mthomtech Posted July 3, 2009 Share Posted July 3, 2009 Quick question on the C4 Dimmers.I have one dimmer that is loaded to the gills ... it has two chandaliers and a few recessed cans on the one switch. When we originally hooked up my dimmer, we didn't realize the load was 50% over the 1000 watts that the dimmer was rated. Of course it got very hot and eventually died.I changed all bulbs to 40 watts to get the load down to right at 1000 watts. Dealer replaced the switch, and everything works great ... except of course 1000 watts will still keep it hot.Here's my question. Will setting the preset to 60% to 80% help reduce the load on the dimmer? Or is the load on the dimmer itself the same no matter what I do? I could easily go down a few notches on the dimmer because even at 40watt bulbs, these are pretty bright.Thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt Posted July 4, 2009 Share Posted July 4, 2009 100 Watt Bulb, Standard Control4 dimmer. 0% -- 0 Watts 5% -- 6 Watts 10% -- 12 Watts 15% -- 20 Watts 20% -- 26 Watts 25% -- 33 Watts 30% -- 40 Watts 35% -- 46 Watts 40% -- 52 Watts 45% -- 57 Watts 50% -- 62 Watts 55% -- 68 Watts 60% -- 73 Watts 65% -- 78 Watts 70% -- 82 Watts 75% -- 87 Watts 80% -- 91 Watts 85% -- 94 Watts 90% -- 97 Watts 95% -- 99 Watts 100% -- 100 Watts 75 Watt -100%-- 70 Watts 90% -- 67 Watts 80% -- 63 Watts 70% -- 55 Watts 60% -- 49 Watts 50% -- 42 Watts 40% -- 35 Watts 30% -- 26 Watts 20% -- 17 Watts 10% -- 10 Watts Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt Posted July 4, 2009 Share Posted July 4, 2009 I don't have a 40 watt to test - so I would assume adjusting it to 60% on all will help out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mthomtech Posted July 4, 2009 Author Share Posted July 4, 2009 Thanks. I've preset the entire house to only go to 80% ... it's hard to tell a difference between 80% and 100% and I'm sure the energy savings and bulb life are worth it. C4 sure makes it easy to adjust those things.I'll adjust these to 60% and see how it does. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
akg4y Posted July 9, 2009 Share Posted July 9, 2009 So dimming the lights actually does result in energy savings? I wasnt quite sure on that point, or if it varies from dimmer to dimmer... can anyone confirm? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thecodeman Posted July 9, 2009 Share Posted July 9, 2009 So dimming the lights actually does result in energy savings? I wasnt quite sure on that point, or if it varies from dimmer to dimmer... can anyone confirm?Yes, it does. You're not using the full power of the bulb, therefore saving energy by using a dimmer and having the light at say 70% power vs all on or all off with a switch. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RyanE Posted July 9, 2009 Share Posted July 9, 2009 Power usage and dimming levels are pretty close to linear.I plugged a dimmer into a Kill-A-Watt meter, and dimmed from 0% to 100%, in 10% increments, and the power usage tracks pretty close.RyanE Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ILoveC4 Posted July 9, 2009 Share Posted July 9, 2009 This is good to know. I am going to go around the house tonight and determine what level below 100% I can get away with calling max, and make the appropriate adjustments. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thecodeman Posted July 9, 2009 Share Posted July 9, 2009 This is good to know. I am going to go around the house tonight and determine what level below 100% I can get away with calling max, and make the appropriate adjustments.Want to know a quick way of how to go by 10%? Take a remote with you, and choose the light you want to "see" what the different levels look like. Use the number buttons on the remote (0 for off, 9 being 90%) to select the dimming percentage. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ILoveC4 Posted July 9, 2009 Share Posted July 9, 2009 This is good to know. I am going to go around the house tonight and determine what level below 100% I can get away with calling max' date=' and make the appropriate adjustments.[/quote']Want to know a quick way of how to go by 10%? Take a remote with you, and choose the light you want to "see" what the different levels look like. Use the number buttons on the remote (0 for off, 9 being 90%) to select the dimming percentage.Yeah, I figured that out a while back...thanks for the reminder though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CFUG Posted July 9, 2009 Share Posted July 9, 2009 This is good to know. I am going to go around the house tonight and determine what level below 100% I can get away with calling max, and make the appropriate adjustments.This is realistic approach to saving energy. I have been reading the excited posts about how info-in-your-face sofware is your friend. Maybe, but I like the old-school approach (turn the damn light off when you leave the room kids!). I went through the excercise you are describing the day I installed C4. That was one reason for C4- to help with complete lighting control. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mthomtech Posted July 10, 2009 Author Share Posted July 10, 2009 ILoveC4 - let us know what you end up with. I ended up setting max at 80% for all my lights. Except for the ones in my original post, which I have set at 60%. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ILoveC4 Posted July 11, 2009 Share Posted July 11, 2009 I'll let you know. I should have time this weekend. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bebster Posted July 12, 2009 Share Posted July 12, 2009 That's a reason I've decided to wire in motion detectors in every room. Originally the security company had them in several key rooms where a break-in might occur, but I've had them put them in every room. That way the DSC panel can tell the C4 system when their is motion, and in software I can turn off down lights to 20% or so (enough to walk around in) after a period of inactivity, and then completely off after a longer period.I figured being able to detect motion in a room could have other benefits -- e.g. turn down the music in that room to save energy too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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