You walk into a room, flick the switch, the light goes on
. Walk out, another flick, the light goes off. Easy and simple but you are missing out on a great lighting design opportunity.
Effective lighting is not just about making sure you dont trip over the furniture when you enter a room but about setting an appropriate mood and a tone for the space as well.
The thing is a room may have many moods depending upon the situation. A jolly family gathering at the holiday dining table tends to call for bright friendly lighting but that may be a little too much when you are serving a romantic supper for two. Having dimmer witches installed is an easy and affordable way to solve that dilemma.
Modern dimmer switches come in four basic types.
The Rotary Dimmer
These are the dimmer switches you used to see in your mothers dining room. The way they work is very basic the manual dial allows a homeowner to alter the lighting level by turning the dial. Some also feature a push button setting that enables you to switch the light off at evenings end while keeping the current setting in place.
The Slide Dimmer
The slide dimmer works in the same manner as the rotary dimmer but as the name suggests it employs a sliding control instead of a rounded version.
The Touch Dimmer
A touch dimmer controls lighting intensity at the literal touch of a button and is usually programmable. A one-touch recall feature allows the homeowner to return to the previous lighting level without resetting the light and set certain favorite lighting levels as presets.
The Integrated Dimming System
This is the top of the line in dimmer technology. It allows homeowners to create several preset lighting settings in a single room and can even be controlled by a remote control without the homeowner ever having to get up off the couch.
Whichever dimmer option you choose, the most important thing is that it is properly installed. A simple rotary dimmer is not too hard for the handy homeowner to install by themselves but the installation of the more sophisticated options should definitely be left in the hands of a licensed electrician.