3 Way Dimmers

[Mr Fixit eh]

I've wired lots of 3-way switches, but I've never installed a 3-way dimmer before. It's probably a dumb question, but do you need to buy 2 of the 3-way dimmers, one to replace each 3-way switch, or can you replace just one of the 3-way switches with the 3-way dimmer?

[mdshunk]

For traditional 3-way dimmers, you can only install ONE of them in either switch location. The other device location must remain a traditional 3-wa switch. This only gives you actual dimming capabillity at one of the locations. If you leave the dimmer at "half throttle" and turn the regular switch on, the lights will come on at half brightness.

There are some more exotic types of 3way dimmers that you can buy that "talk" to each other, allowing you to dim from either location. In new work, we sometimes use "master/slave" type dimming controls. With this method, the dimmers can be installed in any or all locations, and the actual dimming is done by a master lighting control in the basement or utility coset. This is a pretty high dollar method.

The regular ordinary 3way dimmer is the way most people go, since you can generally resolve at which switch location you're most likely to adjust the lighting levels. I don't know what happens if you install two regular 3 way dimmers on the same lighting circuit, but I suspect that the results would be very undesirable.