Practical advice on commercial lighting from LED retrofits to lighting design.

As a lighting specialist that deals with mostly restaurant clients, Brandon Melton faces the topic of LED dimming almost daily. Brandon has many years in the lighting world and works with some of Regency's largest restaurant chain customers to eliminate common LED dimming issues and properly light their spaces. Here's Brandon with more: 

Dimming LEDs may be getting easier and easier, but problems still can –– and often do –– surface when you try to run LED lamps on dimmer controls.

But why? 

Unfortunately, there's no easy answer. Diagnosing LED dimming issues isn't all that unlike diagnosing a sickness.

You start by checking vitals before looking at the symptoms of the issue.

In a dimming scenario, the vital check is pretty simple: 

When LED lamps first started to make their way to the market, early adopters experienced a great deal of frustration when they attempted to get them to dim. In most cases, the technology just wasn’t far enough along, and problems persisted for years. So, in a setting like a restaurant, where ambiance is often king, many were understandably reluctant to make the switch to LED, opting instead to stick with conventional, less-efficient lighting technologies. 

The lighting industry has waded through the often-choppy, often-murky waters of LED dimming over the last several years and, while a lot of the problems have been solved, flickering and strobing and early burnout still happens all the time.

Why?

Here’s a common dilemma: a company hires a general contractor to oversee a large-scale renovation or new construction buildout, or a series of such projects, but isn’t sure who should be responsible for purchasing the lighting for those projects.

More is not always better in restaurant lighting. We've touched on that before when discussing pitfalls to avoid in restaurant lighting. Regardless of whether you manage a fast casual or fine dining restaurant, your lighting needs to be inviting, warm, friendly, and consistent with your brand to bring your customers in and keep them comfortable so they're likely to return.

Whether you manage a fast food restaurant or a high-end steakhouse, it’s imperative to have the right lighting. You want your customers to feel comfortable in your space and you want the food they order to look attractive when it makes it to the table.