Can I dim any light source?
Selecting the correct dimming method.
Dimming a light source means that the brightness of the light source is regulated: To reduce the brightness of the lamp, the luminous flux is lowered. If more light is required, the luminous flux is increased.
Dimming light sources not only creates an appropriate atmosphere, but also brings benefits such as energy savings and - depending on the type of lamp - even a longer service life.
But can I use any lamp for dimming? Unfortunately, it's not that simple.
Standard household incandescent and halogen lamps can be dimmed easily thanks to their technology. With fluorescent and LED lamps, however, there is more to it.
For fluorescent lamps, a suitable ballast is required to dim the lamp. It is important to ensure that the ballast is suitable for dimming. If this is not the case, the lamp may flicker or not come on at all. Therefore, make sure that the ballast is marked accordingly. With fluorescent lamps, you must also bear in mind that a burn-in period of around 100 hours is required before the lamp can be dimmed.
LED lamps, on the other hand, have an integrated ballast, so the lamp itself must be designed to be dimmable. You should therefore also pay attention to the corresponding labeling on LED lamps. If you cannot find any indication of dimmability, it is not possible to operate this lamp dimmed.
Overview of the different dimming methods:
- Phase angle control
- Phase cut-off
- Current reduction
- Voltage reduction
- Pulse width modulation (PWM)
Are you unsure which dimmer you need for your Radium lamps? No problem! At www.radium.de/en/dim you will find our dimmer compatibility lists to help you find the right dimmer for your lamps.
And if you still have any questions, please send us a message using our contact form.
In our product portfolio you will find high-quality dimmable LED lamps for every application. In most cases, you can recognize dimmable light sources by the family name "Star". However, look out for the word "DIM" in our product designations to ensure that it is a dimmable lamp.
Click here for the LED lamp portfolio:
Product catalogue