Dimmer switch Safety?

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stgeorge

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Switching for a light circuit in a laboratory. I have been asked if instead of a two-way standard on/off switches currently installed can they have two dimmer switches instead. I dont see an issue but am hesitant to give an answer as i am unsure. (The boss is on vaction or i would have asked him).
With thanks.
 
George, let's start with confirming these are incandescent or other dimmable lights. If they are, the typical 3-way dimmer (which is a dimmer and a 3-way (SPDT) switch in one package) replaces one 3-way switch, allowing on-off control from both switches, but dimming from only one.

If you need dimming control from both switch locations, you'll need to replace both switches with what's called a master-and-slave pair of controls, available from home-automation equipment sellers. The master is a dimmer, and the slave is basically a remote-control of the master.
 
Home automation stores will have Master/Slave dimmers, but most Home Improvement stores carry at least a few of the Lutron Master/Slave units.

Mark
 
stgeorge said:
Switching for a light circuit in a laboratory. I have been asked if instead of a two-way standard on/off switches currently installed can they have two dimmer switches instead. I dont see an issue but am hesitant to give an answer as i am unsure. (The boss is on vaction or i would have asked him).
With thanks.
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I assume by 2 way you mean 3 way switches and yes you can dim from 2 locations using the the Lutron Maestro dimmer and it's slave unit. They are decora style switches so the switch plates would also need to be changed. Make sure you are dimming a dimmable fixture as Larry pointed out.
 
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