What is TRIAC Dimming?

What is TRIAC Dimming?

Dimmers have fast become a vital part of many lighting applications and installations. Dimmers allow you to set the level of light and save energy on the output and, when teamed with an LED light source, this energy saving can be quite substantial.

Phase-cut dimmers are the most common dimming control and are often referred to as TRIAC dimmers. Creating the ideal configuration of LED lamps with the TRIAC dimmer has, in the past, been a challenge, but the introduction of new TRIAC dimming LED drivers has made this much simpler.

TRIAC dimming controls act as a high-speed switch and are used to control the amount of electrical energy passing to a bulb. A ‘trigger’ dictates what point the device starts to conduct the electricity, essentially “chopping up” the voltage waveform, stopping the voltage from being supplied at full load.

The quicker the switch reacts, the more power is released, the slower the switch reacts, less power is released, which results in a dimming of the bulb. TRIAC dimming is less likely to produce “half wave” on failure, or Hz flicker, therefore with TRIAC dimming the lifespan of the LED is not as greatly reduced, compared to more common Thyristor dimmers.

When using a TRIAC dimmer with LED light solutions, and sourcing a TRIAC dimming LED driver, it is vital to ensure the device is a TRIAC semiconductor device. TRIAC dimmers are designed for resistive loads, which LED solutions are not, so it is important to get this right. If the incorrect TRIAC dimming LED driver is sourced the lights will not perform as expected, decreasing the lifetime of the LED.

For more information or help on choosing the right dimmer for you, please contact us on 0118 9823745 or get in touch here.