If I use a 60 watt lightbulb that's on a dimmer system, and I have it dimmed, is it using less energy?

Question

Or does it use 60 watts no matter what?

Answer 1

Yes, you are using less energy, even though it is still technically using 60 watts still. There are different ways to dim a light depending on whether it's low voltage or not. It sounds like you're using regular voltage, and what your dimmer is actually doing is turning the light on and off so fast that the naked eye can't perceive interuption in light. But that instance that the lamp is turned off is enough to save a significant amount of electricity. Even if you only dim your lamp by 10 percent (the newer more expensive dimmers allow for more precise dimming capabilities than your cheap Home Depot slide dimmer), you can save significant amounts of electricity, but dimmed at 10 %, your naked eye won't even notice that you're dimming at all. Of course the more you dim, the more electricity you'll save and the longer the lamp will last. Now, if you're dimming a halogen lamp as opposed to a regular incandescent lamp, you'll want to return it to full brightness at least 15 minutes a week or you'll actually decrease the lifespan of the lamp, since the purpose of the halogen lamp is that it gets so hot that the gas inside the "bulb" recycles the tungstun element by bringing it back to the filiment to increase it's shelf life. A regular incandescent lamp doesn't recycle the tungstun, which is why when it dies, you'll see a bunch of black stuff on the inside of the envelope. That used to be what coated the filiment. Once the filiment develops a bare spot where the tungstun used to be, it becomes brittle and breaks. Since the incandescent lamp doesn't recycle the tungstun, it doesn't matter what temperture the lamp reaches, so you can keep it dimmed all the time.

Answer 2

Yes, it will save energy. There is no such thing as a resistor dimmer that some other answers have suggested. That would make the dimmer switch very hot. All incandescent dimmers use the "SCR" that shuts off the power during part of the 60Hz cycle.

Answer 3

If you are using a resistor type dimmer, you are certainly using less power.

By adding resistance in series you are lowering the current through the bulb.

Ohms law states:
P = E (Squared) / R

Where:
P = power
E=voltage
R=resistance

As resistance increases, the power that is drawn is lowered.

Some dimmers use a device called an SCR (silicon controlled rectifier). This is a bit more complicated but they use a bit less power too.

Hope that helps.

Answer 4

I would use a 75 watt bulb with a dimmer, and yes it does use less

Answer 5

I think it uses a resistor to do the dimming so it would use 60 watts no matter what.

Answer 6

A dimmer is a variable resistor, so the energy used is stll the same. Power in is equal to power out.