Using Bypasses on wall mounted dimmers

[Kitar]

I am curious about the use of bypasses being used with Z-Wave dimmers and LED bulbs? Do these allow full range dimming? Is it possible to use bypasses with dissimilar branded dimmer?

My Leviton dimmers only get down to 15% as a usable minimum and anywhere above 50% they are full brightness with a 15 watt load.

[Kitar]

Bump

Anyone experienced with bypasses?

[epimetheus]

You have a link to these "bypasses" you're referring to? Otherwise, I'm not clear what you're talking about.

[Kitar]

You have a link to these "bypasses" you're referring to? Otherwise, I'm not clear what you're talking about.

Here's a couple different ones:
The PCS-ILR-10K found on automatedoutlet dot com site. They have a short explanation there as well.

Here's an un-boxing of a Fibaro one that is CE approved. This thing is sold in Canada so it is possible that it has gone through some approval process.

https://youtu.be/uvzjIkpcr5Y

If these things work why not build them into the switches and market the switch as a LED only dimmer?

[AllanMar]

I am curious about the use of bypasses being used with Z-Wave dimmers and LED bulbs? Do these allow full range dimming? Is it possible to use bypasses with dissimilar branded dimmer?

My Leviton dimmers only get down to 15% as a usable minimum and anywhere above 50% they are full brightness with a 15 watt load.

I don't think this is going to help you... These are just an extra load added on, mainly if for some reason the bulb won't turn fully off. In my experience LED bulb dimming has more to do with the bulb than the dimmer (some are better than others).

They don't build these "bypasses" in to switches because it's like adding a 1.4W bulb when the switch is on. The only time i've had use for something like this is trying to use LED chrismas lights which glow dimly even when off sometimes.

[Kitar]

LED bulbs are a mixed bag of nuts - anything that can help is good

LEDs don't dim well. Yes some bulbs are better than others and the higher the wattage load the smoother the dimming should be but I have yet to see dimming as smooth as incandescent or halogens that are linear resistive loads to the dimmer.

I swapped out every lamp in my house for LED.Then I started to install Z-Wave dimmers. Maybe it is too soon in the game to do this with expectations of full range dimming. Some of the LEDs that I had installed (Luminous) don't really dim well. My good ones top out at 45% brightness. Can't see any brightness increases above that. If I set the ramp rate to 3 seconds they look bad, flickering as they dim down. Back off to a ramp of 0.5Sec and they look fine, but a 0.5 ramp is pretty close to no ramp at all, basically just softening the transition from on to off, or off to on.

The worst bulbs I have for this are the Luminous candelabra bulbs sold at Costco (Canada) in 2014-2016. 4.7 watts each and a fixture that uses three of these cant dim at all. I have not tried their newer version using filament type LEDs. Filaments use a series of LEDs that simulate solid filament rods. The ones I have seen, offer a warmer antique appearance. I am going to have to pick up a pack and do some experiments.

So back to my point: any device that helps these dimmers do full range dimming with LEDs would be a great addition, provided it meets ULC, CSA, or ETL approval.

We are in the early days of LEDs. OLEDs and QDOT lighting can't be too far off but it seems to me the Edison base should have been abolished first and 120V wiring for lights shouldn't be too far behind. I think as we move forward a 48VAC or VDC bus makes better sense for our lighting.

[Rvtravlr]

My experience with Philips warm glow LEDs has been positive with HS dimmers dimming down to 5% and up to about 90%.

Warm glow on the packaging is the key. I also like that they have a yellow hue at lower loads that we are used to and like (we're older and only ever knew Edison incandescent light bulbs).

Michael