How to Wire a Dimmable Fluorescent
Compact Fluorescent Light bulbs (CFL's) are more energy efficient than incandescent bulbs. A 23-watt CFL will give the same amount of light as a 100-watt incandescent and operate at a lower temperature, wasting less heat. A drawback of CFL's in the past has been that they were not dimmable, owing to the threshold voltage needed to excite the gas they contain and produce light. That has changed, and dimmable CFL's are now on the market. To wire one into a room, you only need to replace the light switch with a voltage rectifier--that is, a dimmer switch, available at hardware stores. Does this Spark an idea?
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Things You'll Need
- Screwdriver
- Pliers
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Instructions
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Turn off the circuit breaker at the main panel so that the light remains off when you turn the switch on. If there is more than one switch in the box, verify that the power to those switches is also off.
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Unscrew the cover plate, and remove it from the switch box. Unscrew the screws holding the switch to the electrical box and remove the switch.
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Disconnect the two black wires from the switch.
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Connect the black wires to the dimmer switch. Tighten them securely so they don't come off.
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Insert the dimmer switch back into the electrical box. Dimmer switches are quite a bit larger than ordinary ones, so you may have to re-arrange wires in the box, and push the switch to get it to go in.
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Attach the switch to the electrical box with the machine screws provided with the switch.
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Screw on the cover plate. Note that you will have to use a different cover plate with a larger opening. It requires two screws to attach it, one above and one below the switch. Cover plates are available where you bought the switch.
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Tips & Warnings
Several different styles of dimmer switches are available to choose from, including slide-able toggle, motion sensitive and standard rotary types. The rotary type of dimmer switch can be used with the cover plate from your original switch.
Always make sure the power is off at the panel before doing any electrical work on a switch.
Using a non-dimmable CFL with a dimmer is a fire hazard.
References
Resources
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