Can you dim down a huge LED light bank?

[wade0000]

Hey, as surplus, I was given a brand new 175W LED outdoor parking lot type light.

I installed it in my dim 20x20 garage and it is almost too much light to add to my 4 LED bulbs in there already.

So, if a 60W incandescent equivalent bulb is like 8W LED, is there a way to dim down the 175W LED so I can still use it? I'd like the energy drain to my off-grid solar power system to be less since there is too much light.

I don't know if it is dimmable or if I would need to tear it apart and remove LEDs.

Anyone have any idea?

 

[Deleted member 9967]

Review it to see if it is dimmable. If so then get one of those high wattage dimmers.
If you start to remove leds from it then it may not work properly because rewiring it to bypass leds will simply mean that the other leds wil get more current and then blow.

 

[gnubie]

Sometimes large LED exterior lamps have a PWM signal input that can be used to lower the brightness for solar lighting installations. The SCC sends a PWM signal. It's a similar concept to how a car's computer controls the output of the alternator these days. Obviously the SCC is for a DC setup but I have seen AC input lamps with PWM control too.

It's rare for an exterior light like this to work with a typical phase angle lamp dimmer, but you never know your luck.

Failing that you would have to open it up and adjust the regulator to lower the current delivered to the LED strings. Any sort of half decent lamp will have current regulators not voltage regulators. Putting another LED in the string will just see the regulator increase its output voltage to maintain the current, and likewise removing a LED should see the voltage drop but current remain the same.

Some lamps use fully self contained regulator that can be snipped out and replaced with one targetting a lower current. If replacing this style of power supply the maximum voltage the regulator will output needs to be kept in mind. This is often called the compliance voltage, but it's really just the maximum voltage the regulator will go to in order to maintain a given current.

More recent lamps have the regulators built into the LED board. They can be adjusted but it involves fiddling with wee surface mount components.

 

[Keith C]

Parking lot type lights cost a fortune and you should probably craig's list it or fleabay it rather than screw up a $400 fixture.

 

[wade0000]

Parking lot type lights cost a fortune and you should probably craig's list it or fleabay it rather than screw up a $400 fixture.

it was given to me as a freebie. What I am probably going to do is just install it higher in the apex of the open ceiling of the garage and remove the 6 other regular lights that are not needed. Thanks to everyone here. I will stay away from trying to dim it or tear it open or modify.

 

[gnubie]

BigClive took one of the typical buck regulators apart in this clip. Lowering the current involves a couple of resistors, but it is all at mains voltage so not something a beginner should be fiddling with. As a side note, it's a buck regulator so the output is referenced to mains too so if something goes wrong the whole the shell could become connected to the mains too and just to ensure maximum carnage, the earth wire is not tight. Nice.

 

[EvaShinQ]

I believe that each of us must have night light because it is a safe method, especially if you have children and I say this from personal experience. Since I have children I have started to buy automatic night lights and I really like how it works because it has the function of self-adjusting depending on the brightness of the rooms so I don't have to turn them on or off and take care of them because they do their job very well. The children also like it and they told me that they feel much safer with these lights and I am happy that I found such a solution.

Could you tell me some more information about it? Let’s talk in PM.

 

[rin67630]

Which voltage is that lamp? AC or DC?
Have yo access to the DC terminals?
You always can feed LEDs with DC current and dim them ad libitum...

 

[rin67630]

Some lamps use fully self contained regulator that can be snipped out and replaced with one targetting a lower current. If replacing this style of power supply the maximum voltage the regulator will output needs to be kept in mind. This is often called the compliance voltage, but it's really just the maximum voltage the regulator will go to in order to maintain a given current.

Or you just replace the "ballast" regulator (LED driver) with a smaller commercial one.
I got some LED hall flooders from Osram for cheap, that are rated to 50W at 38V.
They run perfectly with 20W or 30W LED drivers from AC.
They run also very well with a 100W current limiting DC-DC booster from a 24V battery.

 

[Tyler702]

LEDupdates All-in-one LED Light controller (Heavy Duty single color LED Controller) https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01AP6SXA...t_i_ZR6A9JHANPSV5YCS55PS?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1

Hey, as surplus, I was given a brand new 175W LED outdoor parking lot type light.

I installed it in my dim 20x20 garage and it is almost too much light to add to my 4 LED bulbs in there already.

So, if a 60W incandescent equivalent bulb is like 8W LED, is there a way to dim down the 175W LED so I can still use it? I'd like the energy drain to my off-grid solar power system to be less since there is too much light.

I don't know if it is dimmable or if I would need to tear it apart and remove LEDs.

Anyone have any idea?

LEDupdates All-in-one LED Light controller (Heavy Duty single color LED Controller) https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01AP6SXA...t_i_ZR6A9JHANPSV5YCS55PS?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1

Just a thought, assuming they are dimmable? This unit handles 300W 12/24V input. It has very smooth pwm dimming.

 

[45North]

Try just reducing the voltage, as with a dimmer.
I have some little 12vdc LED's and they run just fine off a 5vdc USB supply.

 

[Bluedog225]

Will not help with consumption but you can frost the lens with spray frost.