Common Uses of 1-10V Technologies

14.4W+ per meter and 10 meters long LED strip applications are prevalent in today's market standards. Therefore, the power consumption requirements of a single LED driver can be as high as 150W to 800W for a luminaire built from different LED strips. Over 3,000W abounds for larger indoor areas. Assuming only 80 lumens output per watt, that's 240,000 lumens output! Don't forget that lumen output only increases with more energy-efficient LEDs. Therefore, dimming becomes a practical energy-saving practice because of the enormous energy consumption of indirect lighting. There are already many regulations in the market for light pollution problems with LED advertising lightboxes or giant advertising signs.

A single 1-10V control can connect to multiple LED drivers in parallel, making the wiring convenient. Dimming large area LED strips with 1-10V dimming can provide electricians and lighting suppliers with a flexible and cost-effective solution. The contractor needs an additional PWM controller in a lightbox with a standard power supply (12V / 24V). The controller obtains the signal from the 1-10V controller and adjusts the output waveform to achieve the effect of altering the light and dark. Sometimes, it's not straightforward to match up the rated powers of the standard power supply units, PWM controllers, and the LED loads. Occasionally, contractors find that the standard power supply produces a sharp noise when they dim the LED strips, especially if the equipment is not well matched. On the oscilloscope, we can see spikes that represent these noises.

Suppose the project's budget allows or is in the project's early stages. In that case, we recommend directly using a dimmable LED constant voltage driver because the amount of light output from the backlight of the advertising lightboxes is subject to the backdrop design and varies greatly. It'd be much easier to have the dimmable capability in place, so the contractor can easily add our DZ1G1TEN to achieve the dimming function. It's great to learn that some of our clients who do outdoor lightboxes have adopted this simple suggestion in practice.

High Power LED Strips Applications

Back to the topic mentioned in the beginning of the page, for high-power LED strip-related dimming applications, we suggest that customers to explore Meanwell's different high-power driver solutions, HLG-320H (320W) or HLG-600H (600W) models, and cooperate with our DZ1G1TEN to complete the project.

From various project experiences, we would like to share some advice on wiring for such applications to the contractors:

• Minimize the use of cables and the number of components (LED drivers) in the system

• Use a 1-10V controller with good compatibility with LED drivers

• The dimming control wire should be separate from the AC power wire and not bundled with the DC LED output

• The dimming control line should be away from sources that can interfere with the control signal

• DIM- terminal cannot be connected to LED- output

• The dimming control line should not exceed 20 meters

• Use shielded cables as dimming control cables whenever possible

0/1-10V and Min-Trim Option

Besides the apparent difference in the wiring between 0-10V and 1-10V, some people would assume that when they adjust the light to off, they switch off the light. While it's true that we can reduce the input power to the LED driver significantly, the driver is still in standby mode. It's similar to switching off the TV set with a remote controller. For this reason, 0/1-10V lighting fixtures or drivers should have a separate switch or a power management unit (PMU) to cut off any AC input properly. Note that since 0/1-10V is a DC connection, the DIM+/- polarities must be appropriately connected. This error is a common mistake in the field, and Electricians should check against this if they don't see any noticeable dimming.

1-10V is a standard control methodology in LED lighting, and the 1V and 10V respond to 10% and 100% (full intensity), respectively. When we disconnect the controller from the driver, the driver would be operating at its maximum output.

Our DZ1G1TEN, is a sink-type 1-10V controller and has a minimum-trim option. This option allows users to adjust the bottom output level from 0.8V – 3.5V. Therefore, users can use the feature for dimming range optimization. To use this feature, follow below procedure:

1. Adjust the brightness level to the current lowest level with the central rotary knob.
2. While it's already at the current lowest level, use a screwdriver to manipulate the onboard VR (on the side) to adjust the Min-Trim output voltage level up and down. Once finished, the user would immediately notice the new dimming range. Repeat the steps for further adjustment if necessary.

In our proprietary Dynamic Lighting control solution, the DZ1G300TUNE controller has the option to use our DZ1G1TEN for color temperature adjustment of Tunable White LED Fixtures. In this particular case, we can utilize the Min-trim option to limit the color temperature range specified by the color temperature range.

For example, suppose a customer wants to block the lower spectrum in the 4000K – 1800K range for daily adjustments. In that case, the customer can limit the color temperature by manipulating the Min-trim voltage. This application demonstrates the possibility of using a 0/1-10V signal beyond brightness control.

Dimmable Ballasts Applications

Occasionally, we encountered inquiries about using our DZ1G1TEN on a dimmable electronic plastic for fluorescent T5 tubes (not LED T5 tubes). As we know, electronic ballast has a different circuit design from a LED driver. We should point out the potential shielding issues on our controller for this type of application.

As shown here, a transformer provides the necessary isolation from the mains voltage in a typical ballast design. This circuit design then imposes a strict limitation on the amount of current the ballast can supply to our controller.

Since the supply current is minimal, the analog control signal (DIM+/-) is highly subject to external interference.

If customer finds that the brightness level changes when they touch the metal casing of the ballast or our 1-10V controller, we highly suspect there is EMI at work. Therefore, we’d suggest customers apply the following tactics:

1. Connect the Earth-Wire for ballast to the GND and should not be left floating
2. Use Shield-cable between Controller and the ballast, and the shield-cable tied to the GND

In summary, if the controller is inside a wall box, we expect dimming to operate normally. However, if a customer still finds strange brightness intensity changes, we recommend exploring 0-10V control instead.