# Heat from dimmers



## emtarnold (Jul 17, 2009)

Hello all I'm new here found the forums looking for high capacity dimmers. Here is my situation. In a residential install the customer speced dimmers for kitchen and dinning room. The kitchen has 860 watts of incandescent light I purchased lutron avanti 1000 watt dimmers but they got warm, I have installed many of these and all have gotten warm to the touch but I have never had a light load this large. I tried the old fashioned bakealite covers still customer not happy. Any suggestions for a dimmer that will handle 1000 watts and remain somewhat cool. Each is in its own single gang box I knew heat would be and issue. There will be no smaller bulbs being put in or redistributing of the loads my customer is very expressive about this. He is a very good customer and I would like to keep him happy. Thank you in advance Frank


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## MDShunk (Jan 7, 2007)

You'd need to get the "heat sink" style dimmer for them to run "cool". Dimmers can get something like 40 degrees over ambient, per the mfgr. and be "normal", but customers don't like it. Heat sink dimmers look like sin, but they'll do the trick for you. The face of them is 2-gangs big, but they fit in a single gang box. They will not fit in a gang box.


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## Minuteman (Dec 29, 2007)

I don't have an answer for you, maybe some one else will. 

What bothers me is this whole notion that it CAN be fixed. I mean, 860 watts is a lot of heat. It's the old "cake and eat it too" thing. Customer wants the large load, and wants it dimmable, and wants it without heat. Not asking for much.


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## MDShunk (Jan 7, 2007)

Basically, if you go get a Lutron (please stick with Lutron, for your own sake) 2000 watt dimmer, it will run quite cool with that 840 watt load. It will just look uglier than you intended since it will have the heat sink.


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## emtarnold (Jul 17, 2009)

*thanks to all*

Thank you to all who posted I will order one of the 2k dimmers from lutron appearance aside this does seem to be the best option. Perhaps I can talk the cabinet guys into putting a door over it :laughing:


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## Dennis Alwon (May 9, 2009)

Lutron also makes a Nova 1500 watt dimmer which may be cheaper but also may run a bit hotter. It also looks better. They will all get warm to some degree- it is the nature of the beast. 

I believe the 1500 watt is wider than pictured


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## ralph (Apr 6, 2008)

Was this switch in a box with other switches /or dimmers ? If you gang a 1000 watt with others, I think that the manufacturer makes you give back some of that available wattage. It could be up to 200 watts, wich would def cause the heating.


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## Toronto Sparky (Apr 12, 2009)

As I recall 1500w lutron is double wide and has fins but the cover covers all the fins. Looks O.K. to me. 
Once again they can't be ganged without losing rating big time.


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