When the circuit alternates it will automatically shut the circuit off or on. Ultimately, the dimmer switch controls the electrical cycle for dimming a light.
When the switch is turned down low the cycle takes longer to complete, and the light emits a lower level of brightness. The cycle also takes less time to complete. Electricians have devised different types of dimmer switches throughout the past years. A Las Vegas electrician can install dimmer switches in your home.
Fowler Electric can safely set up your switches and lights so that you can start saving energy and control the mood in your home. Have a question? Shoot us an email! Or set up an appointment for a free estimate below. Photo by Reinaldo Kevin on Unsplash. Skip to content Dimmer switches are simple electronic devices that are used to control the brightness level of lighting.
What Does a Dimmer Switch Do? Advantages of Upgrading to Dimmer Switches. AC current has varying voltage polarity -- in an undulating sine wave , it fluctuates from a positive voltage to a negative voltage. To put it another way, the moving charge that makes up AC current is constantly changing direction.
In the United States, it goes through one cycle moving one way, then the other 60 times a second. The diagram below shows this sixtieth-of-a-second cycle. A modern dimmer switch " chops up " the sine wave. It automatically shuts the light bulb circuit off every time the current reverses direction -- that is, whenever there is zero voltage running through the circuit. This happens twice per cycle, or times a second.
It turns the light circuit back on when the voltage climbs back up to a certain level. This " turn-on value " is based on the position of the dimmer switch's knob or slider. If the dimmer is turned to a brighter setting, it will switch on very quickly after cutting off.
To control the amount of energy going to the light the rheostat had to throw a lot away, turning it into heat. For example, at half brightness a watt bulb would waste about 20 watts to heat in the rheostat. Modern dimmer switches work an entirely different way. They use a transistor like device called a TRIAC to switch the electricity on and off very rapidly times each second.
Because they sort of 'chop up' the electrical power this way they are sometimes called 'chopper switches. Hertz means cycles-per-second and AC means alternating current. And, as you see from the curved shape, it doesn't change suddenly.
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