What is 1-10V dimming?

                                                                                 What is 1-10V dimming?

1-10V is a stable and reliable method for dimming low voltage lamps. It looks a little daunting because there are more stages, but 

the way it works is actually quite simple. Each lamp has it’s own separate transformer (driver) to control the lights. The on/off 

is controlled through the mains and the level up/down is controlled on the 1-10V side of the driver. 1 is the lowest level and 10 

the brightest. It can be a little more expensive than mains dimming because of the drivers and extra wiring required, but it has 

advantages because it’s such a simple method it’s very reliable and easy to troubleshoot.

These dimmer switches are to send an extra low voltage analogue control signal (1-10V) to a driver down separate wires to the 

mains supply. They do not directly control the energy passed to the driver. Lamps are never directly 1-10V dimmable. 1-10V is a 

standard so any 1-10V dimmer switch should work for a 1-10V dimmable driver. Thus 1-10V dimming systems require a switch that 

controls the mains supply on/off and the separate 1-10V dimming signal

E.g one type of the dimmers are for use with high frequency ballasts or LED drivers that use a 1-10V DC control input. Adjust the 

rotary knob to control the brightness and push the knob to switch mains power on/off to the ballast/driver. The brightness control 

and mains switch are electrically isolated.Works so simple and safe.

A single dimmer is designed to work with 1(VT-C301) or multiple(VT-C302 Four-gang 1-10v dimmer) ballasts/drivers. the total 

control current sourced by all drivers should not exceed 20A. Fit inrush current limiters where necessary, or use an additional 

high current switch for the mains switching.

This type of dimmer requires an extra two-core(1-10v signal switch) cable because the dimming and switching functions are 

separate. The switching side is wired as a conventional switch to the mains. The dimming side is connected via an extra two-core 

cable to the positive and negative terminals on the dimmable ballast/LED driver. Please see our wiring diagram for more 

information.