Dimmer Switch

Good Morning.
I don't have a background in electronics so this may sound like a stupid
question. I just had a new house built and I asked my electrician to put a
couple of dimmer switches in. His response was that there was no point
because when used on a dim setting it still uses just as much power as if on
full. This does not sound right to me.
Thanks

 

You should be considering a new Electrician, since it would seem you are
using a wire jockey !!

 

Not! The dimmer uses phase control so that the lamp is lit for a variable
portion of the AC cycle. Obviously when lit for only a portion of the cycle,
the light consumes less power than if lit for the entire cycle.

 

Modern dimmers work by turning the power off for a portion of the duty
cycle so you so you do save some energy. However, lighting is less
effecient when dimmed so you are not really "saving" all of it. (when
dimmed the light you get per watt is lower) Your electrician should
probably do some reading on the subject. Or it's not beyond the skills
of DIY.

 

Your electrician is "big mouth, little brain". Fire him.

Cheers!

Chip Shults
My robotics, space and CGI web page - http://home.cfl.rr.com/aichip

 

A dimmer will reduce the power.... but leaving that aside... the normal
reason anyone installs a light dimmer isn't to save on the power bill, but
to have the ability to dim the lights.

Sounds like your elecrician needs his dimmer switch turning up a bit


Paul