Lighting, Light Fixtures, Ceiling and Exhaust Fans - dimmer switch

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asm660
10-21-09, 10:02 AM
I have a dimmer switch on the light fan with 4 100 watt bulbs in it
So with the dimmer on full i will be using 400 watts
now with the dimmer at25% on I will be using about 100 watts
in turn is saving me money ??:confused:

ray2047
10-21-09, 10:11 AM
I never heard of a fan that could be lamped to 100 watts. Are you sure your fan is approved for that or is that an example. The explanation of how a lamp dimmer works that I read long ago is that it shuts the power off and on rapidly so the filament never gets to full brightness befor the power is cut again. You won't therefore see an exactly a 75% reduction in power but some reduction because the power is not continuously on .On the other hand the dimmer itself uses some power some of which is wasted as heat so that also offsets any power reduction.