Aug 20 2007 10:43AM | Permalink | Email this | Comments (0) |
Blog This! using: Blogger.com | LiveJournal |

Dimmers and control systems add value, versatility, energy efficiency and also a high tech, high-end feel to a home for a minimum investment from the developer. Changes in the California energy efficiency standards added to title 24 in October of 2005 has prompted many builders and remodelers to look for information about dimmers.

The new building code requires, besides kitchens and bathrooms, that all other interior rooms such as bedrooms, living, dining rooms and hallways must now also meet energy efficient standards. Adding a dimmer switch to lighting in these additional rooms allows the builder to meet Title 24 energy standards without having to use high efficacy or compact fluorescent lamps.

In addition, dimmers allow for greater flexibility in lighting product selection and can help keep construction costs down. Adding a dimmer to a room full of recessed lights will be much less expensive than specifying an energy efficient compact fluorescent housing.

Installing dimmers is also in line with the trend today of using various rooms for multiple tasks. A kitchen is no longer just a room for cooking and cleaning. Homework is done, bills are paid, and families gather to socialize in today’s kitchen. Having a group of fluorescent lights in a kitchen ceiling is no longer the acceptable norm for a space like this. Flexibility and aesthetics have become major components of a kitchen space. The lighting in this new, multi-use room needs to be able to change to suit the activities taking place. It should also coordinate and blend into the lighting of its adjacent spaces. Dimmers are the perfect solution to create this continuity throughout the whole house.