So I got my first 4 Dimmers installed and 3 of them are creating buzzing/ringing in random led bulbs and the switches themselves make a faint hum as well. They web site blames it on the bulbs, but they weren’t like this with my Wemo dimmers. There are 36 total bulbs here so even pinpointing which ones are doing it is a major chore. What do you suppose is going on here? Everything I read suggested these were fantastic dimmers, but I’m seriously regretting buying them at the moment. Any ideas?
Buzzing typically indicates incompatible bulbs. I couldn’t find much spec-wise from Belkin, but I’m guessing the Wemo is a Triac dimmer. If that’s the case, you really can’t compare a WiFi Triac dimmer with a Zwave Mosfet dimmer. They’re completely different.
Unfortunately, not every LED bulb works with every dimmer. That’s just the way it is. To quickly insure your installation is correct and evaluate the bulbs, temporarily swap out for incandescent bulbs to see if that resolves the issue.
Take a look at the bulb compatibility list. This is a work in progress with a replacement Wiki coming.
Ok, well I did some further testing and I think I have the problem narrowed down to 2 light bulb types. The GU10’s seem to be fine which is good, because that’s the vast majority of them, yay! 1 of the culprits are some standard bulb sockets, but they are very short to fit inside the ceiling fan housings, I should be able to find replacements for those. The loudest culprit is the kitchen light though. I couldn’t figure out how to pull the bulb out of the socket this morning, I’ll try again later tonight, but any idea from this picture what type of bulb these are?
Based on my reading today I think maybe that fixture came with built in bulbs that are not replaceable. Since they are kitchen lights we may just go to a non dimmer for these and call it a day. FWIW, I do like these switches a lot, but surely you can understand someone getting frustrated when the old dimmers worked fine. It makes me nervous about moving forward on other rooms. How is a regular guy supposed to know what bulbs work with what dimmers? Bulbs are not advertised as Mosfet or Triac compatible so is it just trial and error? The compatibility link is helpful, but I have some bulbs in my house like GU10’s and some short low profile E26’s which are not listed there at all. I would have thought things would be more standardized by now.
Yeah, I hope to have this done shortly. The coder seems to be dragging his feet on creating the app and the raw data is private right now.
@waffles2 apologies for the frustration. This is definitely something we’re actively working on (compatible bulb app) and should be completed within the month at the latest. You’ll be able to go in and select the bulb type you want and see what’s compatible or you’ll be able to select your switch and see what bulbs are compatible.
Is there a certain bulb you are looking for? I can look through the data on my end to search for any.
In the meantime, if you have an extra few moments, we’d love if you could add the incompatible ones to the list: Rewards Points Opportunity | Compatible Bulb & Fan Survey
Something like this style is what I need. I have some ceiling fans that take short bulbs. I will add to the compatibility list. I have a bunch of GU10’s that are working perfectly. I’ll get those added.
Is there a list of compatible transformers? I have a TON of 12v fixtures with magnetic transformers that are >25 years old and I need to replace a bunch. But I’d like to put in ones that will work with Red or Blue series dimmers. I’m also looking for some 24v transformers/drivers for LED strips, but that’s less pressing right now.