Fern Howard led dimming option

What is a dimmable light?

Dimmable LED luminaires save energy and create comfortable light levels for different activities and areas. Two different types of dimming control are available, analogue and digital.

What is a dimmable led? from Fern Howard Ltd

Analogue Dimming

The main method of analogue dimming is 1-10 Volt, a low current system that is easy to install. The dimmer produces a 1-10V DC voltage supply that can be increased or decreased smoothly, normally by using a rotary or slide dimmer.

Dimming requires a separate control cable to be run to each fitting on the circuit. This ‘notifies’ the driver when the power to the LEDs should be changed. As this is a direct current system, correct polarity must be maintained for the system to work.

This type of dimming is available with Fern Howard luminaires. A 1-10V dimmer switch is required(not supplied by Fern Howard).

Digital Dimming

Digital dimming sends a digital signal along a pair of control cables; it does not suffer from mains cable interference.

In a non-addressable system the control cables run directly between the switch (reactive or push-to-make) and the luminaires. All luminaires connected to that switch will be controlled as a group.

In an addressable system, each luminaire is assigned a unique digital address and can be controlled individually.

Digital control systems are most easily split by signal
• SwitchDIM / TouchDim
• DALI (Digital Addressable Lighting Interface)

Switch / Touch Dim

Switch/Touch Dim

The most popular and simplest option for digital dimming, this operates through a push or reactive switch wired to each luminaire in the circuit via a 4-core cable. The switch controls both dimming and power on and off.

Pushing the button sends a pulse to the ballast. This reads the pulse and controls the lamp accordingly. All luminaires in the circuit are controlled together.

This type of dimming is available with Fern-Howard luminaires and requires a reactive push switch(not supplied by Fern Howard). 

DALI

DALI (Digitally Addressable Lighting Interface)

This standard is employed by all manufacturers offering DALI ballasts.

By assigning a unique address to each luminaire in a circuit, they can be individually controlled or formed into groups. Pre-set ‘scenes’ can also be created for different activities or for different times of day. Controlled via a wall interface panel, or by a PC in a central location,

DALI is compatible with daylight sensors and PIR. DALI is available with a selection of Fern-Howard luminaires.