Wiring the light portion of a ceiling fan to a dimmer switch, doable?

November 12, 2020 10:05 AM

We have a relatively new (3 years old) ceiling fan wired on three strand such that there is a separate switch for the fan portion and the light portion. Is there any reason why wiring the only the light portion to a dimmer switch would be dangerous or not recommended? I know that you don't want the motor portion to run through a dimmer switch due to the risk of overheating or damage to the fan motor. For reference the light portion is 3 bulbs, currently basic LED but I can swap them for dimmable LEDs.
posted by Ferreous to Home & Garden (3 answers total)

So up in the canopy at the ceiling there is a black wire (fan) and a blue wire (or red, or striped, or something) for the light, and they’re wired to different switches?

Yeah, if you have dimmable LED’s and a modern dimmer switch, you can dim the lights.
posted by Huffy Puffy at 10:22 AM on November 12, 2020

This kind of wall control has a dimmer for your light on one wire, and a set of capacitors to control fan speed on the other wire. Don’t know if it’s rated for LED’s though.
posted by Huffy Puffy at 10:40 AM on November 12, 2020

Yes, mine is like this and it works fine. Assuming the wiring for the lights and motor is separate, it should be no issue. I have the fan motor on a normal toggle switch and the lights on a Lutron dimmer. As you suggested, you may need to change the bulbs if the ones you have don't get along with being dimmed (and make sure you choose a dimmer that is LED-compatible).
posted by primethyme at 11:03 AM on November 12, 2020 [1 favorite]