There are two types of dimmer switch for mains dimming in your home.
Trailing edge or leading edge dimmer for led.
Trailing edge switches work best with leds.
Led lights and dimming unlike incandescent bulbs which are all dimmable by default led retrofit bulbs have a built in driver in their base.
If your dimmer switch is old it s likely a leading edge switch and worth changing to a trailing edge version.
Trailing edge dimming technology is undoubtedly more complex and slightly costlier than its leading edge predecessor.
Leading edge dimming is typically used with incandescent bulbs and produces a rush of voltage every half cycle resulting in a rush of current to the light source.
Leapfrog lighting is no exception.
However when finding the perfect dimmer you should look at the specifications of led and driver as well as dimmer to see the compatibility.
Trailing edge is also better for filament lamps too if ever the op were to swap back to halogens the soft.
However crucially it s led friendly.
Now you may ask which dimmer is better for led lighting generally trailing edge is the most popular dimmer with led light sources.
The difference between the two is that with a leading edge dimmer after voltage increases post zero crossing this dimmer inhibits for a while.
Trailing edge dimmable led lamps are available in both leading and trailing edge versions depending on the manufacturer so it is important to be sure what led dimmer type you re looking at to make sure that they are suitable for your specific application.
Leading edge and trailing edge.
However because led retrofit lamps are more likely to be installed on existing dimmers used for incandescent or halogen lamps many manufacturers design and test their led lamps to be compatible with leading edge dimmers.
Output brightness is controlled as energy being transferred is properly metered.
Using trailing edge dimmers with leds the 10 rule is very important when using trailing edge dimmers with leds.
A trailing edge dimmer has a lower minimum load than leading edge dimmers making it a better choice for dimming modestly sized low powered lighting circuits.
The dimmer market mostly has the two kinds mentioned previously leading edge and trailing edge dimmers.
It also boasts additional features such as soft start multi channel silent running and smooth control dimming capabilities.
Common problems that can occur with dimmable gu10s on a triac dimmer are buzzing at the dimmer flashing and flickering at low dim reduced dimming range and variable performance based on the number of lamps controlled by one dimmer.
Trailing edge dimmers are a better fit for led lamps.
