dimmer or would i rate it according the transformers? The Lutron 2 gang only give 250va per gang but the 1 gang has 500va. Any ideas on ultra quiet dimmers or experience with Lutron or anything else on the market?

What is the rating of the dimmer switch? what is the rating of the mcb? Try taking most of the lights out and seeing if the dimmer switch still buzzes.

You would determine the number of lights you could use from the transformer output and the dimmer rating from the total wattage of the bulbs.
A transformer would be an inductive load so when calculating the wattage that it is handling i think you should be using a correction factor of 1.8 I suspect your problems are much more to do with loading rather than the individual types of fitting used.

edit ; busy typing while Sid replied - i agree with him

 

[pennywise]

I use richmond dimmers, they are very quite and a little less expensive than lutron

 

[Guest123]

Yes....you need to be careful when using standard dimmers with ELV transformers, usually no more than 5 per dimmer depending on maufacturers instructions for the dimmer and the transformer, some make require a certain kind of dimmer.

Also with regard to GU10 halogens, dimmers should be de-rated by 25 - 50% again depending on make and instructions. You may find that a 500W rated dimmer is only suitable for dimming 250W worth of halogen lighting.

This is more than likely your problem as the chaps have said.

 

[Hammy]

I have just done 2 rooms with 14 lights in each using lutron. I used their boosters after talking to their tech department, they was excellent. They certainly dont buzz but you have to make sure you get the right booster for the right type of light. There's a free uk number on the instructions for their tech dept. You have to reprogramme the faceplate, which can be a little tricky; I had to reset it and start again several times. good luck

Thanks for all the help guys. Contacted Lutron as suggested Rosemore and fitted a power booster. They emailed instructions for connection and programming of the power booster and it works perfectly with no noise whatsoever. I would definetly recommend Lutron. Pretty pricy but customer is delighted and i didnt have to rip his ceiling to bits to re wire.

thanks again