Dimmer Switches Manufacturers

As I was conducting the research for the dimmer control column, I stumbled across some fantastic products made by one of the dimmer manufacturers - Lutron Electronics. The founder of Lutron was instrumental in developing the first electronic dimmer over 40 years ago. I would say that they have a grasp of the dimmer field to say the very least.

I have never been a fan of certain dimmer switches. Many of us can remember the plunger / rotating dial switch. You would push a fat knob in and out to turn the switch on and off and then rotate the fat knob to control the intensity of the light. I hated that switch!

I prefer to have the same look and feel in my home. If all of my other switches are the standard narrow toggle on and off switch, why isn't the dimmer? Lutron figured it out. They created a sleek dimmer switch that fits in the same space as a standard on/off toggle switch! This cool dimmer even has pinpoint LEDs to show you the level of light intensity, as if your eyes can't tell!

Some people have the large paddle type Decora® switches. Lutron makes a matching dimmer with a small slider to control light intensity.

They also make a similar design that has a rocker switch which controls the light intensity. This dimmer has the LED indicator as well.

The ultimate dimmer is the remote control one. Ten people I know immediately come to mind who should have this control switch. Had it been available, I am quite sure it would have been used in a James Bond movie. What a great device to lower the light level when you might be preoccupied.

Lutron also makes a point-of-use dimmer for a table or floor lamp. Keep in mind that other dimmer manufacturers have similar devices! Shop around to see if there is a perfect dimmer for you.

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Dimmer switches are a nice touch. They can soften the light level in a home, save you money on your electric bill and increase significantly the life of your light bulbs. You don't believe me? Well it's true.

The electric cost savings basically parallels the amount that you dim the lights. If you dim by 10 percent, you save 10 percent. Dim the light 25 percent and you save roughly 20 percent on your electric bill. But light bulb life increases dramatically. Dim your lights 10 percent and your bulbs last twice as long! Dim your lights 25 percent and they last four times longer. This makes a big difference if you happen to use expensive bulbs, or if they are in hard to reach locations such as a two story entrance hall or a huge vaulted ceiling in a family room.

Controlling Light Intensity

To control the intensity of light you need to control the flow of electricity that causes the light bulb filament to glow. You can do that in one of two ways:

• Change the amount of voltage that reaches the lamp or bulb
• Control the amount of time that electric current flows to the lamp

The first method - controlling voltage - was used by early dimmers. These devices were called rheostats and autotransformers. Both of these converted the unwanted electricity into heat. They were highly inefficient.

In 1961, Joel Spira invented the first electronic dimmer switch. This device controlled the amount of time that current flowed to the lamp or the light bulb. The end result was the same with respect to light intensity but there was very little waste of energy. You see, the electricity never flowed past the switch in the first place. The electronic dimmers cycle on and off so rapidly that our eyeballs and brains can't even tell the electricity was shut off in the first place. After all, imagine having a light bulb on full blast for an hour. It produces, in that time span, a given amount of light. If you were able to rapidly turn on and off the light bulb so that is was actually only on for 30 minutes of the hour, you would use half the electricity, right? That is what new dimmers do. They just do it so well you can't tell they are turning on and off!

Installing Dimmers

It is not uncommon for a person to damage one of these electronic dimmers. They have sensitive electronic components within them that are sensitive to short circuits and voltage spikes.

The first thing you must do when installing a dimmer is to turn off the electricity to the circuit. If the circuit panel is not correctly marked so that you know the exact breaker to tip, then turn the light you wish to dim ON. Have someone in the room and have them tell you when the light goes off as you trip individual breakers off.

If the house is occupied and you do not post a sentry, you could be in trouble. I have seen a light in the on position and then a family member walk into the room and turn the switch off as the worker is going to the panel. The worker comes back up and sees the light off and thinks that they got the right breaker. WRONG! The circuit could still be energized!

The best way to do a final check is to use a voltage tester once you begin to disassemble the existing switch. Be sure the circuit is dead.

Follow Instructions

Be absolutely sure you have purchased the right dimmer for the lighting load. Pay attention to the wattage capacity of the dimmer! Not all dimmers are created equal. Get the right dimmer for the job!

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Electrical Wiring Books

I have seen many books written about residential electrical wiring but these are my favorites. If you want to learn about the process and look at superb close-up photography, then two books by Rex Cauldwell are for you.

Wiring a House (For Pros by Pros). Rex Cauldwell. Taunton Press. 2002.

This book teaches you about electricity, how it works, gets to your house, enters the house and then is distributed throughout your home.

Rex is an expert electrician and tells it like it is in the Introduction of the book.  He doesn't sugar coat a thing.

This is a MUST HAVE book if you are going to work with electricity.

Here is what the publisher says about this book:

"With the help of clear drawings and photographs, he gives you clear advice about choosing and wiring receptacles and switches, indoor and outdoor lights, exhaust fans for the bathroom, and ceiling fans for any other room. It doesn't matter if you are working on a new house that is still under construction or on an old house with wiring from the turn of the century."

Cauldwell tells you -- and shows you -- what you want to know. He also provides information about wiring kitchen and utility-room appliances, a state-of-the-art home-entertainment system (including a cable or satellite TV system and stereo), and even your home phone system.

Wiring: Basic & Advanced Projects. Rex Cauldwell. Creative Homeowner. 2001.

Wiring Simplified: Based on the 2005 National Electrical Code (41th Edition). H. P. Richter. Park Publishing. 2005.

The Complete Guide to Home Wiring: A Comprehensive Manual, from Basic Repairs to Advanced Projects. Black & Decker Home Improvement Library. Creative Publishing International. 2005.

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When I think back on how I acquired most of my knowledge about electricity, I have to laugh. I did get some expert instruction from a wise older electrical engineer who happened to know many aspects of the National Electric Code by heart. He helped me re-wire the first house I owned. My brain was so receptive to getting this information that I absorbed everything he showed me. For example, once he showed me how to wire two 3 way switches that worked independently to power a stairwell light fixture, I instantly understood.

Getting Bitten

As I took on other jobs, I started to read books on the subject and do trial and error experiments. Back 25 years ago, I didn't have the respect I currently have for electricity. Luckily, I am still alive and my work has never caused a fire. But there have been some close calls!

I'll never forget one particular instance. If you wire an electrical panel, you quickly learn that the bare ground wires and the white neutral wires can be connected to the same bar inside the panel in certain instances. So I assumed that since you can always safely touch the bare ground wire with no fear of getting zotted that one could do the same with the white neutral wires.

One day, I was up on a step ladder with my head sticking through a suspended ceiling. I was involved in a remodeling project in a light commercial building. I needed to splice a cable into an existing circuit. To do so, I needed to connect my white neutral wire to several that were in the box. I removed the wire nut and for some reason grabbed onto them. The next thing I remember was lying flat on my back on the floor. I got shocked BIG TIME. Why? Simple! The circuit was in use and energized. The neutral wires are part of a live circuit and my body had simply become sort of an extra light bulb in the circuit. Actually, I had become a convenient path to ground.

Top Tips

Perhaps the biggest tip I can offer is to plan for plenty of circuits. The cost of a 40 circuit panel vs. a 30 circuit panel is peanuts. Two hundred fifty feet of 12 / 2 cable with ground is peanuts. Anticipate what the load for a circuit might be and if in doubt, simply add another circuit to a room addition or house. Heck, add two more!

Consider using 12/2 wire as your minimum wire size. I did that in my own home after years of frustration working at other people's homes. I could notice a voltage drop at some houses when I used my power tools. I quickly learned that I was at the end of a long stretch of 14 gauge wire. Fourteen gauge wire supports 15 amps or 1,800 watts. But 12 gauge wire is rated for 20 amps or 2,400 watts. That is a significant difference.

Plan for big tools in your garage or workshop. If you have a table saw, it should have its own circuit. Those motors can draw lots of juice on startup and when a thick board is being cut with a semi-dull blade!

Get the right tools. When working with residential electric, I use a linesman's pliers, a razor knife, a wire stripping tool and several different screwdrivers. I also have a needle nose pliers. The linesman's pliers are great for cutting cable and twisting wires together. The razor knife strips insulation from the cable and the wire stripping tool strips wire insulation in one stroke. The needle nose pliers is used to bend individual wires around outlet and switch terminal screws.

Install wiring after the plumbing and heating is done but before low voltage wiring is run. Never have wiring in the way before a plumber arrives. The heat from soldering torches has melted the insulation on many a cable or wire, trust me!

Adding wiring in older homes can be a challenge. It can be especially difficult to get wires from one floor to the next. Older homes that have cast iron drain lines sometimes offer a convenient pathway. It was not uncommon for the plumbers to create oversize holes in the floors and wall plates to accommodate their pipes as they traveled from the different floors to the roof.

On many occasions, I have been able to drop a string alongside the pipe. My best results happen when I tie a 16d common nail to the string and this acts as a weighted pointer to guide the string on its way down the chase. It helps tremendously if a person is below shining a flashlight up into the cavity. The little bit of light allows me to see the best route to follow. Once the string makes it to the basement or lower level you can pull a wire up or down through the space.

Installing the rough-in wiring for recessed light fixtures can give you a huge neck ache if you do it the way most people do. They nail up the rough-in fixture and stand on a ladder to attach the wires. The electrician I used on my jobs taught me a cool trick. Wire the fixture on the ground! Once it is complete, then lift the fixture up and nail it in place. All you have to do is figure out the length of the wire feeding the light. You can actually work backwards. Wire the light first then drop the wire to the switch or next fixture.

Wall outlet heights and locations are critical in my opinion. Many electricians choose to put boxes just 12 inches off the floor. I feel that is too low. I place mine 16 inches off the floor. What's more, I always pre-plan furniture locations. I want outlets immediately behind side tables next to couches. Why put an outlet behind a couch? I want outlets to be exactly where the fixtures or lamps will be so you don't see cords stretching to reach an outlet.

Outdoor holiday lighting outlets are very important. Plan for where you think outdoor lights will be used. Install numerous outlets that are controlled by an interior switch next to your front door and possibly a 3 way switch in your bedroom in case you forget to turn the lights out before you jump in bed!

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Installing Circuit Breakers

If you have a little bit of courage, you can install circuit breakers yourself. The process does, in fact, contain a certain degree of risk, but if you follow all safety steps, you should be just fine.

Turn Off the Juice!

Most standard electric panels have a main disconnect switch or breaker at the top of the panel or load center. It is a code requirement. If the load center doesn't have one, then look for the main disconnect at a different location possibly near the electric meter. Turn it off. You better have a flashlight handy or a caving or miner's helmet, because you are going to need a light source for the next steps.

They Simply Plug In

Circuit breakers plug into the load center. The electricity flows into each breaker via a large metal strip inside the panel or load center. It is called a bus bar. This strip is HIGHLY dangerous. Touch this strip while it is energized and you will very likely die. If a screwdriver you are holding slips and touches it, expect nearly the same result.

Keep in mind that even though the main breaker may be off, the bus bar may be energized for any number of reasons! Also, the wires leading into the top of the main disconnect are always energized and represent a life safety hazard. In other words, the inside of an electric panel or load center is ALWAYS a dangerous place to be.

The Breaker

The black wire to a circuit attaches to one end of a standard or AFCI breaker. The location is almost always a hole that is drilled through a threaded cylinder. A screw twists into this cylinder and tightly clamps down the wire. When installing a new breaker, I always find it easier to attach the circuit wire to the breaker before I plug the breaker into the panel. When removing a breaker, I usually unplug the breaker from the bus bar and then remove the circuit wire from the end of the breaker.

Plugging It In

Make sure the breaker is in the off position. The end of the breaker where the circuit wire attaches almost always has a small notch in it. This notch fits under or slides into a metal tab strip that runs parallel with the bus bar. This is what stabilizes the breaker. Without this secondary attachment, the breakers would flap in the panel much like a sail that is not tied down to the mast or the side of a boat.

Tip the end of the breaker so the notch slides into the metal tab. You then align the breaker with the bus bar and push it down onto the bar. The tension tabs on the breaker open slightly and grip the bus bar as the breaker seats itself. If you feel the breaker seated itself correctly, simply turn it on. All should be well. Remember to follow the instructions that come with the breaker. Always follow the sequence the manufacturer suggests.

The White Wire

AFCI breakers require one additional step. You need to locate the white wire that is paired with the black wire in that circuit. The white wire actually attaches to the breaker as well. There is a coiled white wire that leads out of the breaker. This white wire attaches to the neutral bus bar in spot that is vacated when you disconnect the white wire of the circuit. Scared yet? If so, call an electrician!

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Arc Fault Circuit Breaker Manufacturers

This whole business of arc fault breakers started back in the early 1990s. Changes in the National Electric Code often happen slowly and methodically. This is not a bad thing. One of the reasons it takes a while to initiate a change is the time it takes manufacturers to ramp up for production. It is unreasonable to expect a manufacturer to develop and produce in mass quantities a high quality product in less than a couple of years. Electrical equipment is even more critical. It needs to undergo extensive testing.

Even though ALL electrical panel and circuit breaker manufacturers have known all about arc fault breakers and the fact that they are a new addition to the National Electric Code, I could only find four companies that currently manufacture them.

Soon ALL electrical panel and breaker companies will have them on their shelves, especially any electrical company who wants to sell product in the state of Vermont. Vermont is requiring these devices to be installed in all new construction six months from now! If you don't see your panel manufacturer below, contact your local electrical supply houses every 30 days to see when the breakers might be available.

But don't give up! Some breakers fit into other brand load centers! For example, I went to the Cutler Hammer website and found out that their AFCI breakers will fit into Westinghouse, Bryant, and Challenger load centers!

• Eaton Electrical/Cutler Hammer
• General Electric
• Siemens
• Square D

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Talk with any experienced firefighter and he/she will quickly tell you any number of stories about houses that have burned because of electrical shorts. The report that the fire department files with the National Fire Protection Agency probably lists the fire as electrical in origin, but the actual cause might have been an arc fault or a similar electrical short.

Regular Breakers

If you are like most people you probably think the regular circuit breakers in your panel protect against short circuits. Well, they do if certain thermal and over current conditions happen. But an arc or a short circuit sometimes resembles an overactive toaster. In other words, there can be trouble and sparking but the regular circuit breaker doesn't sense a problem. The breaker "feels" okay and is happy with the amount of current flowing through it. Not enough current has flowed through to trip it due to heat buildup within the breaker.

Arc fault circuit interrupters are different. They have intelligence. They can sense when an arc or short circuit is about to spark and cause a fire. They quickly shut down. These new breakers are a huge technological breakthrough. They will save thousands of lives of homeowners and lives of firefighters who enter dwellings to try to save people.

Where Do They Go?

Bedroom circuits are probably the first place to consider installing arc fault circuit interrupters (AFCI). The rooms are typically the farthest distance away from the circuit breaker panel and most susceptible to arcs that can't be detected by traditional circuit breakers.

The next places I would consider would be living rooms, family rooms, basement recreation rooms, etc. You want to protect rooms that have appliances, lamps or any other device that might be occasionally or permanently plugged into a wall outlet.

Eventually the cost of the AFCI is going to drop because of improvements in manufacturing technology. When this happens, it will be affordable to install them on every circuit that is feeding a living space.

Where Are They?

These breakers are in just about every city or town now. You find them at places that sell electric panels and load centers. Forget about visiting a home center! I doubt they would even know what you are talking about.

You want to visit businesses that sell to electricians. Electricians buy from electrical supply houses. For example, here in Cincinnati, Ohio the first two places I would visit would be Becker's and then Richards Electric Supply. These businesses cater to electricians. They will usually sell to a homeowner like you, but you probably don't even know they exist. Why? These businesses tend to target trades people and often feel no need to advertise to the masses like you and me. I must tell you, when you visit a store like Becker's or Richards, you might never go back to a home center! Wait till you see the REAL variety of electrical components that you can buy!

When you finally find the electrical supply houses you might be disappointed. The panel in your basement or garage might not yet have AFCI's available. Don't fret. The manufacturers who don't yet have them will have them shortly.

There are four major circuit breaker manufacturers who are making them. I have them listed in the Arc Fault Circuit Interrupter Manufacturers column. Some of these breakers DO fit into other panels and load centers. You might luck out and get a breaker that will fit your panel! Install the breakers according to code. If you can't, hire someone who can.

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Home Automation Services

Following is a list of companies that IMMEDIATELY contacted me as soon as they saw my Wiring a House column. These appear to me to be go-getter companies. The only company I know personally is the one in Cincinnati, Ohio. They are a first class electrical supply company.

• Automated Living
• Richards Electric Supply Co.
  Cincinnati, Ohio
  One of their residential communication specialists, Jim Wahl, wrote me a quick note after my column appeared. In his letter, he stated that, "We supply cabling and distribution products to contractors that are installing the systems in homes today, along with a variety of lighting, home automation, and power quality products. We have information that could be useful to the home builder and buyer, including a ten minute video tape that demonstrates the benefits of structured wiring."

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Home Automation Products

CABA

CABA (Continental Automated Buildings Association) is a not-for-profit industry association that promotes advanced technologies for the automation of homes and buildings in North America. A number of resources - the CABA Home & Building Automation QUARTERLY, the Information Series (white papers, research documents), Event Reports (conference, workshop and trade show synopses), and the CABA Web site - have positioned CABA as Your Information Source within the industry. CABA collaborates with and supports many other industry associations and organizations.

CommScope

CommScope, the world's largest coaxial cable manufacturer, offers a total solution of fiber and copper cables for residential voice, data, and video requirements. CommScope's product line includes structured cabling consisting of fiber optic, twisted pairs, and coax, enabling today's homes to be "Wired For Life (tm)". Applications include Home Automation, MultiMediaSystems, Home Networks, and Video Security Systems.

Copper Development Association

The Copper Development Association Inc. is the trade association of the U.S. copper industry. It is a pro-active organization devoted to positively influencing the use of copper, based on its superior engineering properties, particularly electrical conductivity and signal-carrying capacity.

E.H. Publishing

Established in 1989, EH Publishing, Inc. is a Massachusetts based consumer and business communications company serving the integrated home electronics industry. EH Publishing publications include CE Pro, Electronic House, Home Networking News, Popular Home Automation and Web Shopping Guide. EH also develops and manages Web sites, trade shows and conferences and sells and distributes educational reference materials.

Home Automation Association

Home Automation Association's(HAA) purpose is to increase the market for home automation, control and networking. HAA currently has over 300 company members including manufacturers, utilities, distributors, installing dealers and service providers of home automation and a directory of installing dealers in your local area.

IBM

Intel Corporation

Intel, the world's largest chip maker, is also a leading manufacturer of computer, networking and communications products.

Lucent Technologies

Lucent Technologies (LU) headquartered in Murray Hill, N.J., designs, builds and delivers a wide range of public and private networks, communications systems and software, data networking systems, business telephone systems and microelectronic components. Bell Labs is the research and development arm for the company.

MJM Advertising

MJM Consulting is a full-service marketing consulting resource for companies large and small. Branding, e-commerce, strategic planning and their implementation are all available.

OnQ Technologies Inc.

OnQ Technologies, Inc. is privately held formed by the management and employees of the former AMP Building Systems Division. It markets the industry leading OnQ Home Wiring System and Home Management Systems. The OnQ Home Wiring System and Home Management System are sold and installed through the nationwide network of OnQ dealers and distributors.

AMX Corporation

AMX Corporation is a new kind of Internet company, linking home and business appliances seamlessly and meaningfully to Internet content and services. Its leading-edge technology today is slashing the bonds of the PC and creating a whole new market for entertainment by delivering rich on line music and video to the stereos, TVs, VCRs and other non-PC devices we turn to for our entertainment today.

Parks Associates

Founded in 1986, Parks Associates studies emerging and converging technologies, products, systems, and services for business-to-consumer and business-to-business marketplaces. Industries covered include home networks, telecommunications, high-speed Internet service, home security, energy utility, and the light commercial marketplace.

SMART HOUSE, Inc.

SMART HOUSE, Inc. operates a national network of Authorized Home Centers, staffed by trained professional experts that service and install reliable, tested, Home AutomationSystems. They can provide the right package to fit any lifestyle and budget by installing optimal products and systems for a home's communications, entertainment, security and lighting needs.

SUPERIOR ESSEX Group, Inc.

SUPERIOR ESSEX - the largest wire and cable manufacturer in North America and the fourth largest in the world. Through its complete line of copper and fiber optic wiring products for home automation, electrical applications, telecommunications, security and video signals, SUPERIOR ESSEX is well positioned to deliver the advanced residential wiring infrastructure for the home.

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Are you still a non-believer in technology? I doubt it since you are reading this article! But there are folks like that out there. In fact, I talked to one yesterday. He thinks the Internet is a hoax of sorts and that there is going to be huge consolidation of this media form. He compared it to the early days of the railroad industry here in the United States. His points were well made, I must admit.

Evidently, there were lots of little railroads and lots of investor speculation in railroads over 125 to 150 years ago. Well, there was a big shake out and lots of railroads got gobbled up, and he said that investors lost lots of money. Well, we surely have consolidation happening now, but I feel that we are just beginning to scratch the surface. Investors lose money everyday. You just need to do your homework so you are one of the winners, not the losers!

Just What is Possible?

Installing structured wiring allows you to do all sorts of things. I found a list of possibilities at a very cool website - imagine being able to do the following:

• Distance learning
• Do-it-yourself instruction
• Video-on-demand
• Interactive video games
• Intelligent lighting systems
• Security alert
• Remote dial-in
• Simultaneous Web surfing
• High-speed Internet access
• Home office
• Interactive audio
• Digital TV
• Heating/cooling control
• Remote metering
• Child monitoring
• Electronic shopping
• Networked PCs
• Electronic banking

These are just a few things you can do when you have great wiring in your home. Imagine what we will be able to do ten years from now!

The key to automation is the wiring that connects sensors and operating devices to those things that control them. Groups have been working for years to develop a standard for wiring and it is now available. Because technology changes rapidly, I expect the standard to change as well.

Wiring Tips

Home automation wiring is low voltage. This means that the actual wire is smaller and this means it is more tender than the regular high voltage wire your electrician installs. Home automation wiring needs to be installed carefully. It also needs to be installed at the right time.

If you are building a new home, the plumbing, heating and cooling, and the high voltage wiring should be totally complete before the low voltage wiring is installed. The home automation technicians know the damage that a plumber's torch can do to their cables! What's more, you should not install low voltage automation cable through the same holes that high voltage wires pass through. It is always best to drill new holes as far away from the high voltage wires as is practical.

The Future

Who knows what type of wiring we may use in the future? All I know is that if we are still using wire, some strategically placed empty conduits are going to be appreciated by a technician trying to connect that yet-to-be-invented thing-a-ma-bob that you just brought home from the electronics store.

Multiple conduits are a must. You need conduits that connect different open areas of the house to one another. If your house is on a slab, then have multiple conduits poking up into the attic area from different rooms and of course the main distribution area near your electric panel.

If you have a basement or crawl space, be sure to install 3 two inch conduits between the basement and the attic. Use common sense. Imagine trying to get a wire from the distribution area to all walls and all points. Connect the house!

Do NOT install hard 90 degree angles like those plumbers use. You must use sweep 90 degree bends or better yet, two 45 degree sweeps to turn a corner. You must also limit the amount of bends in the conduit. If at all possible, try to install straight runs with no bends. I was lucky to do this in my own home. I have a straight conduit that goes from my basement up through two stories and into the attic. Just one? Thirteen years ago, I thought one would be plenty. See what I mean by the future?

Be sure to cap the conduits with a simple plastic cap or some electrical tape. This will keep insects and cold air from dropping down into your house.

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