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A good rule of thumb to apply – one that is used by most manufacturers – is to take the maximum rating of the dimmer switch and divide by 10 (or in other words use 10% of the max. Unfortunately LED loading cannot be calculated the same way as a traditional incandescent or a mains halogen light bulb. How Many Light Bulbs Can Be Used With A Dimmer?Īll dimmer switches have a minimum and maximum rating (Watts). Predominantly used with incandescent or mains halogen light bulbs, leading-edge dimmers are compatible with resistive or inductive loads and can reduce the load by shortening the cycle at the leading edge of the input waveform. This increases the amount of heat dissipated since the resistive period generates heat. Trailing edge dimmers are designed to fade the voltage to zero rather than switch it abruptly off, by applying resistance to create a ramp. How Do Trailing-Edge And Leading Edge Dimmers Work? Trailing-Edge For a more comprehensive rundown of dimming and dimmer switches in general, check out our Dimming for Dummies guide. Trailing edge dimmers are slightly more complicated and more expensive than the ‘leading-edge’ versions but they have many more desirable features such as smooth control, silent running, soft start and multi-way dimming that greatly enhance the life of the LED light bulbs. Manufacturers have designed their LED light bulbs to be compatible with the majority of common ‘trailing edge’ household dimmers. They do this by trimming a section of a waveform, either on the leading edge or trailing edge of the wave. Dimmer Switches work by reducing the power delivered to your light bulb.