Ask Jon Eakes

Last Updated: Tuesday, December 23rd, 2003, Created: Tuesday, December 23rd, 2003

Lighting Dimmer details

We all like the ability to reduce the intensity of a light, but not all dimmers work on all lights. First a really important distinction: Fan speed controls and light dimmers often look almost identical, but are radically different devices, not to be mixed up at the risk of burning out a motor or even starting a fire. Read the boxes carefully to make sure you are not trying to slow down a fan with a light dimmer. This is one of the reasons that many provinces require electrical permits for things that seem as simple as changing a light switch.

Our viewer question was: 'Can I dim low voltage under the cupboard lights?'. The answer is Yes -- with 'Low Voltage Electronic Transformer Dimmers' like the ones we showed from Lutron Electric. The key is that you must match the dimmer with the light. Light bulbs can have no ballast, like ordinary incandescent bulbs, or they can have electronic ballasts or they can have magnetic ballasts, the latter common in old ceiling fluorescent lights. Each has specific dimmers. We used to say that the old magnetic ballast fluorescent fixtures could not be dimmed. Now they can, but their dimmers are very expensive. It is probably better to change the ballast for modern electronic ones, which will not hum and will not allow the bulb to flicker -- and then the dimmer is more reasonably priced as well.

How about dimmers that make a bad humming sound at low light levels. This is generally avoided with larger coils inside the dimmer. Here money does make a difference as the better quieter dimmers will cost more.

There are many forms of dimmer switches, even remote zapper like dimmers great for those places where you don't always want to get up to play with the light.

Last year a viewer was asking about putting dimmers on multi location light switches, like those top/bottom of the stairs three way light switches. At the time I said it was not easy because ordinary dimmers certainly will not work. A year later I stand corrected. Lutron now makes a set of switches and dimmers that work together for multi-location control, up to 10 separate control locations for a single light, with any of them on/off or dimmer control. For standing corrected, I stand multiply corrected on that one.

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Keywords: Controls, Electrical, Light Bulbs, Lighting, Safety, Switches

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