As an example вЂ“ if you have a dimmer switch with a maximum rating of 400W (rule of thumb translates to 40W) you can run five 7.1W dimmableВ LEDВ light bulbs (see example below for further explanation). A good rule of thumb to apply вЂ“ one that is used by most manufacturers вЂ“ is to take the maximum rating of the dimmer switch and divide by 10 (or in other words use 10% of the max. Unfortunately LED loading cannot be calculated the same way as a traditional incandescentВ or a mains halogenВ light bulb.

How Many Light Bulbs Can Be Used With A Dimmer?ДЄll dimmer switches have a minimum and maximum rating (Watts). Predominantly used with incandescent or mains halogen light bulbs, leading-edge dimmers are compatible with resistive or inductive loads and can reduce the load by shortening the cycle at the leading edge of the input waveform. This increases the amount of heat dissipated since the resistive period generates heat. Trailing edge dimmers are designed to fade the voltage to zero rather than switch it abruptly off, by applying resistance to create a ramp. How Do Trailing-Edge And Leading Edge Dimmers Work? Trailing-Edge For a more comprehensive rundown of dimming and dimmer switches in general, check out our Dimming for DummiesВ guide. Trailing edge dimmers are slightly more complicated and more expensive than the вЂleading-edgeвЂ™ versions but they have many more desirable features such as smooth control, silent running, soft start and multi-way dimming that greatly enhance the life of the LED light bulbs. Manufacturers have designed their LED light bulbs to be compatible with the majority of common вЂtrailing edgeвЂ™ household dimmers. They do this by trimming a section of a waveform, either on the leading edge or trailing edge of the wave.

Dimmer SwitchesВ work by reducing the power delivered to your light bulb.

2 swithch with dimmer for led lights