Dimming a GFCI
- Thread starter LumenArch
- Start date
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- Location
- New Jersey
- Occupation
- Journeyman Electrician
480sparky said:
How would being on the line side affect the dimmer?
If it is a problem remove the fixture from the GFCI altogether.
- Location
- Chapel Hill, NC
- Occupation
- Retired Electrical Contractor
infinity said:
I think he was saying that you wouldn't want to be dimming the GFCI feed. This may affect the GFCI performance and dimming a receptacle , if that is what it is, would be a violation.
- Location
- Windsor, CO NEC: 2017
- Occupation
- Service Manager
That's a really good question. In the 2008 cycle, it was brought to one of the CMP's attention that some dimmers use the ground as a neutral from the factory, in case there is no neutral available at the switch. Thanks to a lack of a 2/3's agreement one way or the other, neutrals are still not required to be included at switch locations per 404.2(A), exception.
I imagine if one of those dimmers were installed on the load side of a GFCI, then the GFCI might trip.
I imagine if one of those dimmers were installed on the load side of a GFCI, then the GFCI might trip.
Pierre C Belarge
Senior Member
- Location
- Westchester County, New York
LumenArch said:
This is what I love about this forum. A question I have not encountered in my career.
Lumen
Remember the fixture installed in a shower location is not required by code to be protected by GFCI, unless the installation instructions require it or there is a local code.
You may not want to install this fixture on a GFCI circuit. But it is a great question.
cschmid
Senior Member
- Location
- Northern cold country
I have never thought about a dimmer on the line side of GFCI..I think I will set up and experiment just to see..I will try with load and no load and will try with dimmer on load side as well..any other parameters I should consider..
- Location
- Windsor, CO NEC: 2017
- Occupation
- Service Manager
I don't know, it sounds like a good experiment. 
georgestolz said:
I think the neutral requirement in switch locations is submitted every Code cycle by the low-voltage industry. Seems the folks that retrofit existing installations are not willing to install proper wiring in order to get the circuits' neutral to their device. So they just hook up to the ground wire.
I remember seeing in several ROPs this requirement being suggested, and the CMPs always rejected it, saying having the neutral in the switchbox is a design choice, not a safety requirement. The fact that it is not present does not create any danger, and those installing any device that requires a grounded conductor should install one in a proper manner.
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