Can you answer this question about dimmers for me?

Question

If I install dimmers in lamps and other lighting throughout my home will I conserve electricity and save on my utility bill or just create a more romantic mood?

There seems to be a difference of opinion between the first two answerers so I'm still as confused as when I started. Does anyone know of any reliable source material?

Answer 1

You will save money by dimming.
Here's a link with FAQ's about dimmers.

http://www.dimmers.net/dimmer_faq.asp#q12

Answer 2

A dimmer works by turning on and off (this is called chopping) the lamp very fast so when the lamp is off indeed you save some electrical power. It has to be so otherwise the power not sent to the lamp would dissipate in the dimmer and the dimmer would quickly become very hot.

However don't ask for too much, you will not significantly reduce your power consumption.

Answer 3

Yes, you will save power when the lights are dimmed. They work by chopping the AC so the lamp only gets part of the cycle. This dissipates a small amount of power in the switch but only a watt ot so.

However, they don't work on energy saving bulbs (flourescent ones) which are about 5 times as efficient as normal bulbs. So you are likely to be greener using energy saving lamps rather than ordinary+dimmer especially if normally you want lots of light.

energy saving lamps aren't very romantic though.

Answer 4

You won't have a considerable savings using dimmers as the general principle is to reduce the power going to the bulbs BUT the extra power is diverted on the dimmer itself. There is a component in the dimmer called a "resistor" which absorbs the power which is diverted from the lamp.

Answer 5

both