Illuminated Decora switches

[darcyh]

Hello:

I like having illuminated wall switches for the bedroom / bath.

It seems the switch when in the off position feeds a bit of juice through the load, then back to the neon lamp inside the switch to provide the illumination.

I have found the lower resistance of the load; the brighter the switch will illuminate.

For example if an illuminated switch was connected to a 60 watt bulb, and switched off, the switch will 'glow' or illuminate. If I remove the 60 watt bulb, the switch will not illuminate.

So, I just recently installed a lamp (LED) and the switch no longer illuminates. Switch works fine, just does not illuminate. I suspect there is not enough resistance in the LED lamp to allow current to flow back to the neon bulb in the switch.

Is there an illuminated switch that will work in this set up.

Sorry to be so wordy especially with the word 'illuminate' but I wanted to convey the idea as clearly as I could.

Thanks for your help.

Dave

 

[rodm1]

I don't have an answer for you but I ran into a similar problem with them. Using compact fluorescent bulbs with those switches you need to use a high watt bulb. The lower 15w ones will flash every few minute.

Maybe try a higher way bulb?

 

[ssbtech]

Which LED bulb did you get?

If you want a dimmer switch, I'm a fan of the Lutron Maestro dimmers which are lit.

http://www.lutron.com/en-US/Product...mers-Switches/MaestroDimmerSwitch/Models.aspx

Compatible LED bulbs (PDF):
http://www.lutron.com/TechnicalDocumentLibrary/3682066_CFL LED Bulb list_Maestro.pdf

I haven't tried them with LEDs, I'm all halogen here, but the little green LED display on the switch is easy to find at night and displays the illumination level. Since I'm using halogens I have the dimmers programmed to bring the lights up to 75% intensity on single-tap and 100% on double tap.

You can also adjust the dim speed if you want a room to remain lit between pressing the button and leaving the room.

 

[darcyh]

Thanks for the suggestion ssbtech. I really do not want a dimmer, but I will look at them.
Thanks again

Dave

 

[TonyBuonocore]

Hi Dave,

I checked with the guys at my shop and they do not know of any illuminated switches that will illuminate with LEDs. You may want to consider a panel with a receptacle and a switch where you can insert a night light or other dim light to illuminate the switch.

Good luck!

Tony
President & Owner
Westway Electric Supply

 

[C96]

Maybe a resistor in the circuit of the correct value allowing just enough bleed through in order to illuminate the switch.

 

[NewLogik]

Lutron Maestro but specifically the C•L™ Dimmer serie... As the older maestro won't be able to completly turn off lights if only leds on the circuit...

 

[Random Guy]

I know you can get toggle switches that are illuminated when off, regardless of what's connected to them. They require a neutral connection, though, and can be hard to find. I don't know if you can get Decora switches like that, though. I'd recommend going through the Leviton catalog on their website and seeing what they have.

 

[rlitman]

I have an illuminated regular 3-way switch at the bottom of my stairs (works the same as your decora, just the old style). I changed the bulbs in my fixture from halogen to LED, and the illumination still works. My guess is that the pass-through current at low-voltage is entirely dependent on the power supply design in your LED bulbs.
i.e. some bulbs may work, some will not.

FWIW, the LED bulbs I'm using are dimmable. I would expect that dimmable LED's are more likely to light your switch illumination than non-dimmable ones.
The switch is not a dimmer, I'm saying that my bulbs happen to be dimmable, just to be clear.