How does a dimmer work?
A light dimmer works by essentially chopping parts out of the AC voltage. This allows only parts of the waveform to pass to the lamp. The brightness of the lamp is determined by the power transferred to it, so the more the waveform is chopped, the more it dims.
How do LED dimmer switches work?
Dimmer Switches work by reducing the power delivered to your light bulb. They do this by trimming a section of a waveform, either on the leading edge or trailing edge of the wave. Manufacturers have designed their LED light bulbs to be compatible with the majority of common ‘trailing edge’ household dimmers.
How many dimmers can be on a circuit?
As @Tester101 says, with conventional dimmers, you can only have one dimmer in a circuit if the fixture (or set of fixtures) is being controlled from more than one location.
Does a dimmer switch reduce voltage?
No. When you dim the lights, you put less current through the bulb by putting a “resistor” in the way. Turning the switch gives a greater resistance, and hence a lower current through the bulb.
What are three types of dimmers?
Dimmers can come in many different styles, including toggles, rotaries, and touch-sensitive, as well as in a variety of colors.
Most dimmers fall into these four bulb type categories:
- Incandescent and halogen bulbs.
- Dimmable compact fluorescent light bulbs.
- Magnetic Low Frequency (MLV)
- Electronic Low Frequency (ELV)
What are the two basic types of dimmers?
The two basic types of dimmers are based on how they are controlled: Mechanical and Electronic.
How do I know if my dimmer switch is LED compatible?
Check Your Existing Dimmer
The type of dimmer switch and it’s minimum/maximum load range will indicate the compatibility with LED light bulbs. Trailing edge dimmers work best with LED light bulbs and leading-edge dimmers work best with traditional incandescent and halogen light bulbs.
Do all dimmers work with LED lights?
A standard dimmer switch cannot be used with an LED light as you will never be able to dim the LED light either completely or not very well. LED lights need their own special electronic dimmer switch to have a fully functioning and dimming light.
Do I need a special dimmer for LED lights?
Yes, LED lights require a special dimmer. An old fashioned incandescent dimmer switch will not work properly with LED bulbs. You cannot just simply lower the voltage to the LED driver.
Why do dimmer switches get hot?
Your dimmer switch is overloaded
Every dimmer light switch has a maximum load, measured in watts, that it can safely handle. If your dimmer switch is excessively warm, you may have too many bulbs running off it.
Can you use a normal dimmer switch with LED bulbs?
Use an LED Dimmer switch
A standard dimmer switch cannot be used with an LED light as you will never be able to dim the LED light either completely or not very well. LED lights need their own special electronic dimmer switch to have a fully functioning and dimming light.
How do you wire a dimmer switch?
Quote from the video:
Quote from Youtube video: A single-pole dimmer like this one has two wires that you're going to connect to the wires coming out of the box and a separate ground wire. Go ahead and take the stripped wires twist.
What is a standard dimmer?
The dimmer switch is rated for the same voltage as the lighting application. Use standard dimmers on 120 line voltage and low voltage dimmers for 12V and 24V applications. The total wattage of all lamps is less than or equal to the maximum wattage rating on the dimmer switch.
What are the types of dimmer switch?
There are two types of dimmer switch for mains dimming in your home; leading edge and trailing edge. Trailing edge switches work best with LEDs. If your dimmer switch is old it’s likely a leading edge switch and worth changing to a trailing edge version.
What are the types of dimming?
There are two branches of dimming methods: mains dimming and low-voltage dimming. Mains dimming is used for LEDs with incorporated drivers mostly, but can also be used to dim LEDs with compatible external drivers.
What is standard phase dimming?
Phase-Cut Dimming
“Phase-cut” dimmers work by taking the line input power (120V “house power”) and modulating the signal to reduce the power to the load. By “chopping” the signal, the load experiences a lower voltage, resulting in a lower light output.
What is dimming in lighting?
Dimming means reducing the output of a lamp or lighting fixture. The output of a lamp or lighting fixture is measured in lumens (lm) and is sometimes known as its “luminous flux”. As a lamp or fixture is dimmed its lumen output decreases.
What is digital dimmer?
With digital dimming, the driver receives a digital signal which tells it how to respond. The advantage of digital dimming is that fixtures are addressable. You can also have many more different levels of light output.
Is a dimmer switch analog or digital?
The dimmer switch is an analog device because of this. The light can be fully on, fully off, or take on some level of brightness in between. With the single pole switch, the light is either fully on or fully off.
