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24v dimmable LEDs


Tom Richmond

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Hi.

As per title really... looking for 24v dimmable LED bulbs. Both mr16 and g4 capsule bulbs. 

All the bulbs I have on the boat at the moment are 10-30v, which obviously don't respond to a dimmer (which outputs are varied voltage!) I can't seem to find any fixed voltage 24v ones.

Obvious other route is to use 12v and use a voltage dropper. I already have a 40A victron unit installed, but due to standby current it gets switched off when not in use. Don't really want to route lights through it... so I'd be looking at a low power dropper just for the dimmer circuit, it's just messy. 

Any leads appreciated. 

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12 minutes ago, nicknorman said:

We have standard 10-30v LEDs on our boat, which are dimmable. But the dimming system is PWM, not variable voltage. Works fine.

Lots of 24v PWM dimmers on ebay

I recently bought a couple of 12V ones. £2.99 apiece with free shipping. 

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55 minutes ago, nicknorman said:

We have standard 10-30v LEDs on our boat, which are dimmable. But the dimming system is PWM, not variable voltage. Works fine.

Lots of 24v PWM dimmers on ebay

But that's the type I have! Doesn't work with my 10-24v bulbs...

Perhaps then I just need alternative 10-24v?

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39 minutes ago, nicknorman said:

I suppose it depends on how smoothed the PWM output is and the pulse frequency. Could you wire 2 unstabilised 12v LEDs in series?

Sadly not. It is feeding a few sections of lighting track, in which I intend to be able to switch out fittings. 

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40 minutes ago, Tom Richmond said:

Sadly not. It is feeding a few sections of lighting track, in which I intend to be able to switch out fittings. 

Pity! We have a variety of makes of LED ceiling spots, all regulated (10-30v types) because I was looking for the type with the best quality of light. They all dim satisfactorily with our PWM system - which is part of the boat's electrical distribution system. I am pretty sure there is little smoothing of the chop, perhaps your modules are "too nice" and the chopping is smoothed into a reduced voltage level. So all I can suggest is trying a cheap and nasty ebay PWM module that probably doesn't have much smoothing.

Alternatively you could get a buck regulator from ebay and run the whole lot at 12v, using unregulated LEDs.

If it's any help, these are the LEDs we settled on so I know they definitely dim fine with our PWM and they have a light quality very close to halogen. you could try one.

https://boatlamps.co.uk/collections/bulb-selector/products/g4-15-smd-led-micro-lamp-side-pin

Edited by nicknorman
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1 hour ago, WotEver said:

Ouch! They’re not cheap, are they?  I’m looking for 12 or 15 to replace some halogen bulbs at home but not at that price. 

True, but you get what you pay for! Firstly they had to be small enough to fit the small ceiling spots, but also I’m particular about light quality. Some of the cheaper one we got  were fairly unpleasant, not enough frequencies meaning poor colour rendition, one had a slightly greenish hue. These ones are not the brightest but when you put them adjacent to a 10w halogen it’s hard to tell the difference.

Edited to say that was 6 years ago, general LED light quality has improved since then

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