Dimmer

For the New Zealand band, see Dimmer (band).

Dimmers with direct manual control had a limit on the
Dimmers are devices used to lower the brightness of speed they could be varied at but this issue has been
largely eliminated with modern digital units (although
very fast changes in brightness may still be avoided for
other reasons like lamp life).
Modern dimmers are built from semiconductors instead
of variable resistors, because they have higher eciency.
A variable resistor would dissipate power as heat and acts
as a voltage divider. Since semiconductor or solid-state
A common dual dimmer manufactured by Electronic Theatre dimmers switch quickly between a low resistance on
state and a high resistance o state, they dissipate very
Controls(ETC)
little power compared with the controlled load.

Another dimmer by Colortran

a light. By changing the voltage waveform applied to

the lamp, it is possible to lower the intensity of the light
output. Although variable-voltage devices are used for
various purposes, the term dimmer is generally reserved
for those intended to control light output from resistive
incandescent, halogen, and (more recently) compact uorescent lights (CFLs) and light-emitting diodes (LEDs).
More specialized equipment is needed to dim uorescent,
A residential-type dimmer switch with sliding knob to change
mercury vapor, solid state and other arc lighting.
dimness. The device is small enough to t into a regular wall
box provided for a switch.

Dimmers range in size from small units the size of a

light switch used for domestic lighting to high power units
used in large theatre or architectural lighting installations. Small domestic dimmers are generally directly controlled, although remote control systems (such as X10)
are available. Modern professional dimmers are generally controlled by a digital control system like DMX or
DALI. In newer systems, these protocols are often used
in conjunction with ethernet.

1 History

Early dimmers were directly controlled through the manual manipulation of large dimmer panels. This required
all power to come through the lighting control location,
In the professional lighting industry, changes in intensity which could be inconvenient, inecient and potentially
are called fades and can be fade up or fade down. dangerous for large or high-powered systems, such as
1

those used for stage lighting.

TYPES OF DIMMER

2.2 Coil-rotation transformer

In 1896, Granville Woods patented his Safety Dimmer,

which greatly reduced wasted energy by reducing the
amount of energy generated to match desired demand
rather than burning o unwanted energy.[1]
In 1959, Joel S. Spira, who would found the Lutron Electronics Company in 1961, invented a dimmer based on a
diode and a tapped autotransformer, saving energy and allowing the dimmer to be installed in a standard electrical
wallbox.[2][3]
In 1966, Eugene Alessio patented a light bulb socket
adapter for adjusting a light level on a single light bulb
using a triac. To house this device, he decided on a 2inch round device with one end capable of being screwed
into a light bulb socket and the other end able to receive
a light bulb.[4]
When solid-state dimmers came into use, analog remote
control systems (such as 0-10 V lighting control systems)
became feasible. The wire for the control systems was
much smaller (with low current and lower danger) than
the heavy power cables of previous lighting systems. Each
dimmer had its own control wires, resulting in many wires
leaving the lighting control location.
More recent digital control protocols such as DMX512,
DALI, or one of the many Ethernet-based protocols like
Art-Net, ETCnet, sACN, Pathport, ShowNet or KiNET Two 6000 watt motor driven autotransformer dimmers, used for
[5]
enable the control a large number of dimmers (and theatre auditorium lighting
other stage equipment) through a single cable.
The coil-rotation transformer used a xed-position electromagnet coil in conjunction with a variable-position coil
to vary the voltage in the line by varying the alignment of
2 Types of dimmer
the two coils. Rotated 90 degrees apart, the secondary
coil is aected by two equal but opposite elds from the
primary, which eectively cancel each other out and pro2.1 Rheostat dimmer
duce no voltage in the secondary.
Dimmers based on rheostats were inecient since they
would dissipate a signicant portion of the power rating
of the load as heat. They were large and required plenty
of cooling air. Because their dimming eect depended a
great deal on the total load applied to each rheostat, the
load needed to be matched fairly carefully to the power
rating of the rheostat. Finally, as they relied on mechanical control they were slow and it was dicult to change
many channels at a time

These coils resembled the standard rotor and stator as

used in an electric motor, except that the rotor was held
against rotation using brakes and was moved to specic
positions using high-torque gearing. Because the rotor
did not ever turn a complete revolution, a commutator
was not required and long exible cables could be used
on the rotor instead.

2.3 Autotransformer dimmer

2.1.1

Saltwater dimmer

Early examples of a rheostat dimmer include a salt water dimmer or liquid rheostat; the liquid between a movable and xed contact provided a variable resistance. The
closer the contacts to each other, the more voltage was
available for the light. Salt water dimmers required regular addition of water and maintenance due to corrosion;
exposed parts were energized during operation, presenting a shock hazard.[6]

Variable autotransformers (trade name Variac) were

then introduced. While they were still nearly as large as
rheostat dimmers, they were relatively ecient devices.
Their voltage output, and so their dimming eect, was
largely independent of the load applied so it was far easier
to design the lighting that would be attached to each autotransformer channel. Remote control of the dimmers was
still impractical, although some dimmers were equipped
with motor drives that could slowly and steadily reduce or
increase the brightness of the attached lamps. Autotrans-

3
formers have fallen out of use for lighting but are used for The suppression circuitry may be insucient to prevent
other applications.
buzzing to be heard on sensitive audio and radio equipment that share the mains supply with the lighting loads.
In this case, special considerations must be made to pre2.4 Solid-state dimmer
vent this interference.[8] European dimmers must comply
with relevant EMC legislation requirements; this involves
suppressing the emissions described above to limits described in EN55104.
In the electrical schematic to the right, a typical siliconcontrolled rectier (SCR) based light dimmer dims the
light through phase angle control. This unit is wired in
series with the load. Diodes (D2, D3, D4 and D5) form
a bridge which generates pulsed DC. R1 and C1 form a
circuit with a time constant. As the voltage increases from
zero (at the start of every halfwave) C1 will charge up.
When C1 is able to make Zener diode D6 conduct and
inject current into the SCR, the SCR will re. When the
SCR conducts then D1 will discharge C1 via the SCR.
The SCR will shut o when the current falls to zero when
the supply voltage drops at the end of the half cycle, ready
for the circuit to start work on the next half cycle. This is
an example of a Leading Edge Dimmer.

A Strand CD80 thyristor dimmer rack

R1
D5

D1

D2

D3

D4

SCR

D6

C1

An electrical schematic for a typical SCR-based light dimmer

Solid-state or semiconductor dimmers were introduced to

solve some of these problems. Semiconductor dimmers
switch on at an adjustable time (phase angle) after the
start of each alternating current half-cycle, thereby altering the voltage waveform applied to lamps and so changing its RMS eective value. Because they switch instead
of absorbing part of the voltage supplied, there is very little wasted power. Dimming can be almost instantaneous
and is easily controlled by remote electronics. This development also made it possible to make dimmers small
enough to be used in place (within the pattress) of normal
domestic light switches.
The switches generate some heat during switching and
can cause also radio-frequency interference.[7] Inductors
or chokes are used as part of the circuitry to suppress
this interference. When the dimmer is at 50% power the
switches are switching their highest voltage (>325 V in
Europe) and the sudden surge of power causes the coils on
the inductor to move, creating buzzing sound associated
with some types of dimmer; this same eect can be heard
in the laments of the incandescent lamps as singing.

Waveform of the output voltage of a thyristor dimmer set for 60

volts RMS output, with 120 V input. The red trace shows the
output device switching on about 5.5 ms after the input (blue)
voltage crosses zero. Switching the thyristor on earlier in each
half cycle gives a higher output voltage and brighter lights.

Dimmers based on Insulated-gate bipolar transistors (IGBTs) do away with most of the noise present in TRIACS
by chopping o the falling side of the sine wave. These
are termed Trailing Edge Dimmers.
An even newer, but still expensive technology is sinewave dimming, which is implemented as high power
switched-mode power supplies followed by a lter.[9][10]

3 Control
See also: Lighting control console
Non domestic dimmers are usually controlled remotely by
means of various protocols. Analogue dimmers usually
require a separate wire for each channel of dimming carrying a voltage between 0 and 10 V. Some analogue circuitry then derives a control signal from this and the mains
supply for the switches. As more channels are added to

PATCHING

Some dimmers in residential applications are also

equipped with a radio receiver to be used as wireless
light switches which can be remotely controlled by a radio
transmitter.[11]

4 Patching
Patching is the physical (hard patch) or virtual (soft
patch) assignment to a circuit or channel for the purpose
of control.

4.1 Hard patch

A dimmer rack containing 192 dimmers, with one dimmer per
circuit. The black box at the upper left is a demultiplexer.

A telephone-type patch bay by Hub Electric

Dimmer in a residential application with RF-based remote control

the system more wires are needed between the lighting

controller and the dimmers.
In the late 70s serial analogue protocols were developed.
These multiplexed a series of analogue levels onto a single
wire, with embedded clocking signal similar to a composite video signal (in the case of Strand Lightings European
D54 standard, handling 384 dimmers) or separate clocking signal (in the case of the US standard AMX192).
Digital protocols, such as DMX512 have proved to be the
answer since the late 80s. In early implementations a digital signal was sent from the controller to a demultiplexer,
which sat next to the dimmers. This converted the digital
signal into a collection of 0 to +10 V or 0 to 10 V signals which could be connected to the individual analogue
control circuits.

An ElectroControls Slider Type Patch Bay

Dimmers are usually arranged together in racks, where

they can be accessed easily, and then power is run to the
instruments being controlled. In architectural installations electricity is run straight from the dimmers to the
lights via permanent wiring (this is called a circuit). They
Modern dimmer designs use microprocessors to convert are hard run and cannot be changed.
the digital signal directly into a control signal for the However venues such as theatres demand more exibilswitches. This has many advantages, giving closer con- ity. To allow for changes for each show, and occasionally
trol over the dimming, and giving the opportunity for di- during shows, theatres sometimes install circuits run peragnostic feedback to be sent digitally back to the lighting manently to sockets around the theatre. Instead of these
controller.
circuits going directly to the dimmer they are connected

5
to a patch bay. A patch bay usually sits next to the dimmers enabling the dimmers to be connected to specic
circuits via a patch cable. The patch bay may also enable
many circuits to be connected to one dimmer and even
series connection for low-voltage lamps. Also in some
theatres individual cables are run directly from the light
to dimmer. The assigned connections between the circuits (either at the patch bay or in the form of individual
cables) and the dimmers is known as the mains or hard
patch. Most hard patch situations A control channel on
the light board is xed to a specic dimmer as in a 1-to1 patch. This is most common in older theatres, and on
a tour where dimmers will be brought in by the touring Example dimmer curves
company.

4.2

Soft patch

up the lamps reaction to sudden bursts of power that opMost modern xed installations do not have patch bays, erators of rock'n'roll-style shows appreciate. The oppoinstead they have a dimmer-per-circuit and patch dim- site of this function is sometimes called top-set. This
mers into channels using a computerised control consoles limits the maximum power supplied to a lamp, which can
also extend its life.
Soft Patch.
In less advanced systems, this same eect is achieved by
literally pre-heating (warming) the globes before an event
or performance. This is usually achieved by slowly bring5 Dimming curves
ing the lights up to full (or usually 90-95%) power over a
period of between 1/2 to 1 hour. This is as eective as a
The design of most analogue dimmers meant that the outbuilt-in preheat function.
put of the dimmer was not directly proportional to the input. Instead, as the operator brought up a fader, the dimmer would dim slowly at rst, then quickly in the middle,
then slowly at the top. The shape of the curve resembled that of the third quarter of a sine wave. Dierent 7 The digital revolution
dimmers produced dierent dimmer curves, and dierent applications typically demanded dierent responses.
Television often uses a square law curve, providing ner
control in top part of the curve, essential to allow accurate
trimming of the colour temperature of lighting. Theatrical dimmers tend to use a softer S or linear curve. Digital dimmers can be made to have whatever curve the manufacturer desires; they may have a choice between a linear
relationship and selection of dierent curves, so that they
can be matched with older analogue dimmers. Sophisticated systems provide user-programmable or nonstandard curves, and a common use of a nonstandard curve is
to turn a dimmer into a non-dim, switching on at a user
dened control level.
Example of an S curve a lightboard can soft patch

Preheat

Switching high-intensity incandescent (lament) lamps to

full power from cold can shorten their life dramatically,
owing to the large inrush current that occurs. To reduce
stress on the lamp laments, dimmers may have a preheat function. This sets a minimum level, usually between 5% and 10%, which appears turned-o, but stops
the lamp from cooling down too much. This also speeds

Main article: Lighting control console

Modern digital desks can emulate preheat and dimmer
curves and allow a soft patch to be done in memory. This
is often preferred as it means that the dimmer rack can
be exchanged for another one without having to transfer
complicated settings. Many dierent curves, or proles
can be programmed and used on dierent channels.

11

Rise time

EXTERNAL LINKS

[9] http://www.strandlighting.com/clientuploads/directory/
downloads/Strand_IGBTvsSinewave_Dimming.pdf

One measure of the quality of a leading edge dimmer [10] https://ewh.ieee.org/soc/pes/centraltexas/austin/

is the rise time. The rise time in this context is the
meetings/2007/presentations/20070626dimming.ppt
amount of time it takes for the cut part of the waveform
to get from zero to the instantaneous output voltage. In [11] How Do Lighting Controls Work?". HeathCo LLC. Retrieved 6 September 2014.
the waveform above it is a measure of the slope of the
almost vertical edge of the red trace. Typically it is mea Bellman, Wilard F. (2001). LIGHTING THE
sured in tens to hundreds of microseconds. A longer rise
STAGE: Art and Practice, Third Edition, Chapter
time reduces the noise of the dimmer and the lamp as
4 The Control Console, Broadway Press, Inc.,
well as extending the life of the lamp. A longer rise time
Louisville Kentucky, ISBN 0-911747-40-0,
also reduces the electromagnetic interference produced
by the dimmer. Unsurprisingly, a longer rise time is more
sound.westhost.com
expensive to implement than a short one, this is because
the size of choke has to be increased. Newer dimming
methods can help minimize such problems.

11 External links

See also
Choke
Compulite
Derating
Electronic Theatre Controls
Fluorescent_lamp#Dimming
Heat sink
Home automation
Innite switch
Lighting control console
Potentiometer
Wireless light switch

10

References

[1] Patent US569443 - Granville t.

[2] Julie Jacobson (29 April 2010). How Lutron Landed in
the Smithsonian.
[3] Patent US3032688 - Dimming device.
[4] Patent US3452215 - Light bulb socket adapter.
[5] Open Lighting Architecture.
[6] Types of dimmer
[7] http://asia.lutron.com/product_technical/faq.asp#OLE_
LINK14
[8] http://www.lutron.com/TechnicalDocumentLibrary/
360484.pdf

Light dimmer circuits

Dimmers, Switchbanks & Eciency
Eco friendly dimming systems repair

12
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