Insteon SwitchLinc V2 Dimmer buzzing/humming

johnnynine

Active Member
I installed 2 (2476D) Insteon SwitchLinc V2 Dimmers this week and found that both of them make a buzzing noise when they are on or dimmed. They are in separate rooms and are switched to separate light bulbs.

I've done some searching and found this is documented for some ceiling fans, but not lights.

Has anyone else experienced this?
 
I have have found most light bulbs make a noise when dimmed. I characterize it as the filiment "singing". Dimmers usually don't make too much noise unless the are connected to a reactive load or a load approaching their maximum rating. Are these just plain old light bulbs you are dimming? What kind of wattage?
 
This switches are buzzing right? I've installed 12 Insteon switches and none of them buzz. My UPB switches buzz like a bee though. I had to move these out of my TV room because I could hear them from several feet away.
 
I installed 2 today in my my new bathroom. One is for lighting with a 340 watt load the the other is for the vent fan (as a speed control). Neither hum at all.

The lights are 85 watt incandescent bulbs in cans. Since I am only at 55% or so of the rating of the dimmer I wouldnt expect to have a problem.

The vent fan is small and pulls an amp or so I would guess.

I remember the old Leviton Dimmers would hum like crazy and having to go to Lutron. I would think that nowadays dimmers should be able to be designed not to hum. I wonder what the difference in the brand of bulb is that casues/eliminates the hum mentioned by Herdfan?
 
The Insteon SwitchLinc V2 Dimmer switches are buzzing, not the incandecent light bulbs.

One of them has a load <225 watts, and the other load is <200 watts.

Both switches buzz only when they are on or dimmed.

Johnny
 
What kind of bulbs? Halogen Spots? Chandelier? Big Floodlights? Best to compare to somebody running the exact same bulbs.

Are the switches well grounded?

Can you give us some kind of reference so we know how loud a buzz we are talking about? (Like a fluorescent bulb? Like a bee? Like a weedwacker?)

Can you try a different kind of bulb to see if the load affects the sound at all?

There must be a way to troubleshoot this... What kind of dimmer did these switches replace?
 
You might want to try unscrewing all but one of the bulbs and see if it still hums. If it does then you might want to try other bulbs in your house one at a time and see if a different brand bulb will not cause the dimmer to hum.

Its basically back to basics and use the process of elimination method.

If all bulbs cause the hum then it might be a problem with the wiring???? Line and Load reversed? Bad Neutral? Just grasping at straws.
 
johnnynine said:
I installed 2 (2476D) Insteon SwitchLinc V2 Dimmers this week and found that both of them make a buzzing noise when they are on or dimmed. They are in separate rooms and are switched to separate light bulbs.

I've done some searching and found this is documented for some ceiling fans, but not lights.

Has anyone else experienced this?
Return it, it is defective. I had this happen to me as well. Well I tested it by trying another switch I had).
 
Mike said:
Return it, it is defective. I had this happen to me as well. Well I tested it by trying another switch I had).
This is a good point. If you have another switch you can use for comparison, even a cheap X-10 dimmer, and it does not hum then that pretty much tells the story. At that point just return the switches.
 
They are all incandecent light bulbs (normal/traditional light bulbs).

The buzzing is more faint when the lights are fully on, and louder when almost off, and there is no buzzing when off.

I tried it with a single 75 watt bulb and it still buzzed.

I only bought 2 switchlincs as a proof of concept and both have the same type of buzzing.

The buzzing has a familiar electrical buzzing sound to it, but I can't think of what it reminds me of. It is not as loud as a flourescent light that is about to go out, but it is loud enought to hear in a quite room.

Both of the switches are grounded and to the best of my knowledge are wired correctly.

It seems odd to me that both switches would be bad so I am hesitant to return them? Other than the buzzing they seem to function properly.
 
Did you have a manual dimmer in this location before you put the Insteon switches in?

Do you have a cheapie X-10 dimmer switch you can try for comparison?

Could be normal operation and you are just very sensitive to it. Hearing a different dimmer for reference would help determine if this is specific to the Insteon switches.
 
I did not have a dimmer in either location before.

I do have a Lutron dimmer in the kitchen that is powering roap light and under cabinet halogen lights and as best I can tell it is not buzzing. It's difficult to tell with the refrigerator running.

Perhaps the buzzing is normal. It's not loud but in a quite room I can faintly hear it 20ft away. Can you please place your ear close up to one of yours and see it you hear anything when you turn it on?

Thanks,
Johnny
 
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