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Can Diva C L dimmer cause solid state transformer failure?
My client had three pendant fixtures with LED MR-16 lamps stop working after two months of service. I found the electronic transformer had failed in each case. The fixtures were controlled by a Diva C L dimmer, which I know is not correct for solid state transformers. The fixture manufacturer believes the Diva is the cause of the failure. Has anyone had experience with a C L dimmer causing transformer failure? I Googled various combinations of these words and could find nothing referring to such a problem. (There were many references to incompatible dimmers causing magnetic transformer failure).
Any information or thoughts on the subject would be appreciated.
Thanks.
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Authorized Lutron Contributor
Hello Flannery,
Thank you for your post!
Dimming MR16 LEDs can be a big issue since they are all being manufactured differently, and so the dimming performance will vary greatly from one to the next. Many LEDs on the market (including ones labeled as dimmable) have issues when placed on dimming controls. On top of that, MR16 LEDs are generally one of the toughest types of LED to dim. The issue with these lamps is due to the inter-dependencies between the lamp, transformer, and dimmer. Only certain transformers work OK on a given LED MR16 and even then, only certain dimmers will work. Also, the MR16 lamps generally have some shimmer as you dim down.
All of our recommendations can be found on the following application note. Anything outside of this application note is considered untested, and therefore we are unable to guarantee LED compatibility in those applications.
http://www.lutron.com/TechnicalDocum...ary/048559.pdf
Regarding the DVCL dimmer potentially causing an MLV transformer to prematurely fail, this is possible as the DVCL is only rated for line voltage from the dimmer to the lighting load with nothing on the circuit that is driving down the voltage (like a transformer). Using this type of dimming control with that type of lighting load could lead to the premature failure of not only the dimmer but the lighting load components as well.
We do have a Diva control that is rated for a MLV transformer to be on the circuit (Model number DVLV-603P), however it is not UL listed for LED lighting loads.
Since you are using Low-Voltage LED MR16's, I would advise taking a thorough look at Application Note #559 I provided above to understand the difficulties and recommended components for successfully dimming these types of lighting loads.
Hope this information helps!
-JustinF