Can I put dimmable LED bulbs in a ceiling fan fixture and wire it to a dimmer switch marked LED compatible?

Question

Would there be any problems with putting dimmable LED bulbs into a ceiling fan fixture that holds three bulbs and wiring it to a dimmer switch marked LED compatible? The fan itself will be on just the pull chain, not the dimmer.

I don't think there would be, but from what I've read LEDs bulbs are more "picky" than incandescents and want to be sure. No buzzing, glowing, shortened life, etc.

Additionally, what about LED bulbs and an illuminated switch (not dimmable)? Would there be any unexpected glow at the bulb or switch?

Answer 1

Dimming LEDs

For a typical ceiling fan, the light fixture is exactly that-- a light fixture. It is nothing more than wires, a chain switch, and bulb socket(s).

Dimming LED bulbs in a typical ceiling fan fixture will be completely dependent on ensuring a few things:

1. The LED bulbs are dimmable
2. The dimmer switch is rated for use with dimmable LED bulbs
3. The particular models of dimmable LED and LED dimmer play nice together (this doesn't always happen)

If you have a fancier ceiling fan with integrated remote features, fade on/fade off lights, etc., the actual fan fixture could come into play. However, from your question it does not sound like this is your case.

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Illuminated Switch with LED load

First, see here: How does an illuminated switch light up without a neutral

You have a few options:

1. Look for an illuminated switch designed for use with LEDs (would need a neutral wire). I've never looked for these before so I can't say for a fact they even exist in production.
2. Buy whatever illuminated switch you want and hunt for LED bulbs that will just so happen to operate correctly with the switch you buy.
3. Buy whatever illuminated switch and whatever LED bulbs you want and use a single incandescent bulb in your fan. The remaining bulbs can be LED.

As you've probably noticed, there could be a bit of trial and error in this process. LED bulbs are not like incandescent bulbs where all bulbs were virtually the same and therefore behaved the same. LEDs are driven by electronics within the bulb housing, and these electronics can and will vary from manufacturer to manufacturer, and even from product to product within the same manufacturer.