Modern dimmer switches absolutely save you money on your electricity bill, but the exact amount is often much smaller than people expect—typically ranging from \(1 to \)5 per year for a single LED fixture up to \(20 to \)30 per year for a heavily used incandescent array.
While they are highly effective tools for personalizing a room’s ambiance, viewing them strictly as high-yield investment tools to combat rising utility bills will likely leave you disappointed. How Dimmers Actually Save Energy
A common myth is that dimmers act like a “dam,” absorbing the extra electricity and wasting it as heat at the switch. While this was true for old, resistance-based “rheostat” dimmers from decades ago, modern switches operate differently:
The TRIAC Method: Modern switches use a tiny internal device called a TRIAC.
Chopping the Waveform: Instead of restricting current, the TRIAC literally chops the alternating current (AC) electrical signal, turning the light completely on and off up to 120 times per second.
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