What is PWM dimming?

What is PWM dimming?


PWM stands for pulse-width modulation. This applies to a technique used to dim LED fixtures by switching it on and off faster than the human eye can notice. The fixture is not actually dimming, it is actually switching fully on and fully off very quickly, it is only perceived to be dimming by the human eye because it is switching very quickly, typically at least 100 times per second. 

If we simply switched the fixture on and off very quickly, the fixture will appear at 50% of its full brightness. If we make the pulse with of the on time longer than the width of the off time, the fixture will appear brighter. If we make the relative on-time shorter than the off time, the fixture will appear dimmer. PWM takes advantage of the fact that LEDs can turn on and off almost instantaneously.

Some Gantom fixtures are PWM or 0-10V dimmable by using it with an in-line driver. Other Gantom fixtures use DMX control to achieve the best possible dimming down to 0.05%!

For the best dimming effect, we recommend using DMX to control out fixtures.
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