Changing A Switch to a Dimmer

To begin, our first step is fairly simple. Make sure the power is off. You don’t want to get zapped before you even get started! Dimmer switches are basically the same as a switch. They generally have two wires sticking out the back and a place for a ground. Unless they are marked, there is no polarity. You would hook a hot to one wire and then the return going to the light-on the other wire coming from the back of the dimmer just as you would do a light switch. Basically all you are doing is breaking the hot wire in between to control the amount of light that’s going out.

So keeping that in mind, if you are changing to a fan speed control rather than a dimmer, you’ll have to use what’s actually called a “fan speed control”.  Using a regular light dimmer will make a humming sound when used for a fan. Take the two wires coming off of the switch and hook them to the wires coming out of the back of the controller. You can find the dimmers or the products for fans at any of your local Home Depot or Lowe’s.

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Content Provided by: Julia Ritzenthaler

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