0-10V Dimming
How It's Different and How to Use It
Summary: New advances offered by 0-10V Blink'n'Dim Adapters make 0-10V dimming the best practical choice for more applications.
Most people understand dimmer switches that mount in the wall, and offer a knob or slider to adjust the amount of power delivered to lights. With LED lights, they may work poorly or not at all. That is because basic LED technology is incompatible with traditional dimmers.
Manufacturers have worked to restore compatibility for LEDs by revising dimmer circuits, and adding dimmability circuits to lights. In place of $0.50 light bulbs and $5 dimmers that all worked well together, we now have $5 light bulbs and $50 dimmers that must be matched with compatibility charts.
Today's light fixture manufacturers are phasing in 0-10V dimming as a better standard. It is inexpensive to include, and works well with a simple external control.
The 0-10V dimming concept is simple. Two additional connections, Dim+ and Dim-, are added to the fixture. An external dimmer applies a control voltage to these connections. As the applied voltage varies from 0 to 10 volts. brightness varies accordingly from minimum to maximum.
Wall mounted 0-10V dimmer switches are simple, reliable and inexpensive. They look like traditional (phase cut) dimmer switches, but are built in two separate sections. One section is a simple power switch that applies AC power to the lights. The 0-10V dimmer section provides two additional control wires. These must be separately connected to the Dim+ and Dim- connections of the light fixture.
What is simple in theory is not always simple in practice. Two additional control wires must be run between a 0-10V dimmer switch and the fixture it controls. Electrical code requires physical separation between power and control wires. Where control wires are hard to run, a wall mounted 0-10V dimmer switch may be impractical.
Wireless remote control can operate 0-10V dimming with no control wires in walls. A wireless receiver near the fixture supplies a control signal directly to the fixture. A wireless transmitter, possibly mounted on a wall, must control the receiver. Receivers can work with matching transmitters, a wifi network, or both.
A wireless receiver that turns lights off must itself remain powered on to turn lights back on. If a wall switch is used, it must remain on while lights are off. Other drawbacks to wireless remote control include complex setup and transmitter pairing procedures, distance limits, transmitter battery maintenance, potential interference, and relatively high cost.
Wired remote control solves wireless drawbacks and, when used with Blink'n'Dim protocol, works better. Use any ordinary switch as a remote control to send a blink signal (brief off, then back on) to a 0-10V Blink'n'Dim Adapter near the fixture. The adapter supplies the control signal. When lights are bright, a blink signal begins gradual dimming. Another blink halts dimming when desired. After dimming, a blink signal begins gradual brightening.
Use any number and kind of switches. That includes smart phone or voice controlled switches, and others that have their own wireless remotes. Enjoy unequaled versatility for multi-location control, and unequaled simplicity for single-location control.
Most people understand dimmer switches that mount in the wall, and offer a knob or slider to adjust the amount of power delivered to lights. With LED lights, they may work poorly or not at all. That is because basic LED technology is incompatible with traditional dimmers.
Manufacturers have worked to restore compatibility for LEDs by revising dimmer circuits, and adding dimmability circuits to lights. In place of $0.50 light bulbs and $5 dimmers that all worked well together, we now have $5 light bulbs and $50 dimmers that must be matched with compatibility charts.
Today's light fixture manufacturers are phasing in 0-10V dimming as a better standard. It is inexpensive to include, and works well with a simple external control.
The 0-10V dimming concept is simple. Two additional connections, Dim+ and Dim-, are added to the fixture. An external dimmer applies a control voltage to these connections. As the applied voltage varies from 0 to 10 volts. brightness varies accordingly from minimum to maximum.
Wall mounted 0-10V dimmer switches are simple, reliable and inexpensive. They look like traditional (phase cut) dimmer switches, but are built in two separate sections. One section is a simple power switch that applies AC power to the lights. The 0-10V dimmer section provides two additional control wires. These must be separately connected to the Dim+ and Dim- connections of the light fixture.
What is simple in theory is not always simple in practice. Two additional control wires must be run between a 0-10V dimmer switch and the fixture it controls. Electrical code requires physical separation between power and control wires. Where control wires are hard to run, a wall mounted 0-10V dimmer switch may be impractical.
Wireless remote control can operate 0-10V dimming with no control wires in walls. A wireless receiver near the fixture supplies a control signal directly to the fixture. A wireless transmitter, possibly mounted on a wall, must control the receiver. Receivers can work with matching transmitters, a wifi network, or both.
A wireless receiver that turns lights off must itself remain powered on to turn lights back on. If a wall switch is used, it must remain on while lights are off. Other drawbacks to wireless remote control include complex setup and transmitter pairing procedures, distance limits, transmitter battery maintenance, potential interference, and relatively high cost.
Wired remote control solves wireless drawbacks and, when used with Blink'n'Dim protocol, works better. Use any ordinary switch as a remote control to send a blink signal (brief off, then back on) to a 0-10V Blink'n'Dim Adapter near the fixture. The adapter supplies the control signal. When lights are bright, a blink signal begins gradual dimming. Another blink halts dimming when desired. After dimming, a blink signal begins gradual brightening.
Use any number and kind of switches. That includes smart phone or voice controlled switches, and others that have their own wireless remotes. Enjoy unequaled versatility for multi-location control, and unequaled simplicity for single-location control.