the.com/dimmer
The hero that taught light to whisper instead of shout.
means A device, usually a sliding or rotary switch, that adjusts the brightness of an electric light from full glare down to a soft glow.
from Built from the adjective 'dim' plus the agent suffix '-er' — the thing that makes light dim. 'Dim' is an old Germanic word, going back to Old English 'dimm' (dark, gloomy), with cousins in other Germanic tongues. The lighting-control sense is modern, born alongside the electric age, when fading a lamp became a thing a single knob could do.
- saves energy
- Dimming 25% cuts wattage and triples bulb life
- old tech
- Early versions used giant heat-wasting resistors
- chops time
- Modern dimmers slice the AC wave 120 times a second
- buzz trap
- Cheap LEDs flicker and hum with wrong dimmers
- mood maker
- Restaurants dim lights to make you linger and spend
lutron caseta — wireless smart dimmer system controlling millions of homes since 2014
leviton decora — most common residential wall dimmer in north american homes since 1980s
philips hue — smart led dimmer bulbs generating $2b+ annual revenue