Why should you NEVER use Non-Dimmable Light Bulbs with Dimmer Switches?

Nowadays, technology is getting advanced day-by-day. And the electrical light that we use daily has also evolved to its most innovative form. Now, we can even control the intensity and brightness of the light with the help of a dimmer switch. But do you know what a dimmer switch is? Have a look to know!

What is a Dimmer Switch?

A dimmer switch is a switch that helps to vary the brightness of an electric light. It does not only switches the light ON or OFF, but also adjusts the intensity of the light. This helps in mood lighting as you can change the colour and intensity of the light according to your mood. These switches have variable resistors which enable it to change the intensity of the light.

A dimmer switch can only support LEDs, CFLs and other lights that are made up of advanced technology and have a dimming feature. But there’s one issue with light bulbs that needs to receive a lot more attention if we are going to see a peaceful transition to energy-efficient light sources. It is that a non-dimmable electrical light should never be used with dimmer switches. Yes, you heard it right, one should never use normal light bulbs with dimmer switches because if you do so, the light will not perform well, it may appear fine in the beginning, but with time you will start noticing the difference in the intensity of the light. Also, doing so can even lead to overheating of the light and later it can even turn into a serious fire hazard.

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How does a Dimmer Switch work?

A light dimmer switch is a piece of equipment that lets you adjust the light intensity of a bulb from low to high through the use of a TRIAC (triode alternating current switch) that restricts the flow of electricity to decrease the light of a bulb.

A modern dimmer switch switch functions the same way as if you turn a light ON and OFF really fast. These switches are designed to work with CFLs, Halogens, and Incandescent light bulbs. But the bulbs need to be of the latest technology and must have the feature of dimming to allow it to be used with a dimmer switch.

A dimmer switch comes in help to reduce the energy consumption by the light that leads to lower electrical bills. Also, it makes the overall look really nice by dimming the brightness and making the aura more peaceful.

What happens when you screw an electrical light into a Dimmer Switch?

Electrical lights being a complicated piece of technology needs to be taken care of while connecting to any device. Electric lights (especially CFLs) have a low resistance which means that the floodgates are opened when lights are exposed to the electrical fluctuations that are sent by a dimmer switch, and it can consume more than 5x of the current when it is connected to a dimmer switch which results in overheating of the bulb and can also lead to serious fire hazard.

On a final note, dimmable electrical lights are fine to use, but all you need to take care of is to use the right electrical light with the right switch to get the safe and best performance.

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So, this is why you should never use non-dimmable light bulbs with Dimmer switches.