Light switch recommendations

Larches · Aug 13, 2016

I need a new round flush-mounted ceiling pull-cord switch with neon for a 23W shower extractor fan. The fan has a timed overrun, hence the need for neon (and/or mechanical indicator) as otherwise I'll forget whether I've turned it off or not. Screwfix stock the usual suspects... BG, Crabtree, MK and of course their own LAP switches, but all have very mixed reviews. I've noticed a Click PRC216 16A which looks like it'd do the job, cheap but possibly cheerful going by a few reviews on Amz. But I have no experience of Click (Scolmore?) as a brand. I've traditionally been a fan of MK gear but have seem various comments about declining quality. I've also had some decent stuff from BG but there are some complaints about their pull-cord switch. Yes, they have a seemingly impressive guarantee of 25 yrs, but it's still a load of hassle if replacement is necessary. So... any thoughts or recommendations?

Oh and while I'm on the subject of switches, I'm considering whether to shell out for a dimmer switch for some Osram GU10 LED spotlights in the bedroom (yes, they are dimmable). I gather most but not all LEDs require a trailing edge dimmer, which tend to be relatively expensive and it seems Varilight have cornered the market. Their V-Pro switches also seem to get very mixed reviews with some folk complaining of them being unreliable and difficult to set up (as they're programmable in some way). I'd be keen to have a push dimmer, and to avoid the dreaded buzz that you can get with leading edge ones. Any experiences on dimming LEDs and which switches to go for (or whether not to bother)?

Thanks...

Evans Electric · Aug 14, 2016

Scolmore (Click) will be fine Larches , as would most other makes to be honest .

Larches · Aug 17, 2016

Evans Electric said:
Scolmore (Click) will be fine Larches , as would most other makes to be honest .

Thanks, that's good to know.

On the topic of the dimmer switch, I had an old one knocking around so decided to try it out with the Osram LEDs, as I couldn't find any info on the Osram site about which dimmers are compatible with these particular lamps. I presume the dimmer is a leading edge one given its age (and the slightly annoying buzz) and it does say on the back that the minimum load is 60W, but it actually seems to cope OK with the 22.5W load of these lamps, albeit with a pretty limited dimming range.

The following questions spring to mind, if anyone is able to (ahem) shed any light on this for me? :slap

1. Is there any safety concern with using this dimmer given the actual vs stated minimum load (22.5W vs 60W)?

2. Safety aside, is it likely to cause damage (or shortened lifespan) to the lamps and/or dimmer?

3. If I shelled out for a fancy new trailing edge dimmer, would it be realistic to expect a much improved dimming range (as with this switch the lamps aren't dimming very much)?

4. Could the dimmer also be restricting the maximum brightness? As I thought they were a bit brighter with the normal switch vs full power on the dimmer switch, but I could be imagining things.

5. If anyone has experience of Varilight V-Pro switches, it'd be great to know if you think they're any good.

Thanks!

binky · Aug 19, 2016

V-pro are suppossed to be easier to programme now. I've not fitted any for a while, but I was looking at them for recent project and I think they are better than other offerings. I have found that older dimmers can be good, but you do need to meet the minimum load for them to work properly.