Varilight LED Dimmer Switch - V-Pro Series, 1 Gang (Single), 1 or 2 Way, 0-120W (1-10 dimmable LEDs)

This item is for our bedroom, we had a standard dimmer switch for many years with three lights connected, but it is getting harder to source the incandescent type bulbs. We had a 40watt bulb and two downlight fittings with miniature 30 watt reflector bulbs. Total of 100 watts. This resulted in our bedroom lighting consuming nearly as much power as the total of the rest of the house. When the 40 watt bulb failed I decided to look for an LED replacement. Our local Aldi have stocked a German brand Mullerlicht LED bulbs, and I have a few of these around the house. Until recently these were Non dim able. However they now sell dim able versions and have reduced the price to £5.95.You can't use older type triac dimmers (now called leading edge dimmers) with these even if you buy dim able lamps, because the dimmer and the power circuit of the LED lamp won't work properly together and may both be damaged. These bulbs need a trailing edge dimmer like this one. (This one is programmable to work as a leading edge or trailing edge)I also replaced the mini reflector bulb down lighters with 2 dim able GU11 from Philips 3 watts each.I was aware that the Philips were rated as warm white at 3000K and the Mullerlicht were a bit yellower at 2700K, but I thought this would not be a serious problem, and indeed although the difference is noticeable I can live with it. I followed the manual to ensure that the dimmer is set to trailing edge and found that it works well. The dimmer manual explains how to modify the bottom level of switch on because different lamp models turn on at different rates. This would be fine except I have two different makes of lamp connected. As a result as you turn up the brightness the GU11 lamps come on first, while the Mullerlicht build remains dark until the control is turned up a bit further. The different lamps also vary in brightness at different rates, and the Philips flicker very slightly at the lowest level. This annoying problem is a result of mixing different types of lamp and the dimmer cannot really be blamed. In retrospect, I should have realised this might happen, and we will live with it, because the led lamps should last much much longer than the old incandescent ones and cost about a tenth of the electricity to run. Once adjusted the room looks just as good as before.So be aware that the Mullerlicht dim able bulbs from Aldi work well as do the Philips 3watt GU11, just not too well together. Also note that the dimmer requires a minimum load of 10 watts for it to work properlyI think this dimmer is excellent for the price, and is a good solution to most of the problems created by new technology.

I have started replacing my Halogen GU10 bulbs with Philips Master LED 2700K ones as I believe that Philips have finally come up with a bulb that is virtually indistinguishable from the halogen ones in size, colour and brightness. Only thing is that once you have replaced all the bulbs you will probably find that your old dimmer switches need replacing because the new LED bulbs don't exceed the minimum load (often around 60 Watts). This leads to flickering or a lack of dimming. Enter the Varilight V-Pro series. Now the V-Pro hasn't formally been given the green light by Philips but as Varilight claims that their switches work with Philips LED bulbs I thought I'd give it a go. The default setting for this dimmer switch is to operate in trailing edge mode (not recommended for Philips LEDS). The switch worked, but the bulbs didn't dim down by much from the maximum setting. So I changed to the leading edge mode and they worked perfectly - dimming down to almost nothing. The only minor niggle is that the dimming range is a bit uneven in leading edge mode with a very sudden fall off about half way through the turn. The overall build quality of the switch is great and the dimmer module fitted in my rather shallow 16mm sockets. Given the very reasonable price I would recommend this switch for anyone changing over to LED lights. Just be sure to do your homework!

Having recently decorating our front room we purchased two different halogen 'feature' style light fittings, but both came with quite high wattage bulbs, so really we wanted the ability to dim them when required. Both light fittings supported dimmer switches, but with halogen low voltage lights (the ones with built in transformers), you have to have a compatible dimmer switch.I tried a standard one which we already had and that made the lights strobe when dimmed. I then purchased a dimmer from B&Q which supported 'low voltage' and that made both the dimmer switch and the light fittings buzz...and buzz loudly! I then found this, and it was my final shot at it but thankfully, these worked like a charm. No buzzing and no flickering! I have since ordered a second one for the other light fitting and again, it works perfectly.These switches are a little more expensive, but by the time you've bought two or three cheap versions and found they don't work, you'd have wished you went straight for these!One final note though; if you're wanting to dim low voltage halogen lights you do need to check that the light fitting itself supports dimming...not all of them do.

If you are replacing tungsten or halogen lamps with dimmable LEDs, you'll also have to replace your dimmer switch. This switch is a straight same-size replacement for your old white dimmer, wires up in the same way, so switch off at the mains and in a few minutes the job is done.But there's more. LED lamps are not all the same. The Varilight works in three modes, and you can try which one gives the smoothest, flicker-free dimming for the make of LED lamps you own, if the pre-set mode is not good enough. Also, you can change the minimum level of dimming, which you will probably have to do as the amount of dimming you get will depend on the make of lamp. Precise instructions for doing this by a sequence of clicks and twists come with the switch, and you make the adjustments after the switch and all your lamps are installed.There is a slight quirk that this switch has -- your lamps will no longer be "instant-on". There is a momentary delay after you press the switch, then the lamps brighten up in about a second. Similarly, there is a small lag when you rotate the dimmer, so it is best to twist it slowly.I've got two of these switches, and am very pleased with them, especially as they don't get hot and buzz the way my old dimmers used to do.

Works when it works but 4 have broken now over the last few years.