Wouldn't it be a good idea to make dimmer switches mandatory in every home?

Question

Not only would it create jobs for people to make them, but it would cut down on power used in USA by a lot. The money saved would be significant. Also, it can add different moods to any room you put them in.

Answer 1

unfortunately, that's not how resistors work. The Same amount of power flows to them, theres just less that gets through. You would still use the same amount of power from the power plant, you would just use less in the fixture itself.

Besides, who's going to pick up the cost? Nah, Tax incentives for florescent bulbs is a better idea.


edit: According to one of the posters below, there is no constitutional allowance. That's not true. There is written into article 1 a passage that notes the congress is allowed to make all laws "necessary and proper" that includes, well, anything. including dimmer switches. But note it only applies to congress.

Answer 2

That's a good idea indeed. Installing lamp dimmers would not only decrease the amount of power consumed but would also lengthen the life of the bulbs.
Incandescent bulbs always fuse at the time of switch-on. If they are turned on slowly, as a dimmer would do, their lives would be extended.
But watch out for the incandescent bulb manufacturers lobby ! :-)

Answer 3

Since the best lighting for most situations is those new fluorescents that save tons of electricity, and since those type lights are ruined by dimmer switches, making people install dimmer switches would actually increase the amount of electricity they would have to use.

Less freedom to arrange your life? worse electric usage? All in all not a very thoughtful idea ?

Answer 4

Technically, it doesn't make sense because dimmer switches are voltage dividers; what is not going to the fixture is converted to heat in the switch itself. Further, they don't work with compact fluorescent light bulbs, which are a far more efficient and better choice than incandescent light bulbs if you're interested in conserving energy.

Socially, it's way better to use logic and reason, rather than laws, to convince people to make changes that would benefit our collective future. Unfortunately, there's not much money in convincing people to be more efficient with resources, but plenty of money in marketing people to be less efficient because were charged by usage.

Answer 5

I do not care about any other house but the White House. In the White House, there should not be any dimmer switch; instead, there should be only brighter switches. Do I have to tell why ?

Answer 6

No I live in the free world If i wanted to pay for dimmers i would. Try energy saving bulbs or getting the oil companies to release patents on hydrogen technology.
peaceout

Answer 7

There are many ways to change our power utilization without making mandatory laws that affect freedom of choice.

Let's start with raising energy prices. The additional tax revenue will help pay down the national debt, and the higher prices will encourage conservation. When the cost of generating electricity via fossil fuels equals the cost of generating it via other means- all of a sudden, we will be finding a lot of new ways to generate power.

Time to slowly start phasing in a new 'sin' tax. And- wasting energy is a 'sin'. Isn't it?

Answer 8

Just because a dimmer switch is installed doesn't mean that they will always be used.

Answer 9

You want to force people to have dimmer switches to help the economy and save energy? Think harder.

Answer 10

Well, how about eliminating sales tax on using compact fluorescent bulbs to encourage their use?

Besides, dimmers are already widely available to those who want them.