Lighting dimmer is one of the most popular devices working in a smart home. Allows you to adjust the brightness of the room to the time of day and what mood we want to create at the moment. Thanks to it, the house becomes universal, better suited to the user’s needs. Dimmers have a cost-saving function, they also allow to regenerate tired eyesight.
How does a light dimmer work?
Modern light dimmers are devices that work with advanced electronics. It is a new version of this type of product, created with the use of modern technologies. In the past, dimmers were potentiometers operated by a knob. With their help, we could manually adjust the parameters of the electricity supplying the bulb. We can still buy many dimmers of this type but modern models are ahead of them in terms of precision of operation and convenience of use (we do it remotely). In modern dimmers, the role of a potentiometer is taken over by so-called printed circuits, i.e. specially prepared boards on which a pattern of tracks is applied to form an electronic circuit. These boards are the heart of the device.
New solutions for light control are constantly appearing on the market. They use for example radio waves or infrared. Dimmers can cooperate with other elements of the intelligent house (e.g. air conditioning, heating). Remember, however, that with a dimmer light rarely achieves 100% of its power. It all depends on what kind of dimmer you decide on (its parameters), but most often it will be around 80-90% of the bulb’s power. If we need a lot of light to work, let’s install a fluorescent lamp of the highest possible power. When the situation requires it, we will achieve the necessary brightness in the room.
Types of dimmers
Light switches with adjustable intensity can be divided into three main types:
Remote: control via remote control or mobile app (also via the internet)
Touch: dimming and brightening by touching the panel for a long time
Manual: traditional potentiometer principle (knob, dial)
When is a light dimmer useful?
Its most important advantage is that we can adjust the light intensity according to the circumstances. Light intensity is nothing but the density of the light stream, which affects the sharpness and accuracy of vision. Adequate room brightness determines the functionality of the home. When working or studying we need more light.
When we want to relax, we choose toned-down, moody lighting to make our eyes feel comfortable. By using a dimmer, we can quickly create the atmosphere we need in the room. It is also a solution for minimalists and people who care about the multifunctionality of a room. We do not need different lamps to achieve different effects. All you need is one, operated by a lighting controller with a dimmer function. It is hard to deny that it is primarily convenient and economical on a daily basis.
Which light dimmer for which light source?
The technical parameters of light controllers differ depending on the type of lighting in which we want to use it. Before you decide to buy one, it is necessary to determine what kind of lamp will be operated by our dimmer (incandescent, halogen, or maybe led). This is important because a wrong choice may cost us a failure of the device. Remember also that not all bulbs can be dimmed. Such information should be placed on the packaging.
Every light dimmer available on the supermarket shelf has a specific load (watts) in which it works properly. If the bulb has less power than declared on the dimmer, the light will blink (if we will have light at all). On the other hand, if the parameters of the bulb are too high for the dimmer, the failure of the fuse may happen.
Old-type bulbs (voltage 230V) are usually perfectly compatible with light dimmers, but it is difficult to talk about the economic consumption of electricity. It is rather about the convenience of light reduction in situations that do not require „full illumination”. Decorative bulbs, regardless of their type, must be dimmable to work with a device. LED bulbs must also have this function, but require modern electronic dimmers that control the current supply with the greatest accuracy. Otherwise, the diodes will lose their life prematurely. Energy-saving fluorescent lamps must be dimmable. 230V halogen lamps are compatible with a dimmer (importantly, a dimmer significantly increases the life of halogens).
RC and RL dimmer – what are these symbols?
RC – dimming by switching off on a falling edge. They work with incandescent bulbs, 230V halogens, 12V halogens, fluorescent lamps, LEDs (they dim the light up to 40%).
RL – dimming by delayed activation on the rising edge. They work with incandescent, halogen bulbs and some LEDs (they have a larger dimming range, allowing for minimal room lighting).
Light control means savings and better health
Choosing lighting with the right intensity is a great advantage.
A distributor of SALUS Controls brand:
QL CONTROLS Sp. z o.o., Sp. k.
4 Rolna, 43-262 Kobielice
Poland
NIP: 638 180 68 25,
KRS: 0000440955,
office: +48 32 700 74 53,
service: +48 32 750 65 05,
fax: +48 32 790 44 85,
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