Philips R20 LEDs buzzing - ELV dimmer causes other issues

I have two light circuits in the basement - one with 5 lights, the other with 3. The lights being used are Philips R20 LEDs (9290002192). The compatibility list for these lights is here: http://www.lighting.philips.com/pwc_...tage-Lamps.pdf


Initially, I bought two Lutron CTCL-153P dimmers. They work fine, but the LEDs all buzz. As soon as I tried switching the dimmer out for a simple switch, no more buzzing.

Initial research brought me to this forum, where the folks from Lutron seem to recommend ELV dimmers. So I picked up a SELV-300P and hooked it up (Power runs to the light switch box first, so there is a neutral available). Now, no more buzzing, but dimming seems to be quite finicky - at one point around 75% power, I get a very noticeable flicker from the lights, and there isn't really a change in light output except over a very small range when the dimmer is almost all the way off.

Any ideas? Is this normal for ELV dimmers?

We are sorry to hear about the issues you are having with your application. Unfortunately, there is currently no industry standard when it comes to manufacturing LEDs and the performance will vary greatly from one to the next. When LEDs are used on a dimming control, depending on the design of the bulb, they can produce high current spikes. These high spikes may cause the bulbs or the dimmer itself to produce an audible buzz or hum. Due to design and manufacturing variation, the volume of this buzz will differ from one to the next.

Lutron has tested Philips 9290002192 bulb. When the bulb was controlled by the CTCL-153P we saw some flickering, shimmering and buzzing. We also tested this bulb with an ELV (not the exact model you have tried) dimmer and saw similar shimmering. These results did not meet Lutron’s standards and we decided these were not compatible dimming controls for this bulb. Please note that unsatisfactory testing results do not reflect the quality of the dimmer or the LED product, it is just an indication that these devices are not compatible and do not result in satisfactory performances together.

The only control Lutron can recommend as compatible with this bulb is out PHPM-WBX interface controlled by a 3-wire fluorescent control. Since Philips has their own compatibility list that is different than ours, we would suggest contacting Philips to see if there is a different solution that they can recommend.

Hi Katie,

Thanks for the detailed reply! I'll try contacting Philips to see if they have any recommendations