
Add a dimmer to your bathroom for a spa-like ambience, or your dining room for an.
Installing a dimmer switch install#
Tape is very bad! A wire that pulls out will also have arcing problems and start a fire. Install a dimmer switch to adjust the mood of any room in your home. If you broke it up and suddenly have 3 black wires, that turns into a real headache.Ĭompetent wire nuts = survives a pull-test without tape. That way you are joining 1 wire to 1 wire, and there’s no confusion which is supply and which is lamp. So I would leave it just that way, don’t disturb the 3-wire splice, and break the 2-wire splice. That’s somewhat redundant, but very harmless (assuming the wire nuts are done competently). Moreso, you have a double pigtail, where the multiple wires join to a short branch wire, then that short wire joins to another short wire. Switches and lamps don’t have dual screws, so you see a lot of use of pigtails to achieve the same effect. Not recommending that, just making the point that the dual recep screws, and pigtails, are basically doing the same thing.) And it will save you money since you wont have to put. Climb the ladder, flick 3 wire nuts and I’m done. Installing a dimmer switch on your existing light fixtures can give you the best of both worlds. Caution Follow the manufacturers instructions for installation and safety. Getting stranded wire onto receptacle screws is fidgety work, and it’s easier to do at a comfy workbench. Follow these 10 steps to install a dimmer switch. (Tell you a secret: I don’t use them, I pigtail everything. They have extra screws just for the purpose of making that “onward cable” easier to hook up. You see this all the time in receptacles. I'd like one of those 3 locations to have a 3-way Lutron Diva CL (DVWCL-153PH-WH) installed. I have a foyer light switched at 3 locations.
Installing a dimmer switch code#
Most inspectors (and I believe the code as well) require rough in to be completed to the extent that the box is 'ready to receive the device'. Installing dimmer in four way switch circuit Okay, white flag time here after too many trips down the steps to turn the breakers back on. The pig-tail to the dimmer connected to the two blacks is also typical.


The 2 blacks connected are 'power in, power out' to the next switch in the circuit. It doesn’t matter if you reverse the two switch wires to a single-pole dimmer. This is the typical way to connect a switch.

Finish the job by installing the cover plate and turning on the power to test the new dimmer. In effect, the outlets are “daisy chained”. Screw the dimmer to the box with the screws provided. then hot+neutral are continued onward to another point-of-use. What Youll Need A good dimmer switch can be a real game-changer in any room. How does this work? Power (in a cable containing hot and neutral) are brought to a point-of-use (technically that’s called an “outlet” even if it’s a light/switch). You probably know that your house has many more “points of use” (places electricity is used) than it has circuit breakers.
