Replies

1. 
   Dam_inspector | Feb 08, 2009 06:31pm | #1

   Dimmer lights do not conserve energy.

1. 
   DanH | Feb 09, 2009 12:14am | #3

   Dimmers do conserve a little bit of energy, but it's far more efficient to just use smaller bulbs.The quality of the dimmer affects how much it buzzes. Unfortunately, there's only a weak correlation between quality and price.
   The modern conservative is engaged in one of man's oldest exercises in moral philosophy; that is, the search for a superior moral justification for selfishness. -John Kenneth Galbraith

2. 
   kurt99 | Feb 09, 2009 12:02am | #2

   If you want to save energy, take out all the dimmers and install the correct sized light bulbs, preferably CFL's. Dimmers allow you to use an over sized light bulb dim it down to the amount of light you need.
   Although it will use slightly less energy than the light bulb at full brightness, it will use far more energy than the correct sized bulb operating at full power.

   The dimmers can be used to be able to adjust the ambiance but at an energy cost. If you are using them dimmed way down as a night light, substitute a lamp with a small wattage bulb or a standard night light with a 4W or 7W bulb. You can even get LED night light bulbs now with a negligible wattage.

3. 
   Frankie | Feb 09, 2009 02:50am | #4

   Dimmers buzz for any of 3 reasons:

   1. Use of electronic dimmer on low-voltage magnetic fixture.

   2. Use of magnetic dimmer on electronic low-voltage fixture.

   3. Use of florescent bulb. These should not be dimmed.

   I suspect you are experiencing #3.

   Frankie

   Flay your Suffolk bought-this-morning sole with organic hand-cracked pepper and blasted salt.

   Thrill each side for four minutes at torchmark haut. Interrogate a lemon.

   Embarrass any tough roots from the samphire. Then bamboozle till it's al dente with that certain je ne sais quoi.

   Arabella Weir as Minty Marchmont - Posh Nosh

1. 
   DanH | Feb 09, 2009 02:55am | #5

   4. Crummy dimmer.
   The modern conservative is engaged in one of man's oldest exercises in moral philosophy; that is, the search for a superior moral justification for selfishness. -John Kenneth Galbraith

2. 
   dejure | Feb 09, 2009 02:58am | #6

   From my electronics classes (taken somewhere around 1823): Would it not be true that dimmers are just variable resistors called rheostats, or potentiometer, dependent of if two or three wires were used? And, if so, then is not the reduction in light output accomplished by dissipating power in the switch, rather than the bulb? If this were true, then there would, in fact, be little gain in using a dimmer for other than mood, or atmosphere.

1. 
   DanH | Feb 09, 2009 03:05am | #7

   No, it would not be true. A rheostat would burn up dimming a 600W load at half brightness.Dimmers operate by switching the power on and off rapidly.
   The modern conservative is engaged in one of man's oldest exercises in moral philosophy; that is, the search for a superior moral justification for selfishness. -John Kenneth Galbraith

2. 
   brucet9 | Feb 09, 2009 04:53am | #9

   I think the old dimmers were rheostats, before electronic circuits became small enough to fit into a small device. I remember taking one apart and finding a long coil and a rotating contactor connected to the knob.Nowadays, all dimmers are electronic and they chop part of the wave off, thus saving electricity. The savings is not as much as it seems, however, because at half power the filaments are operating at half the wattage, but they deliver less than half as much light as they would at full rated wattage. But dimmers aren't about efficiency anyway. You only use them occasionally for ambiance, so when the candles are lit and the wine is poured, who cares if the dimmed (or is that dammed?)lights are operating at optimum efficiency?
   BruceT

1. 
   DanH | Feb 09, 2009 05:33am | #10

   > I remember taking one apart and finding a long coil and a rotating contactor connected to the knob.Actually, that may have been an autotransformer. They saved a bit of electricity too. And even the rheostats saved a little bit of electricity, since you'd only use about half as much electricity with the dimmer at halfway (which would amount to roughly quarter brightness).But dimming incandescent bulbs is inherently inefficient since efficiency goes down as the bulb is dimmed and a higher proportion of the electricity goes into IR energy and heat, vs visible light.
   The modern conservative is engaged in one of man's oldest exercises in moral philosophy; that is, the search for a superior moral justification for selfishness. -John Kenneth Galbraith

3. 
   AnimalLover | Feb 09, 2009 04:35am | #8

   Ooh, interesting. The previous owners put the lights in so I will check it out.Thank you!!