# Dimmer Switches **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [January 16, 2000, 8:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dimmer-switches/6314 "2000-01-16T20:46:00Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 14\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Holly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/48db29/32.png) [@Holly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Holly)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2000, 8:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dimmer-switches/6314/1 "2000-01-16T20:46:00Z")
Does turning down the lights to low with a dimmer switch save electricity? My husband is sure it does, so he leaves all our lights on very low all the time. I thought I remembered reading somewhere that having the lights on low uses just as much energy as having them turned up higher. By the way, my husband is an electrician of sorts, but he routinely forgets to turn off the breaker before fixing the wiring; he’s been zapped a few times and I no longer trust his judgement. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![mangeorge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d78d45/32.png) [@mangeorge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mangeorge)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2000, 9:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dimmer-switches/6314/2 "2000-01-16T21:22:00Z")
## Your hubby is correct. The dimmer lowers the voltage, thereby lowering the current. But maybe he’s just romantic. 🙂 Peace, mangeorge I only know two things; I know what I need to know And I know what I want to know Mangeorge, 2000 ---
**Author:** ![Ringo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/779978/32.png) [@Ringo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ringo)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2000, 9:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dimmer-switches/6314/3 "2000-01-16T21:26:00Z")
I _do_ hope he has life insurance. ---
**Author:** ![John\_W.Kennedy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_w.kennedy/32/1031_2.png) [@John\_W.Kennedy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_W.Kennedy)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2000, 9:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dimmer-switches/6314/4 "2000-01-16T21:30:00Z")
Modern dimmers lower the voltage, therefore lower the current and the wattage. Old-fashioned ones (decades and decades ago) worked by sucking up watts, but as far as I know they were only used in theaters, and are illegal nowadays, since they dumped the power they used as heat, and were therefore fire hazards. * * * John W. Kennedy “Compact is becoming contract; man only earns and pays.” – Charles Williams ---
**Author:** ![mangeorge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d78d45/32.png) [@mangeorge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mangeorge)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2000, 9:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dimmer-switches/6314/5 "2000-01-16T21:46:00Z")
Here ya go. All about how they work. [http://www.ghgcorp.com/jevans/MyHomeRepair/DimmerSwitch.htm](http://www.ghgcorp.com/jevans/MyHomeRepair/DimmerSwitch.htm) And here’s one for you. [http://www.parasolemt.com.au/afa/afa12a.html](http://www.parasolemt.com.au/afa/afa12a.html) No problem. 😃 Peace. mangeorge ---
**Author:** ![Holly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/48db29/32.png) [@Holly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Holly)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2000, 11:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dimmer-switches/6314/6 "2000-01-16T23:36:00Z")
Ahhh, I hate to lose a good argument. At least my opinion on the matter wasn’t completely off base since old fashioned dimmer switches did waste energy. Presumably, although my house is old (1914) my dimmer switches are not. I hope. 😉 Thanks for the links. And yes, I do have a life insurance policy on my husband- he’s worth more dead than alive. Once he was electrocuted while on the top of an 80 foot utility pole but survived with only some minor heart damage. ---
**Author:** ![mangeorge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d78d45/32.png) [@mangeorge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mangeorge)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2000, 12:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dimmer-switches/6314/7 "2000-01-17T00:17:00Z")
## “Once he was electrocuted while on the top of an 80 foot utility pole but survived with only some minor heart damage.” —Holly Christ, Holly. Tell him Home Depot is always looking for help. 😉 BTW; I’m also an electrician. Peace, mangeorge ---
**Author:** ![system](https://global.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/original/2X/e/e489c3b7d8fce19c4b355dd4fc3f88cc39c34b87.png) [@system](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/system)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2000, 8:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dimmer-switches/6314/8 "2000-01-17T20:34:00Z")
> [@](#): > > Originally posted by Holly: > \*\*Ahhh, I hate to lose a good argument. At least my opinion on the matter wasn’t completely off base since old fashioned dimmer switches did waste energy. Presumably, although my house is old (1914) my dimmer switches are not. I hope. 😉 > > Thanks for the links. And yes, I do have a life insurance policy on my husband- he’s worth more dead than alive. Once he was electrocuted while on the top of an 80 foot utility pole but survived with only some minor heart damage. \*\* How the hell do you afford that much life insurance on him considering the line of work he’s in (assuming the insurance company knows what he does for a living)? * * * **FixedBack** “Moderate strength is shown in violence, supreme strength is shown in levity.”~~_G.K.Chesterton 1908_ ---
**Author:** ![pluto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/f08c70/32.png) [@pluto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pluto)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2000, 9:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dimmer-switches/6314/9 "2000-01-17T21:09:00Z")
Gee, **Holly** , you’re going to be sorry you included that one line in your post _but …_ > [@](#): > > Once he was electrocuted … but survived. Technically, the word _electrocuted_ means that he did, in fact, die. I think it gets misused alot because there’s not a real good word for becoming an unintended conductor – “He got shocked” doesn’t quite convey the possibly-fatal consequences; “He got a good jolt” sounds flippant; “He received 12,000 volts” is a little too technical for conversation. The best I can suggest is that he was “nearly electrocuted” – technically accurate and still sufficiently alarming, although it telegraphs the punchline. * * * “To do her justice, I can’t see that she could have found anything nastier to say if she’d thought it out with both hands for a fortnight.” Dorothy L. Sayers _Busman’s Honeymoon_ ---
**Author:** ![Holly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/48db29/32.png) [@Holly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Holly)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2000, 9:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dimmer-switches/6314/10 "2000-01-17T21:15:00Z")
I stand corrected (again). Sheesh. Okay, he was nearly electrocuted. Insurance was no problem because he doesn’t work for the electric company anymore; he’s a postman. The most dangerous aspect of his job now is dog bites. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![pluto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/f08c70/32.png) [@pluto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pluto)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2000, 9:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dimmer-switches/6314/11 "2000-01-17T21:37:00Z")
Has he ever been bitten to death by a dog and survived? Sorry, couldn’t help myself! ::snort:: ---
**Author:** ![torq](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/dfb087/32.png) [@torq](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/torq)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2000, 9:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dimmer-switches/6314/12 "2000-01-18T21:37:00Z")
There’s at least one more type of dimmer: a variable transformer. I’m not sure how efficient they are; I’d guess somewhere in between the rheostat and the chopper-type (they do get warm when operating). The main advantage this has over a chopper is that the voltage varies smoothly (like full line voltage AC) instead of having two mini-surges every cycle. If the equipment you’re controlling is sensitive to power surges, this can be a significant benefit. ---
**Author:** ![Arjuna34](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/eb8c5e/32.png) [@Arjuna34](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arjuna34)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2000, 9:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dimmer-switches/6314/13 "2000-01-18T21:53:00Z")
A transformer dimmer would also be much quieter in terms of radio inteference. A standard SCR dimmer sometimes spew out radio interference. This can often be picked up on a radio phone, etc. In fact, some of them can even cause audio inteference- I can hear a high-pitched whine with some dimmers. A transformer shouldn’t produce any of these effects due to the smooth 60Hz waveform (as opposed to the chopping of an SCR). Arjuna34 Arjuna34 ---
**Author:** ![Holly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/48db29/32.png) [@Holly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Holly)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2000, 9:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dimmer-switches/6314/14 "2000-01-18T21:57:00Z")
> [@](#): > > Has he ever been bitten to death by a dog and survived? Yes, and you can hardly see the scars. 😛