How Does A Dimmer Switch Work

The dimmer switch is an important part of smart home building. You should learn about how where it comes from and why you need one before buying.

History Of The Dimmer Switch

Dimming lights were only performed in a theater-style environment, because the system is large and expensive, and requires a lot of heat to absorb the energy required for dimming.

In 1959, Joel Spira invented a device that helped change the way humans see each other: dimmer switches. This is a new type of transistor that greatly reduces the hardware required to lower the light. Therefore, Spira was not the first person to invent the concept of dimming lights, but he was the first to introduce dimming switches to family homes.

Dimmer switches are elegant and useful. The dimming helps bring romance like the flickering of a candle to homes; on the other hand, it helps reduce power consumption to cut back the electricity bill. Not only that, but the dimmer also extends the life of the bulb, so it also helps protect the environment by reducing the need for light bulbs.

How Does Dimmer Switch work？

A dimmer is a device that is attached to a lamp to reduce the brightness of the light. By changing the waveform of the voltage applied to the lamp, the intensity of the light output can be reduced. Modern dimmers are made of semiconductors rather than variable resistors because they are more efficient. There are three main types of dimmers, namely resistive, fluorescent and inductive dimmers. Among them, the resistive type contains leading-edge resistive and trailing edge resistive dimmers.

Smart bulbs come with a built-in dimming mechanism, so when you use a smart bulb connected to a dimmer switch in a fixture, the dual dimming mechanisms can conflict, often causing the bulb to flicker unexpectedly while dimming. However, these built-in dimming functions typically have smooth, precise brightness control that doesn't flicker or buzz like dumb bulbs and traditional dimming controls.

As a result, smart bulbs don't work well with dimmer switches, and we likewise don't recommend using smart dimmer switches with smart bulbs. However, there are smart dimmer switches on the market that are designed to work perfectly with smart bulbs and will give you good old-fashioned physical dimming control that won't conflict with your bulbs.