Hi–
I’m about to wire a 4 foot track with 3 halogen lights on it. I’d like to have the capability of dimming the lights.
I have a 3-speed fan switch leftover from another project. I’m wondering whether I can simply use the fan switch as a dimmer; i.e., wire it in, and have three preset light settings–dim, medium, and bright.
Any downside to using a fan switch this way?
I’d appreciate some advice.
Thanks.
Matthew
Replies
Halogen lamps don't like dimmers. Details in this message and subsequent messages in the same thread.
http://forums.taunton.com/tp-breaktime/messages/?msg=27808.23
Halogen lamps are frequently dimmed. My halogen torchiere lamp has a dimmer built in. Lutron actually says dimmers prolong the life of halogens. I think saying dimmers decrease halogen lamp life is along the lines of thought that starting a fluorescent takes 3 hours of life from it. I'm talking about run of the mill halogens here, not stage lighting equipment which is a different thing entirely.
Lutron says dimmers increase halogen lamp life: http://www.lutron.com/product_technical/faq.html
Halogen Tutorial: http://www.bytecraftentertainment.com/halogentheory.phtml
Halogen Lamp Dimming. How Long Can You Really Go? http://www.ushio.com/light_reading/lr_pg17.htm
Edited 3/1/2003 8:08:06 PM ET by markh128
Thanks for the links. Interesting reading. I would not have guessed from what I've read before that dimming even to 80% power would be tolerated long term.
Of course, dimmers don't appeal to me very much anyway. At my age, I find myself wanting more light a lot more often than I want less light. :)
But don't you need to use a fairly sophisticated solid-state dimmer on halogen lights ? I think it's the same story with flourescents. I'd be concerned that the motor dimmer for a fan may not be compatible to the task. .
Phill Giles
The Unionville Woodwright
Unionville, Ontario
Nothing I have read suggests that you need a special dimmer for standard halogens. I don't know if a fan speed control would work correctly, but I think it might. The light levels at the various "speeds" might not be acceptable though.
The exceptions are SYLVANIA CAPSYLITE¯ and PHILIPS MASTERLINE™ lamps (and similar types) which cannot be dimmed with triac dimmers because they have a diode built in the base. I think dimming these by magnetic or resistive dimmers would be unacceptable also.
Edited 3/2/2003 7:51:13 AM ET by markh128
There's some trick to those Sylvania bulbs. You can't dim just one; but, they're polarized and come in both flavours, so the trick is to make sure there's at least bulb of the opposite type on the same circuit (and make sure you make a note of which one somewhere so that somebody, without naming any names, doesn't come along one day, replace the burned out bulb, and have the entire circuit appear to go dead, just like those old strings of Christmas lights, and end up with an expensive service call from an electrician just to change a light bulb)..
Phill Giles
The Unionville Woodwright
Unionville, Ontario
Hi--
I just wanted to thank all of you who responded to my question about using a fan control switch as a dimmer, a question which broadened into a more general discussion of whether or not to use a dimmer with halogen lights at all.
I emailed the tech support at Lutron, a major manufacturer of dimmers. They responded overnight. They said that a fan control switch should not be used as a diimmer. They also encouraged me to look into a dimmer for my halogen track set. I'll paste the tech support response below, for anyone who's interested.
Thanks again for the advice.
--Matthew
Yes our dimmer will extend the life of your bulbs.
Depending on the voltage rating of your track lighting you may need a magnetic or electronic low voltage dimmer.
What are the bulbs rated for?
12v? 24v? 120v? * Not wattage but volts If you have any paper work from your lighting check that. if not you may need to call the store or the person who installed it for the information.
If your track lighting uses an electronic low voltage transformer it requires an electronic low voltage dimmer. This dimmer requires a neutral in your wall box. The MAELV-600 is one of our electronic low voltage dimmers. ELV stands for electronic low voltage
If your track lighting uses a magnetic low voltage transformer it requires a magnetic low voltage dimmer. The MALV-600 or MALV-1000 are Magnetic low voltage dimmer. The LV stands for magnetic low voltage.
If there is no transformer and your track lights are rated for 120v you may be able to use MA-600.
It is the special electronics inside the dimmer with the neutral wire that enable you to dim ELV lighting.
This might help you pick out a style.
http://www.lutron.com/catalog/pdf/pgs22-23.pdf
Please contact us by Email or please call our 24 hour 7 days a week Technical Support help line for further assistance 1 800 523 9466 your call reference number is 305731.
Thank you
Roger Witmer
Technical Support
03-02-2003