Quote:
Originally Posted by Cole_Robbie
You just have to have one that will handle the amperage draw of the device.
Isn't that usually the problem, though, that a lot of people fail to follow that advice? Lights tend to not draw much amperage, so light dimmers are made for low amps, right? I have never wired one, thus all my question marks.
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The common household dimmer switches I found on line at Lowes will handle 15 amps.
One 150 watt light bulb will draw about 1.5 amps.
Yes many people dont follow the advice and cook their wiring in the fixtures.
The 15 amp dimmer will burn out before the main wire coming to it will or or trip the breaker.
For a modern home all wiring should be 12 gauge which is rated for 20 amp service.
The breakers should be 20 amps for no less than 12 gauge wire.
In other words dont put a 20 amp breaker on 14 gauge wire.
Another common mistake.
Then there is wire length to contend with.
To make it simple the longer the wire the bigger it needs to be.
But inside a regular poor man sized house this should not present a problem.
I hope I got all of this right and answered your questions.
Worth