Dimming Fluorescent Question

[GarryJ]

Hi all.

Just looking for some help with dimming 2 x 6ft fl fittings. Only 2 on circuit and standard wiring. Feed and SL at normal switch just now. I asked wholesalers to source me a solution for the customer as he wanted them to be able to be dimmed. They came back saying change 2 ballasts in fl fittings to Helvar EL1x70sc and change switch to dimmer - Danlers DPID10VDCMB.
They said this will work on existing wiring and no extra cables would be required however looking at it to me there needs to be a 2 core run from switch position to ballast then between fittings which customer does not want. Can anyone assist?
Thanks in advance for any help

 

[7029 dave]

Most decent modern fluorescents come with automatic dimming today, they dim up and down with the lux levels in the room without the occupier of the room even knowing it is going on, used a lot in schools and colleges for student concentration and proper lux level working conditions. Thorlux is a main manufacturer of this type of lighting, it is the modern way Dave.

Learning all the time Mike learning all the time. lol

 

[davesparks]

Sorry Mike, it does work to a point at least but I just wanted to rule it out before people think it might be a viable option as sales of foil tape start rocketing in the UK .

Look on the bright side, the foil tape might get cheaper then. That stuff is ridiculously expensive when all we do is blow it up

 

[Guest77]

Just to clarify, the tape is on the back of the tube and not visible lol, as Marvo rightly mentioned it is probably not allowed due to a potential risk of shock, so please everyone do not attempt it.

 

[Marvo]

I just came across the IES Lighting Handbook first edition 1947. It's free to download because copyright has expired and it's available here in most formats for portable devices as well as text and normal pdf. https://archive.org/details/ieslightinghandb00inillu

If you're as sad and sorry as I am and you're home alone with nothing better to do it will make interesting reading if you've got the patience for an 80Mb download.

 

[Lucien Nunes]

If the switch drop has two cores from the lights not shared with anything else, and the perm L is available to both, is it not possible to get a ballast or remote interface that switches the AC itself in response to the ELV control and does not require the 230V circuit to run via the switch position?

Actually, I have a fluo dimmer that only needs the ELV at the switch position. I don't know if it will work with your ballasts though and you might have a job squeezing it in...
Electrokinetica - Cinema: Plant room

 

[back_ache]

I've spent a lot of time working with dimable FL's of all type's so I thought I'd help wrap this up, I'll will concentrate on the mainstream here and now for clarity.

The way modern fl's dim is by using a special high-frequency ballast that take a control signal that's either mains, analog or digital depending on the ballast.

* Mains

Live goes though to a rocker switch that indicates up/down (with long presses) and on/off (with short) the brandname for this is switchdim

* Analog

a 1-10v dc signal (or resistant through a variable-resistor/potentiometer) tells the ballast what brightness 1 being minimum, 10 being max (it does not turn it off, you have to kill the power for that)

* Digital

Similar to analog but can tell the light to turn off and requires complex control equipment, protocols to look out for are DSI and DALI


PS going back to the original question, if there is an issue running the extra control cabling you can get radio control modules

If anyone has specific questions or wants to know more about this (dull) subject feel free to message me

 

[telectrix]

gave you a thanks for that useful post.

 

[shanky887614]

I've spent a lot of time working with dimable FL's of all type's so I thought I'd help wrap this up, I'll will concentrate on the mainstream here and now for clarity.

The way modern fl's dim is by using a special high-frequency ballast that take a control signal that's either mains, analog or digital depending on the ballast.

* Mains

Live goes though to a rocker switch that indicates up/down (with long presses) and on/off (with short) the brandname for this is switchdim

* Analog

a 1-10v dc signal (or resistant through a variable-resistor/potentiometer) tells the ballast what brightness 1 being minimum, 10 being max (it does not turn it off, you have to kill the power for that)

* Digital

Similar to analog but can tell the light to turn off and requires complex control equipment, protocols to look out for are DSI and DALI


PS going back to the original question, if there is an issue running the extra control cabling you can get radio control modules

If anyone has specific questions or wants to know more about this (dull) subject feel free to message me

thanks for the interesting read.

fitted analouge and dahli lights and very easy