In today’s fast-paced and rapidly evolving light-emitting diode (LED) market, the subtle and sophisticated decisions involved in choosing and installing an LED system can be difficult enough. Combined with the added complexity and confusion often associated with selecting a compatible LED driver in an industry still undergoing standardization, the task can be even more daunting.


Experts say that the time taken to understand LED system compatibility upfront and in the field is well worth the effort.


“It behooves a contractor to do their due diligence in making sure that the LED fixture and components they choose and/or install for their customer are compatible or else it could lead to early life failures, flickering, dimming issues, or, in the worst-case scenario, sparking that causes the system to burn itself out,” said Scott Barney, vice president of sales and marketing for ERG Lighting, an Endicott, N.Y.-based designer and manufacturer of power supplies.


Jim Benya, principal illuminating engineer and lighting designer with Benya Burnett Consultancy, Davis, Calif., said he has long witnessed the fallout of system incompatibility.


“Many driver-makers these days are electronics companies, not lighting companies, and they don’t always understand the context,” he said. “For example, water-ingress protection and surge suppression are major issues for outdoor luminaires. As a result, I’ve seen drivers that test fine in the lab but then blow up once they’re on the sign or pole because they simply aren’t compatible either with the LED system or the application they’re in. It’s not always about whether the LED and driver are compatible but whether the LED fixture is compatible with the building it’s being installed in.”


Benya was recently called out to investigate a situation in which 500 LED fixtures “blew up” when they were ultimately connected to a lighting control system.


“Both the controls and lighting fixtures were fine and met all UL [Underwriters Laboratories] standards until they were hooked up together, at which point everyone started blaming each other for the system failure, which cost twice as much to fix as the fixtures had cost in the first place,” he said. “Every driver and lighting output control module had to be 
replaced in situ.


“There’s a lot of risk and liability from these incompatibilities. Contractors are often the first ones in the hot seat for being responsible, and these issues can suck up a contractor’s entire profit on a job, so it’s important for them to understand the issues concerning compatibility on the front-end,” Benya said.


Barney expanded on this dilemma.


“Contractors are stuck in the middle, for sure,” Barney said. “In the event of a problem, the building owner may point a finger at the contractor, manufacturer and distributor, but the contractor is ultimately the one who has to install or reinstall it on a deadline. It can certainly eat up a lot of the contractor’s time and money.”


Troubleshooting tips


Barney and Benya advise investigation ahead of time as a critical means of avoiding compatibility issues later on. The following tips should help contractors position themselves for success with the LED system they are working with.


Verify wiring and connections: Contractors know that power from the building will go into the driver, but not all of the traditional markers they are familiar with may apply to today’s LED systems.


“Generally, wires are black, white and green, but these might be different with an LED driver—dimmer wires are purple and gray,” Barney said. “The vast majority of contractors or electricians just go by standard color codes and 60 percent of current systems follow these color codes, but some Asian, European and Canadian manufacturers could have different color conventions for wires, and if connections to the wire and dimmer are improper, it could blow the driver.”


He recommended that contractors consult the installation guide supplied by the manufacturer and the wiring legend printed on every driver.


“It always helps for electricians to know what they’re installing and why, especially when the driver connects directly to the lighting controls,” Benya said.


Tighten loose connections: “Loose connections can lead to arcing, damage to the fixture or smoke,” Barney said, adding that this applies to connections that are even a couple of millimeters apart where metal isn’t touching metal.


Apply deductive reasoning: If the contractor has checked everything and connected the system, but no lights come on when the switch is flipped, Barney said there are several possible causes.


“First, check the circuit breaker to ensure that there are no shorts and that the power is on,” he said. “The next step in troubleshooting is to shut everything down and replace the driver. If that doesn’t work, shut everything down again and replace the fixture/light engine, and if the fixture is defective, send it back to the manufacturer and get a refund. If there’s still no light, however, there’s likely a power-source problem in the building, which could require the involvement of the power company.”


Choose a quality fixture: When deciding on the best solution for a project, “research your options and select a fixture from a manufacturer who stands behind their product,” Barney said. You may want to avoid mass-produced brands that are available in do-it-yourself or big-box retail outlets because some of these are lower-end systems that may be more trouble than they are worth.


“It makes sense to pick quality over cost and opt for a more expensive system from a trusted brand,” Barney said.


“A lot of contractors think that, if you simply hook things up, it will work ... that old approach doesn’t work anymore." —Jim Benya, Benya Burnett Consultancy

Meanwhile, Benya said that more expensive drivers perform better and are often better-built.


Review the warranty: “Don’t opt for an LED product offering less than a five-year warranty, and 10 is best,” Benya said.


Barney said that a minimum five-year warranty is ideal, but reading the fine print is also critical.


“Lower-end fixture companies will give you a five-year warranty and agree to send you a new fixture if it breaks or is defective, but this shows no commitment to quality,” Barney said. “A truly good warranty may also offer reinstallation costs up to some maximum. The goal is to install quality lighting equipment that won’t fail for many years and will live well past its warranty.”


Avoid dimming debacles: The presence of dimming circuitry in modern LED systems often creates new grounds for system issues.


“If the connected system comes on but either flickers, doesn’t dim, or doesn’t shut all the way off, the first move is to make sure everything is connected properly, especially with the added wiring for dimming,” Barney said. “Take time to ensure that the wiring from the dimmer on the wall running through dimming wires in the driver is all correct and secure. If the system still doesn’t dim well and/or doesn’t shut off, change out the dimmer switch on the wall or the driver because the problem most likely has something to do with the dimmer on the wall or the dimmer software in the driver. Lighting-fixture manufacturers can’t necessarily control this aspect of the process because they don’t know the specs of the building their system is going into, so this part is more in the hands of the specifier or contractor.”


If the system still doesn’t work after these steps, contact the lighting manufacturer, driver manufacturer or dimmer manufacturer for assistance.


“If it happens more than once, it’s likely due to incompatibility with the light engine or else that the dimming switch is designed for 1–10V [volts] and the dimming software is designed for 0–10V, so you won’t get the full range,” he said.


Benya said there are at least eight ways to dim LED lighting and none is interchangeable or compatible, so ordering the correct dimmers for the drivers is key.


It’s not your father’s lighting ­system: It’s important to understand that modern LED systems require different expertise, especially as it relates to their connection to dimming and controls systems.


“A lot of contractors think that, if you simply hook things up, it will work,” he said. “Contractors can’t necessarily rely on being able to figure it out—due to the complexity of these systems and the fallout of errors, that old approach doesn’t work anymore. It may work when you hook it up, but it also may not. A lot of the installation process will still be familiar to a contractor, but what’s changed is that all of the LED lighting will ultimately have to be controllable and eventually dimmable, too, to meet energy codes, so installation will have to include a control function to enable controllability through such means as daylight harvesting, a manual dimmer, a demand-response feature, etc.”


Pursue training: Benya said the industry doesn’t regularly reinvest in education and instead simply expects its channel members to keep up. He recommends that electrical contractors pursue training or certification in this technology through a program such as the Advanced Lighting Controls Training Program (CALCTP or NALCTP), an initiative aimed at increasing the proper installation and effective use of lighting controls in commercial buildings and industrial facilities through education and training.


“Contractors can truly benefit from getting a professional education in these systems, so we recommend that they take the time to gain expertise in modern lighting controls and LED systems through CALCTP or an equivalent,” he said.


Investigate other resources: If hands-on training isn’t possible, virtual aids such as YouTube videos can also be a big help when learning about this technology.


“For example, at ERG Lighting, we created a video tutorial for our driver retrofit kit that’s three minutes long and takes a contractor through the installation process step-by-step so that the information is easy to process, usually after they see it once,” Barney said. “For those who don’t want to bother reading a manual in today’s digital age, these type of resources walk you right through the steps and many can pull up the video right on their phone.”


Barney said to focus on the positives of LED lighting.


“Some contractors don’t understand or believe in LED technology, or else they’ve heard horror stories about it, but it’s an amazing, energy-efficient and environmentally friendly light source,” he said. “LED lighting is here now and will definitely be here in the future, so we tell contractors to be proactive when it comes to learning about it, and that they shouldn’t be afraid—it’s not beyond anyone.”