LED lighting is oftentimes the smartest choice for an area because of its incredible energy efficiency and versatility. To create variable mood lighting and really get the most out of LED lights you will want a phase control dimmer, the most popular among dimming control devices. They work by incrementally fragmenting and omitting part of the incoming voltage to reduce power to the light bulb. The trailing edge dimmer is one of two available phase control dimmers and the one that works optimally with LED drivers. Leading-edge dimmers are their counterpart, with a higher market presence they are cheaper, but their high minimum load make them inadequate for nuanced LED lighting.
FEATURES OF A TRAILING EDGE DIMMER
These utilize either Metal Oxide Semiconductor Field Effect Transistor (MOSFET) switch or an Insulated Gate Bipolar Transistor (IGBT) switch to handle capacitive loads like those from LED drivers or electronic low voltage transformer, or resistive loads such as from incandescent light bulbs. Features of trailing-edge dimmers include:
The use of a switch over a TRIAC or a coil translates to smoother dimming control minus the irritating buzzing noise featured by leading-edge dimmers.Trailing edge dimmers feature a soft start, which prevents the filament in some bulbs from exploding due to the thermal shock of a hard start.A low minimum voltage load make trailing-edge dimmers ideal for low-powered lighting circuits and nuanced LED light structures.
When trailing edge dimmers are paired with a compatible LED driver the resulting dimming capabilities are beyond impressive. When dimmed, LED lights retain brilliant color and glow, they run cooler and have increased longevity. If an LED driver is not compatible with a specific trailing edge dimmer it will compensate for the omitted voltage and nullify the dimming effect.