Düwi Z-Wave Inbouw Dimmer for LV Halogen

[Ixus74]

Hello,

I'm going to rebuild my bathroom, and I want to control the lights with z-wave. I'm pretty new to domotica (I own one z-wave device which is not even controlled by z-wave yet but directly) but want to slowly modify my existing house installation.

This is what I want to do :

There will be 4 to 6 12V, 20Watt halogen spots in the bathroom.
I looked through the documentation and it seems that the Düwi Z-Wave Inbouw Dimmer is able to dimm those ligths when I use a traditional transformer (not electronic)

My question is, are there any users that use this dimmer to control LV halogen lights, and does this work well?

I've got already a Merten dimmer in my living room for a LV lamp that is using a electronic transormer that is working great, but these are very expensive. I want to have a reliable solution so if there is no other option i'll have to go with this one.

Also I want to control this dimmer with a HomePro Dual Wall Switch, wich will also directly switch a lamp above the mirror. Any thoughts on this?
Patrick.

[martinisoft]

Hi Patrick,

I am using the Düwi Dimmers to dim LV Halogen spots in my bathroom and in my kitchen.
This works without a problem.
Please keep two things in mind:
- Use a dimmable transformer.
- I am using 12v 35w spots, and the minimum amound of spots I need to hook up is 3.
Otherwise the dimmer works unreliable and the lights starts to go on and of very fast until the fuse in the dimmer breaks.
So I think if you are using 4 or more 20 watt spots per dimmer you should be fine.
If you want to use less, put in spots with a higher wattage (after all you can dim the light to your own confort).
I am not familiar with the homepro wall switches, I am using the Düwi wall switch to control my dimmers and those are working great. But if I understand it correctly you are looking for a double switch and Düwi doesn't have those.

kind regards,

Martijn.

[Ixus74]

Hi Martijn,

Thank you very much for your answer, but it raised one other question. What do you mean with a dimmable transformator, dou you mean a standard (inductive) transformer (that is what i understand from Düwi's manual) or do you mean a electronic transformer that is dimmable? Maybe you can telle me what brand/type transfor you have used.

My livingroom lamp has an electronic dimmable transformer so I used the Merten dimmer, as it can detect the type of load, but it's really expensive and I like to make it cheaper in the bathroom.

Thanks already.

Patrick.

[martinisoft]

Hi Patrick,

I used a electronic transformer from Paulmann.
The specs are: TIP VDE elektronic transformer max.30-150W 230/12V 150VA white
Costed me around 30 euro's, nothing fancy about it.
Those or simular transformers are available at your nearest DIY store.
Just check if the transformer is dimmable, this is normaly printed on the box or on the transformer it self.

Martijn.

[Ixus74]

Martijn,

Thank you for your reply.

I will now go for a Osram Mouse 150VA electronic transformer, this one can be used with leading edge and trailing edge dimmers, and as far as I can tell the Düwi dimmer is a leading edge dimmer.

Patrick,

[erwindr]

Patrick,

As I understand correctly, the Duwi dimmers use a 2-wire connection; just phase-in (brown wire) and load-out (black wire). The Merten is different as it also needs a connection to neutral.
Electronic dimmers sometimes are a real pain in the **s when dimmed with a 2-wire dimmer.

Any update on this? Did it work with the Duwi dimmer?

Regards,
Erwin

[Ixus74]

Hi Erwin,

I've got all the equipment (thanks to Enver). As I am rebuilding my bathroom I'm not yet ready for the lights, so I've not yet tested it. Hopefully I can dry test this next weekend.

Thank you for your attention.

Regards,

Patrick.

[Ixus74]

Hi Again,

I've temporarely installed the Düwi dimmer with the Osram transformer and 4 20Watt 12V lamps. These are my findings :
The dimmer works great in combination with this transformer, but it makes a lot of noise. Both the dimmer and the transformer are humming, but only for the transformer it is annoying. I still need to put it behind the ceiling so it will be less.

Does anyone know a way to silence these transformers?

[simjoc]

Just received my new Duwi Dimmer. (Tanks Enver!)
I've a central lamp in my living room with four GU10 Spots.

First I Tried the following:
- One 50W halogen lamp
- One Philips 3W/25W dimmable Lamp
Works perfect! From 10% till 100% every step changes. No flickering or going on and off.

Second I tried:
- Three Philips 3W/25W dimmable Lamps
Don't work, lamp/dimmer goes on and off over and over again. The higher the percentage the higher the frequency on and off.

Third I tried:
- Three Philips 3W/25W dimmable Lamps
- One 50W halogen lamp
Works also perfect! A lot off light

Something else I notice was when you'll turn off the ligt the led spots will show about 10 sec a little bit of light. You can only see this when it's very dark.

[erwindr]

This dimmer behaviour is typical for 2-wire dimmers.
2-wire dimmers usually work best with pure resistive loads. (normal bulbs or high-voltage halogen)
In my experience inductive (normal transformers) sometimes work without too much noise. (The bigger the transformer, the better)
Reactive (electronic transformers) loads usually are a problem, but I also had some success with the Osram Mouse. (Very dependent on the make of the dimmer.)

@simjoc:
The more 'normal' (resistive) lights you add to the load, the better the (2 wire) dimmer will work.
The flickering you see is the supply current to the dimmer. Since the Z-wave electronics need electricity to work, a small current will flow through the lamps. With a normal bulb you won't notice because of it's low efficiency, but with high-efficiency lamps (led or fluorescent) you can sometimes see the supply current as a faint flickering.

@Ixus74:
An Osram Mouse can be almost silent when dimmed.
With non-resistive loads a 2 wire dimmer (and the load) will almost always produce noise. It's up to you if this is acceptable. It's also good practice to check the temperature of the dimmer and transformer at the noisiest setting. (Especially when you will be tucking them away.)
If you want to get rid of (most of) the noise, use a dimmer with a 3-wire connection or a plug-in/plug through dimmer. I am using a Duwi plug-in dimmer with an Osram Mouse and have good results.

Regards,
Erwin