Two seperate switches. Dimmable possible? Help!
Discussion
Right, I'm poor so my house has the stairs in the lounge. There's 3 switches which are relevant:
Set A - at the entrance to the lounge. Single switch, operates the lights in the lounge on/off.
Set B - at the bottom of the stairs in the lounge. Pair of switches, operates the ligths in the lounge and top landing independantly on/off.
Set C - at the top of the stairs. Single switch, operates the top landing on/off.
So at the moment, flicking any switch will change the relevant light. If it's off it goes on and if it's on it goes off. So it's using some triple wired dual loop type system.
Anyway, I now want to make the lights in the lounge dimable. But I'd also still like to be able to switch them from both Set A and Set B. (I want to leave the function on the landing light alone.)
So, question is:
i) Is it possible?
ii) What do I need to buy?
iii) How do I need to wire it?
Cheers all!!
Set A - at the entrance to the lounge. Single switch, operates the lights in the lounge on/off.
Set B - at the bottom of the stairs in the lounge. Pair of switches, operates the ligths in the lounge and top landing independantly on/off.
Set C - at the top of the stairs. Single switch, operates the top landing on/off.
So at the moment, flicking any switch will change the relevant light. If it's off it goes on and if it's on it goes off. So it's using some triple wired dual loop type system.
Anyway, I now want to make the lights in the lounge dimable. But I'd also still like to be able to switch them from both Set A and Set B. (I want to leave the function on the landing light alone.)
So, question is:
i) Is it possible?
ii) What do I need to buy?
iii) How do I need to wire it?
Cheers all!!
Yes its possible. What you have are three way switches, you can get the equivalent dimmer.
http://home.howstuffworks.com/three-way2.htm
http://home.howstuffworks.com/three-way2.htm
phib said:
Yes it is possible , we have this feature in our kitchen.
How to do it I am afraid I have no idea ..... sorry
But it does work and is possible
Phib
Ok, thanks for letting me know. At least I know I won't sound insane when I visit the hardware shop to ask them about it! So can you dim down with one and then up with the other in your kitchen? (That would presumably require something very clever to make that work.)How to do it I am afraid I have no idea ..... sorry
But it does work and is possible
Phib
eliot said:
Yes its possible. What you have are three way switches, you can get the equivalent dimmer.
http://home.howstuffworks.com/three-way2.htm
Cheers for the link. That's exactly how my lights are wired at the moment. I'm just not sure how to connect one or more dimmers in the circuit.http://home.howstuffworks.com/three-way2.htm
I guess what I could potentially do would be to leave the existing switches as they are and then add a single dimmer somewhere. I could then still turn off/on at both switches, but then operate the dimmer when I'm watching a film or something. (Obviously if the dimmer is at 100% then everything works just as it did before, so I just need to remember to turn it back up when I'm done with the movie.)
Not entirely sure where in the circuit the dimmer should fit... probably between the neural of the light fitting and ringmain neutral. Or, between ringmain live and the live feed to the first of the two three-way on/off switches.
You can wire up two way switching arrangements with a dimmer switch. You can only have a dimmer on one switch though (unless you use some sort of electronic kit).
With a standard 2-way dimmer arrangement, you use a standard 2-way paddle switch at one end and a 2-way dimmer at the other. The 2 way dimmer looks like a normal dimmer - to turn it on and off you push the knob and turn it to adjust the brightness. The level will always be set at whatever the dimmer switch is set at, regardless of what end you turn it off from.
I strongly recommend you get a qualified spark in to do the work.
With a standard 2-way dimmer arrangement, you use a standard 2-way paddle switch at one end and a 2-way dimmer at the other. The 2 way dimmer looks like a normal dimmer - to turn it on and off you push the knob and turn it to adjust the brightness. The level will always be set at whatever the dimmer switch is set at, regardless of what end you turn it off from.
I strongly recommend you get a qualified spark in to do the work.
Ganglandboss said:
You can wire up two way switching arrangements with a dimmer switch. You can only have a dimmer on one switch though (unless you use some sort of electronic kit).
With a standard 2-way dimmer arrangement, you use a standard 2-way paddle switch at one end and a 2-way dimmer at the other. The 2 way dimmer looks like a normal dimmer - to turn it on and off you push the knob and turn it to adjust the brightness. The level will always be set at whatever the dimmer switch is set at, regardless of what end you turn it off from.
I strongly recommend you get a qualified spark in to do the work.
Sounds good. Similar to my idea above but combines the on/off and dimmer into one unit. Will be neater once installed.With a standard 2-way dimmer arrangement, you use a standard 2-way paddle switch at one end and a 2-way dimmer at the other. The 2 way dimmer looks like a normal dimmer - to turn it on and off you push the knob and turn it to adjust the brightness. The level will always be set at whatever the dimmer switch is set at, regardless of what end you turn it off from.
I strongly recommend you get a qualified spark in to do the work.
Do you have a link to any suitable products? I need to know what "key words" I need to be searching for to find a dimmer which operates as you describe above.
Thanks for your reccomendation.
If I've understood your description correctly, you need to replace 'Set A' with a dimmer. You need to ask for a "single gang / two way dimmer switch".
Do you want anything fancy - chrome/brass etc.? Anything CE marked will be okay but I would recommend getting good quality such as MK. Again, I strongly recommend you get a spark to do it.
ETA: Be careful of the flat panel switches that everyone seems to like - they take up more room in the back-box and a standard 16 mm back-box often isn't big enough.
Do you want anything fancy - chrome/brass etc.? Anything CE marked will be okay but I would recommend getting good quality such as MK. Again, I strongly recommend you get a spark to do it.
ETA: Be careful of the flat panel switches that everyone seems to like - they take up more room in the back-box and a standard 16 mm back-box often isn't big enough.
Edited by Ganglandboss on Sunday 2nd August 15:55
Thanks very much. I'll get to the shop tomorrow.
Regards the installation, I feel confident to do this myself. I fitted replacement "chrome" facia switches when we moved in and this required re-wiring the switches. (Albeit replacing like for like switches, so all I had to do was copy the wiring config.) Since then I've fitted new light fittings and the new ones have more bulbs than the old ones, and hence I now want a dimmer switch. Don't worry, I'll be careful. :-)
Regards the installation, I feel confident to do this myself. I fitted replacement "chrome" facia switches when we moved in and this required re-wiring the switches. (Albeit replacing like for like switches, so all I had to do was copy the wiring config.) Since then I've fitted new light fittings and the new ones have more bulbs than the old ones, and hence I now want a dimmer switch. Don't worry, I'll be careful. :-)
Gassing Station | Homes, Gardens and DIY | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff