Hi guys,
I have a 12 lights fixture (each light can take a 100 W bulb) and I would like to dim it. Are there any switches rated for > 1000 W?
Thanks!
The Cooper is a great switch, and it comes in three flavors - incandescent, magnetic and electronic low voltage. And they’re cheap! 
http://solutions.cooperwiringdevices.com/common/brands.cfm?pg=Detail&brandName=CWD%20Technology&category=Aspire%20RF%20Lighting%20Control%20System%3A%20Dimmers&id=16761
I believe the Outdoor Intermatic is 1200W MAX, I ran 1000W lights with it for 6+ months and had no issues
[quote=“CMRancho, post:2, topic:165244”]The Cooper is a great switch, and it comes in three flavors - incandescent, magnetic and electronic low voltage. And they’re cheap!
http://solutions.cooperwiringdevices.com/common/brands.cfm?pg=Detail&brandName=CWD%20Technology&category=Aspire%20RF%20Lighting%20Control%20System%3A%20Dimmers&id=16761[/quote]
Looks like it is only 1000 W. Would it be good to control a potential load of 1200W?
Mine would be indoors …
At this point no one manufactures a dimming switch larger than 1000 watts - if you try using a 1000 watt switch on 1200 watts of lights it might or might work as you are overloading the switch - what kind of bulbs are you using - if they are incandescent then if you were to drop down from 100 to 75 watts the wattage is 900. Could this be a solution. If these are regular lighting fixtures take look at the VRI10-1L : http://www.smarthome-products.com/p-667-leviton-vri10-1lx-vizia-rf-1000-watt-2-wire-dimmer.aspx if the lighting is controlled with a magnetic transformer look at the VRM10-1L: http://www.smarthome-products.com/p-800-leviton-vrm10-1lx-vizia-rf-1000-watt-magnetic-low-voltage-scene-capable-dimmer.aspx
Leviton also makes a family of Power Extenders (PE400-10W for example). See http://www.leviton.com/OA_HTML/ibeCCtpItmDspRte.jsp?item=222542§ion=15390 or do a google search for “PE400-10LW”.
This unit takes one power input and one dimmed input and produces a dimmed output that takes power from the non-dimmed input but is controlled by the level of the dimmed input. The PE400 model can control Electronic Ballasts that are common in low voltage track lighting – each PE400 can control 1000W and you can install a bunch of them on one dimmer (up to 10 if I recall). The power and dimmed inputs need not be from the same branch circuit or even the same phase.
They’re not cheap but they appear to be the only game in town, particularly if you have electronic ballasts.
Can you pls expand on this? “The PE400 model can control Electronic Ballasts that are common in low voltage track lighting”
I have a normal light fixture, with normal lights (120 V) → would this solution be good for me?
Much appreciate it!
I think this is a violation of the NEC in the US and CEC in Canada 
I guess the switches should be able to hold the max wattage that the fixture can support → so even if I install 75 Watts bulbs, I should still be installing a switch which can hold 1200 Watts …
Dimmer switches can only handle a specific amount of light load. You can typically purchase dimmers that are rated for 600 or up to 1,000 watts of lighting. Light bulbs are usually clearly marked as to their wattage. Determine the total wattage of the bulbs that are being controlled by any one dimmer. Purchase the correct size dimmer switch to suit your needs. But keep in mind that the metal heat sink plate on the front of many dimmers can be altered so that you can place multiple dimmer switches next to one another. If you break off the side tabs of the heat sink, as allowed in the instructions, you need to derate the capacity of the dimmer. If you snap off the tabs on both sides of the heat sink a 600 watt dimmer becomes a 400 watt dimmer - hope that helps
[quote=“dudu_georgescu, post:8, topic:165244”]Can you pls expand on this? “The PE400 model can control Electronic Ballasts that are common in low voltage track lighting”
I have a normal light fixture, with normal lights (120 V) → would this solution be good for me?
Much appreciate it![/quote]
There are three styles of dimmers in the world depending on the flavor of load.
Regular dimmers assume an Incandescent load (mostly resistive). Most dimmers are this flavor. Examples are the Leviton VRI06 and VRI10
Electronic Ballast dimmers are for certain low voltage lighting that has a “ballast” that converts from 120V AC to 12V DC. Most (but not all) track lighting that takes 12V DC bulbs have electronic ballasts as they can be made smaller. Example is the Leviton VRE06.
Magnetic Ballast dimmers are another kind of ballast that also converts 120V AC to 12V DC. These are common in recessed can lighting. Example is the Levition VRM10. Note that for magnetic loads, watts is not a good measure so they use VoltAmps. The conversion between VA and Watts depends on the “power factor” of the load. According to KVA to KW, How to Convert Watts to VA and kVA to kW for engineers simplified -- Converting Volt-amps to Watts the easy way, VA to Watts, Amps to A, watts to kVA power factor can vary all over the map but they suggest a rule of thumb of 60%; under that assumption a 1000VA dimmer like the VRM10 would be good for about 600W.
It’s difficult to know exactly what flavor of ballast is in a given fixture. Most light fixture instruction manuals / data sheets are silent on this topic. Using the wrong dimmer with a ballast can produce a variety of problems: lights and/or ballast may hum, ballast may fail prematurely, dimming may be non-linear or intermittent).
Electronic and Magnetic dimmers are more expensive than regular dimmers. Either flavor will drive Incandescent loads just fine (or even a mixture of incandescent and ballast though I don’t recommend that since you lose flexibility in adjusting relative light levels).
The PE400 supports Electronic ballasts. There are other models that may be more appropriate or cost effective for other situations. Also, you should attention to mounting and cooling (the PE400 requires a deep 2 wide electrical box and even then has a white heat sink that sticks out of the wall).
This is all for older light fixtures. I’m not sure what the right answer is for the newer dimmable LED fixtures / light bulbs. It appears that some manufacturers may have learned their lesson with the complexity of the different dimmer styles and designed this new stuff to tolerate “regular” dimmers.
Steveg