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Thread: PD-6WCL - Dims fine, but never completely turns off. Neutral wire? Vampires?

  1. #1

    Unhappy PD-6WCL - Dims fine, but never completely turns off. Neutral wire? Vampires?

    I've just installed a PD-6WCL in new remodel. The wires are still exposed. I was surprised to find just a ground connection and no neutral, as I'm aware of the problems that sending small amounts of current through old school CFL's can have.

    Yet hey, CFL's have given ways to LEDs. Yet no joy: with several dimmable LED bulbs, the
    PD-6WCL will not drive them all the way to off. There is still a glow, not all that faint.

    Am I right to assume this is because the PD-6WCL is powering itself through the bulb?
    What comparable product can I buy that will actually turn the bulbs completely off?
    Is it possible to get a model with lower standby / wasted power consumption, compared to the PD-6WCL?

    Bulbs I'm using include several Cree models, and Utilitech A191065-27 2700K 14.5W 1600 lumen (110 Lumens per Watt) dimmable bulb.

  2. #2
    Senior Member
    Join Date
    Oct 2013
    Posts
    2,587
    Yes, the dimmer does bleed off a small amount of current to power itself. This is required to keep the radio in standby.

    Check the compatibility of the bulb with the dimmer. Lutron has done some testing here http://www.lutron.com/en-US/Pages/LE...atibility.aspx. You can also check the bulb manufacturer site. Unfortunately, bulb manufacturers change their electronics without notice so any list you find may not be accurate.

    The dimmer you have is a forward-phase/leading-edge dimmer. The manufacturer should specify what type of dimmer it requires.

    There is a neutral dimmer but I doubt it has a lower power draw.
    Convergence Technologies Raleigh, North Carolina
    www.convergenceusa.com

  3. #3
    Is the neutral dimmer more compatible in general? Is there a dimmer sold with a paired LED bulb that's just going to work?

  4. #4
    Senior Member
    Join Date
    Oct 2013
    Posts
    2,587
    Check the link. Lutron does very thorough testing but bulb manufacturers change their electronics without notice.
    Convergence Technologies Raleigh, North Carolina
    www.convergenceusa.com

  5. #5
    Quote Originally Posted by randyc View Post
    Check the link. Lutron does very thorough testing but bulb manufacturers change their electronics without notice.
    It's a rental, I can't control what crazy thing a tenant will put in. Thus, the bulb finder is useless to me.
    I need a different way, such as picking a model without the neutral problem.

  6. #6
    Senior Member
    Join Date
    Jan 2018
    Posts
    108
    Hello brycenesbitt,

    Thank you for your post!

    The Caseta dimmer is a digital control. Because of this, there is no mechanical relay inside which turns the lights on and off. As a digital control, there is a very small amount of electrical current that runs through the circuit when the lights are off. Some LEDs react to this current by dimly glowing in the off-state. There is no safety concern with this happening, but there are ways to stop this from happening.

    The first is replacing one LED with an incandescent or halogen bulb. Incandescent bulbs in essence act like sponges absorbing the current leakage and should make the lights turn off. However, the color temperature and lumen output will more then likely not match.

    The second solution is using an LED on our LED compatibility tool, www.lutron.com/compatibility (http://www.lutron.com/compatibility). This tool has all of the tested and approved LED bulbs for Caseta, these are specifically tested for the ghosting and will not have this issue. I understand this is a rental, you can always include this link in your rental documents to help tenants make the best design decisions and we are open 24/7 at 1-844-588-7661 to answer any questions they may have.

    The third is changing the Caseta dimme to a analog dimmer such as the DVCL-153P. This has no power draw in the off position and fully turns off the circuit, this is a guaranteed solution to resolve your issue. Keep in mind using this analog dimmer will prevent you from using a Smart Bridge and Pico remotes.

    The fourth solution is changing the Caseta to a neutral based dimmer, such as the PD-10NXD, and pulling a neutral to the wallbox. The neutral helps to bypass some of the power draw from going to the LEDs, this typically alleviates the issue, however we cannot guarantee this solution.

    Hope this helps!

    Julia K.

  7. #7
    Junior Member
    Join Date
    Sep 2022
    Posts
    2

    Dvwcl-153ph

    Hi Julia K.
    I registered yesterday and found your post which is quoted below. I'm so new to this forum that I don't even know if I'm following the correct protocol by posting to you in this manner. So, please forgive me. I have a condo full of Lutron Diva DVWCL-153PH dimmers. A couple of days ago, I removed the face plate of a 4 gang boxes and adjusted the positioning of the 4 dimmers. After I replaced the plate, one of the 4 dimmers had a flickering orange glow. This is the first time that this has occurred. The led controlled by the dimmer is a Phillips 415620, which I've replaced with a new one, but it didn't solve the problem. I hope you or someone else can help me.
    Thank you

    Quote Originally Posted by Julia K. View Post
    Hello brycenesbitt,

    Thank you for your post!

    The Caseta dimmer is a digital control. Because of this, there is no mechanical relay inside which turns the lights on and off. As a digital control, there is a very small amount of electrical current that runs through the circuit when the lights are off. Some LEDs react to this current by dimly glowing in the off-state. There is no safety concern with this happening, but there are ways to stop this from happening.

    The first is replacing one LED with an incandescent or halogen bulb. Incandescent bulbs in essence act like sponges absorbing the current leakage and should make the lights turn off. However, the color temperature and lumen output will more then likely not match.

    The second solution is using an LED on our LED compatibility tool, www.lutron.com/compatibility (http://www.lutron.com/compatibility). This tool has all of the tested and approved LED bulbs for Caseta, these are specifically tested for the ghosting and will not have this issue. I understand this is a rental, you can always include this link in your rental documents to help tenants make the best design decisions and we are open 24/7 at 1-844-588-7661 to answer any questions they may have.

    The third is changing the Caseta dimme to a analog dimmer such as the DVCL-153P. This has no power draw in the off position and fully turns off the circuit, this is a guaranteed solution to resolve your issue. Keep in mind using this analog dimmer will prevent you from using a Smart Bridge and Pico remotes.

    The fourth solution is changing the Caseta to a neutral based dimmer, such as the PD-10NXD, and pulling a neutral to the wallbox. The neutral helps to bypass some of the power draw from going to the LEDs, this typically alleviates the issue, however we cannot guarantee this solution.

    Hope this helps!

    Julia K.

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