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A dimmer switch changes the direction of electrical flow every time that it is used to dim or brighten the lights. Ultimately, the dimmer switch controls the electrical cycle for dimming a light. When the switch is turned down low the cycle takes longer to complete, and the light emits a lower level of brightness.
What are the 3 wires on a dimmer switch?
If you can turn your lights off using a different switch than the one you used to turn them on, skip down to the 3-way switch section. Single pole switches will have 3 wires: a hot lead wire, a ground wire, and a traveler wire.
What are three types of dimmers?
The three main types of dimmer switches are resistive, fluorescent, and inductive dimmers. Resistive dimmers are used for lamps with a filament, inductive dimmers for LED lights, and fluorescent dimmers for fluorescent lights.
Can I put a dimmer switch on any light?
A dimmer switch can be installed anywhere that an existing on or off switch is in place. Replacing the current toggle switch with a dimmer switch will allow you to change the lights’ brightness, so long as you are using a light bulb that is compatible with the dimmer you have chosen.
Does it matter which wire goes where on a dimmer switch?
1 Answer. Unless the new dimmer is specifically marked with LINE and LOAD or similar, it doesn’t matter which wire goes to which screw/pigtail in a simple two wire switch or dimmer. Since your new switch can be used as a three way, the instructions should say which screw should not be used.
What are the types of dimmers?
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).
Which of the following are are types of dimmer?
Different Types of Dimmers Incandescent/Halogen. These types of bulbs require resistive dimmers due to the filaments inside of them. Magnetic Low Voltage (MLV) Transformers that reduce higher voltages to less than 30 volts are called low-voltage transformers. Fluorescent. Light Emitting Diode (LED).
Are there different kinds of dimmer switches?
Single-pole dimmers are designed for lights controlled from a single dimmer in one location. Three-way or four-way dimmers are designed for lights controlled by a single dimmer and one or more switches in other locations. Plug-in dimmers are designed to dim the bulbs of table and floor lamps.
Do dimmer switches need special wiring?
Remember: Dimmer switches don’t work on most fluorescent fixtures, and low-voltage lighting requires special low-voltage dimmers. Remove the wires from the old switch. Dimmer switches are usually connected to the house wiring by short lengths of wire coming out of the switch body rather than by screw terminals.
What is L1 and L2 on a dimmer switch?
Dimmers look slightly different to standard switches being much more chunky. They usually come supplied with a common(C), Line out(L1) and Line out(L2) terminals similarly to a two way switch. Sometimes all three terminals are in a row.
Can you use a dimmer switch on a non dimmable light?
These switches have variable resistors which enable it to change the intensity of the light. A dimmer switch can only support LEDs, CFLs and other lights that are made up of advanced technology and have a dimming feature. It is that a non-dimmable electrical light should never be used with dimmer switches.
What determines if a light fixture is dimmable?
What makes a light fixture dimmable is the dimmer controlling it and the light bulb. So it is the light bulb that determines whether you can dim or not (and not the fixture).
Can all LED lights be dimmed?
The answer is simple. Yes you can dim LED, but not all LED bulbs are dimmable. How does dimming a LED bulb work? The luminous element in a LED lamp is a LED.
Where does the red wire go on a 3-way dimmer switch?
The black hot wire connects to the far right switch’s common terminal. Red and blue wires link traveler terminals of both switches. The red wire, which is connected to the first switch’s common terminal, leads back to the fixture.
Do dimmer switches need a neutral?
Since most Insteon-compatible wall switches and dimmers require a neutral wire connection to operate, you need to know if you have one of these in place. It’s not just Insteon switches and dimmers but most smart lighting in general that call for this neutral wire.
What happens if you wire a dimmer switch backwards?
But here’s the catch: If you connect the circuit wires to the wrong terminals on an outlet, the outlet will still work but the polarity will be backward. When this happens, a lamp, for example, will have its bulb socket sleeve energized rather than the little tab inside the socket.
Does polarity matter on dimmer switch?
Finish the job by installing the cover plate and turning on the power to test the new dimmer. It doesn’t matter if you reverse the two switch wires to a single-pole dimmer. In most cases, the two switch wires will be some color other than green or white, usually black.
Which dimmer is used for light control?
Resistive Dimmers (Trailing Edge) They are commonly used to dim laminated, wire-wound or toroidal transformers, which are certain types of low voltage transformers on the primary circuit. Trailing edge dimmers can also dim incandescent, halogen and LED lamps effectively.
What are the different types of LED dimmer switches?
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 is a 3 way dimmer?
With a three-way dimmer, you can control a light with two switches. This lets you dim from one location and turn the lights on and off from another. If only one switch controls the light, purchase a single-pole dimmer. If two switches control a single light or a group of lights, you will need a three-way dimmer.
