Dimming 230V GU10 retrofit leds

[Gast]

Hi everyone,
(I hope this is posted in the correct subforum)

I'm using this forum as a source of information for a while now.
This is my first post so I'll introduce myself and my project a little bit.

I want to do the smarthome installation myself. I'll be getting help from my father in law who knows quite a bit about electricity.
Unfortunately, my father in law does not know anything about domotics so that's why I'm taking this on myself as much as possible.
The reason why I'm doing this myself is simple: I have limited financial resources and I really want a smarthouse based as much as possible on KNX (in combination with loxone).

My project is mainly based on knx with the loxone miniserver and the loxone 1-wire extension (for temperature measurement).
With all the documentation available online & the information on this forum I've managed to solve most of my questions.
It's too bad that most of the information here is in german, as I can't read it at all. So maybe my question has already been answered multiple times here and if it is then I'm sorry.

I can't find out how to do dimming of retrofit 220v-240v GU10 leds. I know, by looking at other posts, that there are issues when trying to to 230v led dimming but unfortunately I already have the led fittings/leds in my possession.


So back to my question now. I'd like to dim 6 light circuits which are equipped with 220V-240V leds (GU10 retrofit)
My fitting is the following: http://www.lampenlicht.be/downloads/...6187/89175.pdf
My leds are those from ikea: http://www.ikea.com/gb/en/catalog/products/30304651/

Now I understand that there are 4 possibilities to accomplish the dimming:
- Loxone dimmer module (http://shop.loxone.com/enen/dimmer-extension.html)
This is probably the most straightforward way to dim my leds. Most experiences seem rather positive and as I already plan to use a loxone miniserver it can be connected.
The biggest problem is that this costs quite a bit: +- 450 euro which results to 900 if I want to dim 6 circuits.

- KNX dimmer
The module I like because of its price/quality is the MDT AKD-0401.01 (http://www.mdt.de/EN_Dimming_Actuators.html)
This one costs me around 280 euro which is a more reasonable price. This results in a cost of about 560. The good thing is that its KNX
The problem is that I read that KNX dimmers in general have a lot of problems dimming 230V leds. So if anyone has experience with the knx dimmer and ikea leds, please let me know

- Loxone DMX extension (http://shop.loxone.com/enen/dmx-extension.html) + DMX dimmer for 230V (http://www.alibaba.com/product-detai...0.0.kn9fmI&s=p)
This is priced at 270 for the extension and 40 for a dimmer. Total: +- 350 for 6 channels. This would be a cheap initial cost but also a cheap way to expand further!
I have no idea if this is a quality solution? If someone has experience, do not hesitate to reply.

- A modular dimmer with a 0-10V or 1-10V input steering so that I can control the dimmer from an analog ouput of the miniserver.
Problem here is that I'll loose 2 outputs on the miniserver and I only can control up to 4 circuits.
Second problem, I don't know of such a dimmer that works well with leds


So if there's anyone that knows of a solution that I forgot, please let me know.
All answers are welcome and are appreciated!
If there are people around who already accomplished something like this and it works good, please let me know
The last thing I want to do is try a solution before knowing that it will actually work. But if I had to do that, I'm leaning towards the third option with the loxone DMX extension

Thanks,
Nick

PS: if links to products are not allowed, please say so then I'll remove them.

[Christian Fenzl]

Hi Nick,

as you could imagine, the LED dimming issues are not only specific to the used dimmer (and dimmer technique), but also directly specific to the quality and setup of the LED bulb itself.

Most flexibility you will have with the Loxone Dimmer Extension because the dimming technique is adjustable by software.

If you don't need this flexibility, you may do a trial buy of the KNX dimming actuator and directly try it with the IKEA bulbs. You have to consider that you might have to change the bulb somedays and the new ones don't fit to the dimming technique of the actuator.

I also had a technical look at the Aliexpress DMX dimmer, but finally did not trust it enough to give it a try. There's no way to send it back if it does not fit.


Last sentence: IKEA possibly does not insist and will refund the bulbs - you should give it a try. Then you easily could change to 12V retrofit bulbs that usually fit into the spot case (with another connector). DMX 12/24V dimmers are quite cheap, and you are open to even dimm more lights or add RGB.

[Gast]

Thanks for the reply Christian.
I have the same feeling about the Aliexpress DMX dimmer...
However, I just read from someone on the old loxone community forum that they work well.
I'll wait a bit so maybe someone else with real life experience comes up but if not, I'm willing to take the risk as it's the most budget-friendly.

[Gast]

Hi everyone,

I've returned my ikea leds (except for 1).
I will go with the KNX solution and search for compatible leds based upon de dimmer (hopefully the idea leds work).

Regards,
Nick