Light bulbs buzzing/flickering on dimmer what to do?
tklahr
16 years ago
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texasredhead
16 years agotklahr
16 years agoRelated Discussions
Cree CR6 flicker-NOT on a dimmer
Comments (28)I just looked up online about cree lights flickering. I have lived in my current house (11,000 sq feet over3 floors) since 2014. The house is a very faithful colonial reproduction from 1980. My wife and I did a thorough redo of the electrics, mechanicals, Windows, new cedar roof and cedar siding (where needed), paint, bathrooms... We had the entire house rewired and had had about 150 recessed lights in the house (bedroom, kitchen, all bedrooms, all closets, sun room, pantry, halls, laundry room all basement rooms) Redone in Cree 2700k BR30 65 watt bulbs (from reputable electrician). I did this because our past house (3200 sq foot over 4 floor) had many rooms with similar recessed lights I converted to Cree led (the exact same) in 2012. The lights in the old house DID NOT flicker when lights were at full brightness, but the old dimmers were a problem. So I went to Lutron dimmers for CFL and LED. There were no more issues. Well, due to this experience, all lights in new house started up on these led comparable dimmers. I have to be honest - I am SUPER DISAPPOINTED with CREE. I have had at least 20-30 Cree flickering lights in my house. At first I thought it was the rooms, because certain rooms flickered all the time - but, those rooms had a ton of lights. I have replaced them with the LOWES equivalent and have not had an issue. My office (family owned) converted over as well and my parents did. And we all did Cree. We ALL had flicker issues. Some are so bad, they go off for a while! When we switched over to the Lowes brand (only on flickering lights), no more problem. The strange thing is that the Cree completely integrated low profile units (not screw in, but lower profile lights we needed in our pantry that look the same once installed, but are half the installed depth) have all been great. I am almost certain it's a quality control issue. People who have old incandescent "high watt" dimmers - realize you are replacing old bulbs with new ones that demand 1/6 or less the power. The old dimmers don't control the low load properly and you will get flicker if you dim lights. But if you have led ready dimmers or a solid switch, and lights flicker... It's the bulb. I've tried everything and it was the bulb. The Cree's are supposedly the best - but I have had a problem with at least 30. Replacing them fixed issue and other cree's in same circuit and switch have been fine for a couple years. If you have similar issues and a good dimmer - it is not you or your house. It is the light bulb. Return it. I think the Cree's made in the past had better quality control. I asked homeowners of my past house if they ever had to replace one (they are all from 2011/12 - all Cree) and they say they are great....See Moresorta OT: do your dimmers buzz?
Comments (14)Are your fixtures low voltage fixtures? They are several types of dimmers and it depends on the type of lighting you are using. If you have pendants from like a monorail system, I believe you have to use a dimmer that is compatible with magnetic transformers. If you have an electronic transformer, there are dimmers for that. I have personally found Lutron dimmers, switches and plugs to be higher quality than the Leviton products. Pass and Seymour is also good. Most of my leviton paddle switches all failed within a year of moderate use. Your experiences may vary. I am including a link to dimmers.net where I purchased some timers recently. I like the way the webpage is broken down by the type of lighting you may have. I personally have the Maestro dimmers and I like them alot. Good luck! Here is a link that might be useful: An example of dimmer options from dimmers.net...See MoreCFL bulb Flickers in track lighting
Comments (2)"I have some track lighting on my ceiling and its wired into a wall timer switch." Unless the time has mechanical contacts and not a solid state switch it is distorting the voltage waveform just like a dimmer. It also leaks a small amount of current even in the off state. This can cause compact florescent lights to slowly build up enough charge to try and light, then quickly shut down when the charge is used. The lights appear to 'flash' on (actually the striking circuit trying to get the bulb running) but without enough current available they cannot stay on. If the other lights are low voltage their power supplies may also be having problems with a distorted waveform. You should never run compact florescent lights or any type of low voltage lighting on a dimmer or solid state switch that is not listed by the light manufacturer as suitable. It can damage the power supplies and lead to overheating and even fires....See MoreLED + Dimmer = Flicker
Comments (6)As suggested above, do check any replaceable bulbs to make sure they're dimmable. Try replacing one of your dimmers with the Lutron Diva LED+ Dimmer Switch. I've found the Lutron LED+ dimmers to be compatible with most every type of LED light and bulb....See Moretexasredhead
16 years agonekobus
16 years agotexasredhead
16 years agocharles_von_hamm
16 years agotexasredhead
16 years agocharles_von_hamm
16 years agocharles_von_hamm
16 years agoDaniel Rosenfeld
8 years ago
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