Let there be Light !

sunny2004

Well the title of the thread is optomistic :rolleyes:

Here is what I have.

Kitchen and dining area two seperate lights on a twin switch at the door, and at the other end a single switch that only switches off one light. Same as a landing light is wired, both switches control one bulb.

Here is what I want to do.

Remove the twin switch and replace with a twin dimmer.

Here are my questions.

1
Will the switches, as in the double switch and the single at the other end of the room still function the same when I introduce the dimmer ? (assuming I wire the new twin dimmer the same, and leave the single switch as is)

2
Both light bulb sockets were replaced with 4x halogen bulb racks/arms these units do not have transformer and run directly off the mains. Will a dimmer work with this type of bulb ?

3
Is there anything I should watch out for ?

Avns1s

sunny2004 wrote: »

1
Will the switches, as in the double switch and the single at the other end of the room still function the same when I introduce the dimmer ? (assuming I wire the new twin dimmer the same, and leave the single switch as is)?

Yes, make sure your dimmer is two way.

sunny2004 wrote: »

2
Both light bulb sockets were replaced with 4x halogen bulb racks/arms these units do not have transformer and run directly off the mains. Will a dimmer work with this type of bulb ?

240V Halogen Bulbs work fine with dimmers but make sure you don't exceed the rating of the dimmer switch, usually 500W.

sunny2004 wrote: »

3
Is there anything I should watch out for ?

Yes, the box needed for a dimmer may well be deeper than the box you have currently, In other words, the dimmer you require may not fit without a lot of work.

sunny2004

Update Before I deal with above !
Woke up this morning and checked for a reply, headed off and finally throughtout the day picked up what I needed, 1 twin dimmer and a load of bulbs, arrived home and installed it, just followed the same wiring as the old switch and it worked straight out of the box... but

Avns1s wrote: »

Yes, make sure your dimmer is two way..

Didnt know this, but it must, cost 37 euros in woodies, was in fact the cheapest one I could find. So I am assuming its two way..



240V Halogen Bulbs work fine with dimmers but make sure you don't exceed the rating of the dimmer switch, usually 500W.
Four bulbs in each, 50w. so 200w i total ??





Yes, the box needed for a dimmer may well be deeper than the box you have currently, In other words, the dimmer you require may not fit without a lot of work.
You are spot on but in my case it seems to go fully back but the side metal clips in the box in the way are catching it on 2 sides, so they need to be bent or removed..

So the moral of the story for me is POST EARLY and wait !

Big thanks to Avns1s

Avns1s

Most welcome.