L5508D1A and LEDs

Hi All,

I've recently moved into a new place that has a C-Bus system already installed and I want to understand whether I can do a straight switch out of the existing 50W halogens for LEDs...

Understood Setup: 2 X L5508D1A - See pictures of the cabinet.

Sample Room #1: Lounge Room
Total Lights: 9
Lights per Circuit: 3

Sample Room #2: Master Bedroom
Total Lights: 5
Max Lights Per Circuit: 3

Total Lights in house: 44
Current Lights: 50W 12v Osram Halogen 60Deg

I am looking at doing a trial of a few of the Philips Master lights first, but got a bit lost with the calculations some of the members have put up here on Halogen to LED conversions. Hoping for some assistance!

Proposed LED: https://www.lightonline.com.au/led-downlights/philips-master-led-mr16-7w-60d-warm-white-dimmable

 

Hi Jake

There are two types of dimmers on the market (this is general, not just for C-Bus). Leading edge phase cut type and trailing edge phase cut type. The two types are suited to certain control (dimming/speed) of loads. Leading edge is traditionally for inductive loads such as iron core transformers used on halogen downlights and motors. Trailing edge tends to be more for capacitive loads such as LED lights.

In C-Bus, there are two types of dimmer. A leading edge type only and a universal type that can be leading or trailing edge.

The dimmers you have are the leading edge type that traditionally, won't work too well with LED lights. I say traditionally because the newer LED products that are on the market are almost unity (not capacitive) and therefore they may work with leading edge. I have a mixture of (LED) downlights in my home from pretty old, to very new. I've just installed some Clipsal TPDL102 lights to replace some LEDs that were just not cutting it. I had the existing LED lights on a relay channel due to the problems with connecting to a leading edge dimmer. I tried the new ones on a dimmer channel and they worked very well. No flicker, even at low levels. It's interesting in that some downlights I bought about 18 months ago didn't play nicely with the leading edge dimmer. I've got some more to change over this weekend and again, I'll put them on a dimmer to see how they go.

Something to bear in mind if you are looking to change from halogen to LED

Oh and BTW, the LED's have made a massive impact to my lighting energy use. I was typically using 4kWh of energy per day for lighting and now am about 2.2kWh (this also includes powering the C-Bus that uses about 50W continuous power use).

Cheers

 

I think to try one room with the Philips LED's you are looking at is a fair idea.
They are nowhere near as bright as a 50w halogen.
At the risk of sounding like a salesman for Pierlite they do have some excellent LED downlights with specs for your dimmer.
I have used and like these.
http://www.pierlite.com/au/87173/starburst-crystal-eco#.V-H6ieT_paQ
Much brighter than the Philips but still not equivalent to a 50W halogen.

I wouldn't claim Pierlite is the only brand which will work well on your dimmer.
Armed with your dimmer model and number of lamps per channel you should get the supplier to guarantee whatever they sell you will work as expected and ideally be able to refund if they don't.

 

I am using the TPDL102 downlights with great results on the L5508D1A. I even had a channel that only has 2 on it and no flicker, great dimming and no electrical noise.

 

Hey all,
I've found the ultimate LED downlight that works flawlessly with C-Bus dimmers! I found them online and tested at my own house before we started to recommend them to all our customers at work. Here's the link:

https://moodled.com.au/collections/...le-ms-gs-dl3f-12w-geshide?variant=27929046403

These LEDs will dim very well without flicker to below 10%. They will also start up and ramp from a very low dim level without flicker.
Cheers,
Jay

 

What is the minimum number you would recommend on each channel?

 

What about capacitance? That will also have an effect on the number that can be used on a single channel. (prob ably more so than it did with ELV Halogen)

 

I've tested and installed with 1 light on a single channel of a L5508D1A with no problems at all. These LEDs do perform really well and very much on par with a standard dichroic lamp.
Cheers,
Jay

 

Thanks good to know.