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I really want be able to dim my lights in the sleeping room. This is the bulbs I have. I can buy another bulbs. But for now this what I have. Four bulbs E14 warm light. It was written it the store that it's a dimmable led lights. I don't have or need drivers.

I bought 2 expensive dimmers and both of them are not working.

What should be the specifications for the next dimmer that I need? (Or maybe I can use my current dimmers somehow...)

In the picture you can see it 5W, 220V

Or I can ask in in another way: What should be the specifications that I need to look for when looking for bulbs for the dimmers I have? (It's more cost effective to change bulbs and not the dimmers).

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  • Get a photo of the back of the original switch, with the wires in place & also showing the terminal labels. [This is what you should have done in the first place, rather than guessing.]
    – Tetsujin
    Commented Jan 3, 2022 at 14:42
  • Well, your 0-10V dimmer won't work with anything but 0-10V fixtures, and those don't have screw-in bases (because they need 2 power and 2 control wires to each light). You should be "sending back" those wrong things so you get your money back. In particular the 0-10V vendor was negligent by not fully explaining to you what it was.
    – Harper - Reinstate Monica
    Commented Jan 3, 2022 at 22:59

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Based on your previous questions:

  • You have 2 switches (US: 3-way switches). So you need a dimmer that is compatible with that wiring configuration.
  • You have dimmer compatible bulbs which should work with a line voltage dimmer, but not with a low-voltage (0 - 10V) dimmer.

Unfortunately, my Hebrew is not up to the task of searching through the local Israeli hardware store web sites.

The terminology for dimming should be easy - you need something that does not mention "0 - 10V", and should mention something about "LED bulbs" or "dimmer compatible LED bulbs". If it says "incandescent" but not "LED" then it is no good.

The "3-way switch" part gets a little messy. In the US that terminology is quite standard. But it varies around the world and I don't know what they call it in Israel. There are also two ways handle this - using the existing switch in the second location (the new switch would need to be in the location with incoming power, the second switch would be the one connected to the lights) or using a second special switch as part of a matched set.

If you don't actually need the second switch, it is possible to permanently bypass it, and then any line voltage dimmer will work. However, the switch may be required (as the usual switch at the entrance to the room) or may be desired for ease of use.

If you can find a product with English translation of the instructions - e.g., an international model from a major manufacturer - then we can figure this out pretty easily. Or maybe someone with better modern Hebrew can help. (No dimmer switches in Tanach.)

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  • Interesting. Do you think a switch is required? Why? If I bypass the second switch, why do I need to keep the switch? if switch is on, it is like having no switch and just connect.
    – Aminadav Glickshtein
    Commented Jan 3, 2022 at 15:34
  • The usual (and I say that carefully, because it is possible that Israeli wiring may be slightly different) method is that there are 2 "travelers" between the two switches. Identify one of them and connect it to the "load"/"switched hot" on the new dimmer switch and in the other switch box remove the switch and connect that traveler to the wire going to the light. You end up with an extra wire that is not connected to anything on either end (which is OK).
    – manassehkatz-Moving 2 Codidact
    Commented Jan 3, 2022 at 15:37
  • I'm understand and it's smart. But why to not just keep one switch on, and on the other switch use 2/3 wires for the dimmer. One hot and the one of the others. This way the canceled switch I will keep always on, and only the dimmer should control the light? This what I did, but the lights is always on. Am I missing something? I didn't remove the second switch as you suggested, but do you believe that this is why the light is always on? Note: If I remove the dimmer the light is off.
    – Aminadav Glickshtein
    Commented Jan 3, 2022 at 15:41
  • If things are wired properly, a regular non-dimmer switch left on should be just fine. But there are a bunch of different possibilities even in the US, and Israeli wiring complicates it further (e.g., I can't tell you what, if any, wire colors to look for.)
    – manassehkatz-Moving 2 Codidact
    Commented Jan 3, 2022 at 15:46
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    I'm not good on US wiring - it always confuses me, but watch out for the terminology differences. What the US calls 3-way, the EU calls 2-way. 3-way includes an intermediate switch, as well as the regular two 'endpoint' switches. These are good examples of the difference for EU - 2-way [regular DPDT] lightwiring.co.uk/… & 3-way [intermediate] lightwiring.co.uk/three-way-light-switching-new-cable-colours/…
    – Tetsujin
    Commented Jan 3, 2022 at 17:40

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