Installing a Light Dimmer Switch? Here Are Some Tips to Help You Out

So you've decided you want to install a light dimmer switch in your home, and you are a little lost on what you should be doing exactly.

The plus side is that all light switch dimmers come with included instructions. You should always follow the included instructions in order to get the dimmer to work properly. However I wanted to mention a few tips that you should follow, that you can do no matter what type of dimmer you decided to choose. There are different types of switches to choose from, but all of them are basically installed in a very similar fashion.

The switch you choose is all up to you, and your preferences. You can choose from slide switch dimmers, dial dimmers, touch pad dimmers, or combo switches which allow you to install both dimmers and regular lighting.

My first tip however is choosing the right type of room to place your dimmer in. Smaller rooms such as offices, dens, or dining rooms are appropriate places for dimmers. Larger rooms would require more lighting fixtures in order to keep the room from looking too dark for when you wanted to dim down the lights a bit.

One mistake I see done very often in many homes, are dimmer switches placed in very large rooms. Even when the dimmer switch is set to its highest and brightest setting, the room is still too dark at times.

Tip:
 
If you don't have many fixtures in the room, and you still want to add dimmer lights to the room I would suggest purchasing the combo dimmer/light switch, or adding a tall standing lamp to the room for added light.

Safety First!
 
Once you've decided what room you'd like your dimmers in, you of course need to turn off the power in that room. You do this by turning off the breaker in your circuit box. You want to make sure all electric is turned off before prying at wires behind the switch you will be removing in order to install the light dimmer.

Next you go up to the room that you will be installing the dimmer. You will need to use a screw driver to remove the old switch plate from the wall. You will also need to unscrew any wires attached to the light switch.

From here you will need to follow the included directions that came with the light dimmer that you have purchased.

Once you have everything in its proper place, you simply return to your circuit box, and turn the power back on in the room. The next step is the easy one, simply return back to the dimmer switch and test it out to make sure it is in working order.