Ive installed LED downlights in my room, these :
https://www.screwfix.com/p/lap-fixed-led-downlight-contractor-pack-white-370lm-5w-220-240v-10-pack/728fj
they are controller via a smart dimmer switch, this :
https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B07BKXMS6C/
they work fine, dim up and down but the lowest brightness is 10% (is still super bright), using the smart app you can set them to 1% which is much better
as the lights are all wired one to the next, to the next, i just wondered if i could permently reduce the current flow by using an inline resistor or an inline dimmer to lower the effective brightness? Basically so when the switch thinks the lights are at 10%, the power they are actually recieveing is more like under 5% brightness?
Im not an electricial so please dont shout at me if im asking for the impossible!!!
Thanks,
Best Answer
What you want is not possible, these lights work from mains voltage (240 V AC) which the LEDs in the lamp cannot handle. So there's a power converter circuit present that transforms the 240 V AC into a (much lower) DC voltage (at a high current) that the LEDs can handle.
For dimming usually some form of PWM (switching on/off faster than human eyes can see) to reduce the power to the LEDs. Other dimming schemes are possible also.
You cannot control the dimming other than through the remote control because a smaller input voltage (for example 180 V AC) would be compensated for by the electronics. Or the circuit would just stop working properly.
The lowest setting at which the LEDs will work is determined by the design of the circuit that powers the LEDs. You can only influence the lowest setting by changing that circuit and that isn't something a beginner can do. It might not even be possible for an advanced engineer to do that as the components (chips) that are used might determine the lowest brightness setting.
So if you really need these lamps to output less light you will need to replace them with ones that have a lower light output (like 2 W instead of 5 W).