Just bought my first dimmer

[charlaph]

As the title says, today I received my first 3 dimmers from tlc-direct.co.uk - 3 single gang 400W varilight remote and touch dimmers - about as basic as you can get for a remote model. My lighting setup in the house is as simple as it could be - one bog-standard light in the centre of each rooms ceiling and just one switch for each room.

I got 3 - one for the lounge, one for the main bedroom and one for my sons room, and having now fitted 2 of them I have to say I'm massively impressed. My only previous experience of dimmer switches was the one in my Grandmas lounge which hummed and buzzed and couldn't maintain a constant light level, plus I swear it used to smell.

These are a world apart. Classy looking, as simple to fit as any other lightswitch and they operate perfectly. The control of the light level is rock-steady, no noise even at very low levels, they're very simple and the remote operation is a dream. I first programmed it to a rarely used button on the sky remote and it worked no problem but I soon realised that although I don't use the button often it does in fact have a function and messes with whatever we were viewing. So I reprogrammed it to a spare button on the TV remote and since then no problems.

The only possible quibble I have is that it's difficult to judge fine control of light levels. Since it's not a dial operation, if I want to turn the light up or down by just a little bit I'm often finding myself switching them off by mistake - I'm sure this will get better with practise once I learn the timing.

Other than that I'd recommend them to anyone considering a purchase - it's worth the money for the coolness of remote operation by itself.

[Xstyle]

pics... direct link pls?
how much were they?

Cheers.

[charlaph]

I got 3 of these: http://www.tlc-direct.co.uk/Products/VLIS1401.html

Total cost including shipping and VAT was £48.29, which is cheaper than I could find anywhere else - postage was only £3.50 odd for 1st class recorded. They can in individual blister packs, so no worries about getting damaged in the post, and I got them (if memory serves) 2 days after placing the order, which was pretty good going considering I placed it at about 11pm. I also got a confirmation e-mail and another e-mail saying when they'd been posted. I can't fault tlc-direct.

Since my first post I've noticed that the one I've got in the lounge sometimes 'sticks' at a certain light level when I'm using remote control operation. So if I press the remote to turn it up or down it'll go to a particular level then no further and if I let go and press the remote again it'll turn off. I've found that if I cycle through on/off a couple of times it'll release it, but it's kind of annoying - could be something to do with my remote though as there are no problems whatsoever using touch control.

[MikeRJ]

Be aware that after a glitch/power cut the lights can switch on when power comes back. Seen this happen a couple of times with my TLC dimmers. They also lose there remote code after a power outage, and need reprogramming. Apart from that they are a bargain.

[Leigh_1973]

Ive been through 3 of these, all of them went back with faults, they worked finr for 3 - 6 months then just gave up

[inzaman]

I've had one for about a year now and it has been fine, apart from the recoding everytime the power is cut or turned off at the consumer unit.

[Mr Cheese]

Brushed steel version similar price as TLC in Wilkinsons (instore only)

[FBI Warning]

I have a TLC supplied Varilight in my lounge which has worked perfectly for two years.

Don't forget it also has a security function which I often use when I am out or away for a few days.

Simply set the light for the level you want, then touch the pad six times. It will then dim the lights up and down in steps to acknowledge then switch on for (a fixed) six hours at the same time every day.

If you want to programme it in the day for it to come on later each day, then simply touch six times to enter security mode, pause a second then touch once for every hour you wish to add to current time, eg at 2pm, I touch six then touch four times and the light will come on at 6pm for 6 hours each day until I unprogramme it. (By touch and hold for few seconds).

Sounds complicated but easy after the first time you try it. If your combination of touches leaves the light on when you think it should be off, don't worry, a few seconds and it sets itself in security mode and puts the light where it should be.

The only downside is you almost always have to reprogramme the control back into your remote after you've used the security feature.

More information about the dimmer (but not the security function!) on the TLC website (http://www.tlc-direct.co.uk/Technical/DataSheets/Systems/TouchRemote.htm).