LED Lamp in enclosed landscape fixture

[slect]

I have a job that that requires all landscape fixtures to be LED.. No problem.. However, a few sections are to be dimmed per designer..
I am having trouble finding a dimmable LED fixture that is dimmable from the factory.. I have seen a number of low-voltage LED dimmable lamps but most of them say they are not for use in a totally enclosed fixture.. One company has a zone and dimming controller but it is not compatible with the existing Lutron homeworks system on this job.. they are working on it according to a rep.. Any thoughts would be appreciated. Need well lights for columns and some uplights for palm trees..

 

[mgookin]

I have a job that that requires all landscape fixtures to be LED.. No problem.. However, a few sections are to be dimmed per designer..
I am having trouble finding a dimmable LED fixture that is dimmable from the factory.. I have seen a number of low-voltage LED dimmable lamps but most of them say they are not for use in a totally enclosed fixture.. One company has a zone and dimming controller but it is not compatible with the existing Lutron homeworks system on this job.. they are working on it according to a rep.. Any thoughts would be appreciated. Need well lights for columns and some uplights for palm trees..

Sounds like your starting point is the Lutron system. Maybe Lutron has applications engineers who can tell you what works best with their system.

 

[IllumiNIGHTing]

mgookin, not only do you need to be concerned about for use in an enclosed fixture, you also want to ensure it is rated for humidity. Try looking at Brilliance LED, Sorra and Dauer. I have been using Brilliance LED for a few years now and they are fantastic. Run off a standard magnetic transformer and you are all set.

 

[IllumiNIGHTing]

Sorry, I meant this for slect.

 

[weressl]

I have a job that that requires all landscape fixtures to be LED.. No problem.. However, a few sections are to be dimmed per designer..
I am having trouble finding a dimmable LED fixture that is dimmable from the factory.. I have seen a number of low-voltage LED dimmable lamps but most of them say they are not for use in a totally enclosed fixture.. One company has a zone and dimming controller but it is not compatible with the existing Lutron homeworks system on this job.. they are working on it according to a rep.. Any thoughts would be appreciated. Need well lights for columns and some uplights for palm trees..

http://www.ebay.com/itm/10X-Dimmabl...Bulbs&var=&hash=item3a87be19f2#ht_8058wt_1125

Only 20,000 hours though, but if it is for nightime, landscape lighting, then it is not that big of a problem.

 

[IllumiNIGHTing]

There isn't any information on the lamp. No idea which chips are in it, what the lumen output is, what the beam spread is or if it is potted to withstand humidity. It says it is a ceiling light lamp. Landscape lighting is the harshest environment and that is why good, professional fixtures lamps and transformers are expensive. They are built to last and they have to. If you are going to do landscape lighting correctly it is imperative to know what you are installing and if it will work. If all you want to do is slam lights in the ground and call it landscape lighting then maybe these lamps are "good enough".
I didn't even see a UL listing on that. Be careful of the waves of junk that are coming in from overseas. There is a reason that so much of this stuff is so low priced.

 

[mgookin]

.. Be careful of the waves of junk that are coming in from overseas. There is a reason that so much of this stuff is so low priced.

+1

And welcome to the forum!

 

[weressl]

There isn't any information on the lamp. No idea which chips are in it, what the lumen output is, what the beam spread is or if it is potted to withstand humidity. It says it is a ceiling light lamp. Landscape lighting is the harshest environment and that is why good, professional fixtures lamps and transformers are expensive. They are built to last and they have to. If you are going to do landscape lighting correctly it is imperative to know what you are installing and if it will work. If all you want to do is slam lights in the ground and call it landscape lighting then maybe these lamps are "good enough".
I didn't even see a UL listing on that. Be careful of the waves of junk that are coming in from overseas. There is a reason that so much of this stuff is so low priced.

You are correct. It's a crapshoot, sometimes you get lucky and perhaps more often not.

However there is luminance and beam spread listed and you can always ask the supplier about further details.

I have 'these cheep junk' in the ground for two years+ now, even though they are not dimmable, but seem to be holding up fine. It was actually cheaper than the halogenes, which would blow out in 2-3 months, so I am alraedy ahead of the game. If I were to install these to a 'customer' I would need to give fair warning about the unpredictability of performance.

BTW the UL listed and US supplied stuff also manufactured in China or Taiwan, and it irritates the heck out of me that the slap 900% profit on the top of it. I have seen sub-par performance coming out of "US" LED products also, possible exception is Phillips and Cree.

 

[IllumiNIGHTing]

I don't want you to think I am knocking these because I am not. I am kind of a dork when it comes to the lamps that I use in the landscape and the interior for that matter. I have installed thousands of Brilliance and may have had a dozen or so fail on me. That is less failure than I have had with straight old halogen. I don't want to have anyone think I am a Brilliance salesman either. Dauer has worked great for me as well. I just started using them this year so this winter is the test to see if the capacitors in them don't freeze and blow out the lamp. Time will tell.