Zano Controls offers advice on how to avoid drop out on dimmer switches.
Drop-out occurs when your dimmer switch’s lowest voltage setting is lower than the voltage required to power the LEDs on your circuit. As the controller reaches the bottom end of the dimming spectrum, light output begins to flicker before cutting out altogether, leaving a section of ‘dead travel’ on the controller.
Dead zone
Many newer dimmers, including those in Zano’s ZBARLED and ZGRIDLED ranges, feature a minimum level preset that allows installers to adapt the lowest range of the dimmer to suit the circuit’s load, switching the lamp off neatly before it starts to flicker and reaches that frustrating ‘dead travel’ zone.
However, with some lamp/dimmer combinations, this can drastically diminish the dimming capability of the lamp, preventing the installation from reaching the softer lighting effect often required by end users.
Dimming control
If, for instance, you have just a few low voltage LEDs on a circuit, a dimmer with a limited range of 10-250W could fail to drop those lamps to a sufficient level without flicker and drop-out.
A 5-250W dimmer, like the ZGRIDLED+, provides a lower range that is suitable for most jobs, but for very low loads the 0-300W ZBARLED is an even more versatile solution: simply set the minimum level preset as low as needed for complete dimming control.
