# How to dim down the lighting



## BryanMD (Dec 31, 2007)

My first thought is that you are probably better off with the several (many?) lights wired up in groups and controlled with ordinary switches rather than attempting to control them all with dimmers.

Assuming this is all one big area:
A= 20% on one circuit... spread around the room 
B= 20% on a second circuit... also spread around the room
C= 60% on a third circuit...

Beyond that, if you really insist on using light sensors and dimmers etc you need to tell more about the total load involved. Volts/Watts, number and type(s) of light fixtures to get meaningful answers.


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## B4T (Feb 10, 2009)

Put in some CFL lamps and you are done :thumbsup:


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## Ima Hack (Aug 31, 2009)

I've had good luck with this stuff.

http://www.wattstopper.com/products/productline_list.html?category=6&type=All+Products


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## Rudeboy (Oct 6, 2009)

I use wattstoper occupancy sensors on every resi job i do.
:thumbsup:


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## JayH (Nov 13, 2009)

http://www.wattstopper.com/products/details.html?id=110&category=29&type=Commercial


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## Elemental LED staff (Feb 11, 2010)

You could always use LED lights, which are the best option for low power draw. They can also be dimmed manually or attached to a sensor to turn them on when someone's in the room, but not sure about a dimmer/sensor combo.


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## Electric_Light (Apr 6, 2010)

Elemental LED staff said:


> You could always use LED lights, which are the best option for low power draw. They can also be dimmed manually or attached to a sensor to turn them on when someone's in the room, but not sure about a dimmer/sensor combo.


LED luminaires blow in luminous efficacy


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## wildleg (Apr 12, 2009)

there are a lot of very practical lighting solutions that can be accomplished with electronic dimming ballasts and dimmer panels. The last couple office supply stores we did had light sensors next to skylighted areas and the dimmer panel automatically adjusted for the difference in light. Do some research on dimmer panels and dimming ballasts and you should be able to find what you are looking for and what is available in your region.


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## Electric_Light (Apr 6, 2010)

BryanMD said:


> My first thought is that you are probably better off with the several (many?) lights wired up in groups and controlled with ordinary switches rather than attempting to control them all with dimmers.
> 
> Assuming this is all one big area:
> A= 20% on one circuit... spread around the room
> ...


That's the setup I'd go with. I would probably use premium efficiency ballast, like the Sylvania QHE or whatever is the local equivalent in Cambodia. Continuously dimming ballasts are more elegant, but I don't think they pay off, unless you're paying like $1/kWh. If you're gonna go with them anyways, go with something that goes no less than 10% output. Lutron makes units that go down to 1%, but since cathode heaters have to stay on at full power at low level, there's almost no energy reduction realized below 10% and there's a substantial cost difference between 10-100% vs 1-100% level dimming ballasts.

Daylight harvest with feedback control is becoming increasingly common in LEED certified buildings, but they're very expensive with the ballast costing $75 to $100/ea. When you have the big government subsidizing stuff with grants and such, its another ball game.


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