Recessed Cans on Dimmers are BUZZING. What make & model does not buzz?
We need to find a LED Recessed Can Downlight Trim that does *not* buzz with Lutron Maestro MACL-153M dimmers.
What make & model of recessed lights do not buzz with Lutron Maestro CL dimmers?
The Recessed Cans do not buzz when paired with a one/off switch (only buzz with dimmers.)
We did a test where we hooked up the more expensive ELV dimmers (MAELV-600) to the recessed cans and it was “better“ but not “best” (still buzzing.)
This is a new construction residence.
It looks like it will be less expensive to replace all 49 Recessed Can Trims, than to replace all the dimmers in the house.
To clarify, here are the specifics of what is not working together:
dimmers:
Luton (brand)
MACL-153M ($26)
some are paired with the Lutron companion dimmer:
MA-R ($18)
recessed can downlight TRIM:
Feit (brand)
CELEDRT56/927/A
(discontinued in 2015, replaced with LEDR56HO/927/CA)
1250 Lumens
2700ºK
recessed can HOUSING:
Nora (brand)
We are stumped on what to do.
I talked to Lutron for 2 hours trying to get their take.
They agreed that Feit and Lutron CL dimmers result in buzzing.
They let me know that Lutron is shipping a NEW dimmer on May 10th, 2019.
It is a more economical ELV dimmer, that will be called the MA-PRO (±$79 list).
Will be about half the price of the MAELV-600 ($115).
idea 1)
Replacing all (49) Recessed Cans.
But we would need to replace with something guaranteed not to buzz.
idea 2)
The other option is to swap out all (16) Lutron MACL-153M dimmers, with the new MA-PRO.
Thoughts?
p.s. these are the recommend downlight from Lutron. However, their internal notes say that there is still buzzing with the 2700ºK models.
Comments (10)
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Comments (1)Uh oh! We are dealing with a similar sound on a NEW frig, sigh! Ours, and maybe yours, is the evaporator fan. Does the noise go off when you open the freezer up?? If so, then this might be what your problem is and it is usually a service call... Good Luck!...See MoreLow voltage cans - do they all buzz?
Comments (7)All lamps with filaments can buzz when controlled by solid state dimmers. Low voltage fixtures with integral transformers can sometimes contribute to that effect. The solution is to use the better quality 3-wire solid state dimmers, the better quality fixtures that have better transformers, and keep the number of fixtures well below the max. capacity of the dimmer. The only reason I can think of to use surface lighting is to avoid paying for the more expensive recessed fixtures. The difference in lighting is obviously dramatic. What brand are you considering and what ceiling depth is available? Whatever you use, always buy lamps/bulbs at an electrical supply store rather than at a grocery store, lumberyard or home center and ask for the best quality they sell....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 MoreIncandecent Buzzing
Comments (10)Good observation, at zero crossing they will be just a switch with maybe about a 2V drop depending on the unit. You work with I designed them. For optimum noise reduction etc the best place to turn them on is just after the voltage passes zero. In the electronics world that is exactly what zero crossing means. Check with Motorola and others, start with a Fairchild app note AN-3004, you can get it at; http://www.fairchildsemi.com/an/AN/AN-3004.pdf. You might look a bit closer at my post, I stated; "If the triacs are not fired at zero voltage" which is exactly what a dimmer does; this is called phase control. At full on they should be firing at the zero crossing point. I did not say fire at zero crossing. A SCR conducts only in the forward direction, the Triac conducts in both directions and can be fired in one of four quadrants, and the SCR cannot consequently they use a triac not a SCR in lost cost dimmers. Lithonia and others use SCRs in commercial dimmers but they are configured in a back to back configuration on each phase so they can conduct in both directions. Also if you look at a data sheet for either device you will see a "holding current" specified. When the current falls below that the device shuts off until retriggered. Add an inductive load and the rules change. When it is full on it should be firing at zero crossing, a lot of the cheep ones do not. Trigger circuits and noise control for these devices can get very complicated....See MoreS A W
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