Dimmer switches can create a good ambiance in dinning room or a home theater. Installing them is also not a cumbersome task. But before purchasing it, you should have a basic knowledge regarding them.

You can use 120V incandescent bulbs and halogen bulbs along with these dimmer switches but you can’t use fluorescent bulbs and most compact fluorescent bulbs.

Dimmer switches can generally operate those bulbs that have wire filaments. This is present in 120V incandescent and halogen bulbs, therefore they can be operated using dimmer switches. On contrary, fluorescent bulbs and compact fluorescent bulbs have certain gas that needs some voltage for its operation. In case the halogen bulb have very less voltage then different dimmer switches are required.

Generally, there are single pole and 3-way dimmer switches. Choose the appropriate one for your application. If you want the light to be turned on via a single switch then you need a single pole dimmer switch and if you want it to be turned on by two switches then you need a 3-way dimmer switch. Note that in a 3-way lighting application only one of the switches can be a dimmer switch.

Old dimmer switches used to operate by controlling the voltage of light fixture. When you turn up or turn down the dimmer switch, voltage also varied along with it. Mainly a rheostat was behind all this but in general it was energy inefficient.

Now-a-days TRIAC is used in dimmer switches that can on and off the light at such a fast pace that no can know when the light was turned off in the mid. The frequency is tremendously high.

Since the light is being tuned off several times in these dimmer switches, therefore they can help you in saving considerable amount of energy. As the light bulb gets rest in between, some years are also added to its life. Rough estimate says that, if you will dim a bulb to 50% of its output then you can save 40% of energy and can increase its life to 5-20 times.

Dimmer switches are one among the excellent accessories that can beautify your dining room, living room and especially a home theater room.

Scott Rodgers is an author with ample experience in electricians work all over the country. His exemplary guidance has generated business opportunities for a lot many Grove City Electricians (Need one? click here!) and Fort Washington Electricians (Need one? click here!).

Tags: business, career, electrical safety, Electricians Tools, electricians works, gardening, home, Home and Electricians, Home Electrical system, home repair, home-and-garden, home-improvement, others

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