An electrical device that changes the luminous flux of the light source in a lighting device and adjusts the illumination level. The device with large capacity and constituting the system is called dimming device. Its basic principle is to change the effective current value of the input light source to achieve the purpose of dimming.
Dimmer: Dimmer in English The purpose of the dimmer is to adjust the different brightness of the light. The light output of different intensities generated by the average power light by reducing or increasing the RMS voltage. Although variable voltage devices can be used for a variety of purposes, this regulation is intended to control lighting.
The scope of the dimmer is: small units of normal size light switches are used for home lighting, and high-power units are used for large theater or building lighting facilities. Small unit dimmers are usually directly controlled, while high power units use remote control systems. Modern professional dimmers generally use digital control systems like DMX or Ethernet.
In professional lighting industry, the change of intensity is called "disappearance", which can be "disappearance" or "disappearance". Dimmers directly and manually control the limit of quantity. Their speed can be different, but this problem has been basically eliminated in modern digital forces (although the brightness change at a very fast speed may still avoid affecting the bulb life for other reasons).
Modern dimmers are built by thyristor rectifiers (1373), not potentiometers or varistors, because they have higher efficiency. The variable resistor will dissipate heat (0.5 low efficiency). Through switching and closing, the silicon controlled rectifier is not hot in theory (the efficiency is close to 1.0).
Historical development
The first recorded dimmer is the "safety dimmer" by Wiewood, which was published in 1890. Before that, the dimmer might cause a fire. Early dimmers were large dimmers that directly controlled the operation manual, which meant that all power came through the lighting to control the location, which could be inconvenient and potentially dangerous, especially with the system having a large number of channels, high-power lights or both (such as a stage dance hall or other similar venues).
When the silicon controlled dimmer is put into use, it is feasible to simulate the remote control system (usually the lighting control system at 0 - 10V). Compared with the heavy power cable lighting system in the past, the control system of this line is much smaller (low current and lower risk). Each press has its own control line, which means that a large number of wires leave the lighting control position and operate in various shades. Modern systems use digital control protocols, such as DMX512, ETCnet, or ETCnet2 [1], to control a large number of dimmers (and other stage equipment) through a single cable.
In 1961, Joel Pilar, the founder of Lucheng Electronics, invented the first solid-state dimmer. Its current switch is closed 120 times per second to save energy, and allows the dimmer to be installed in a standard electrical installation box.