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Phase-fired control (PFC), also called phase cutting or phase-angle control, is a method for power limiting, applied to AC voltages. [1] It works by modulating a thyristor , SCR , triac , thyratron , or other such gated diode -like devices into and out of conduction at a predetermined phase angle of the applied waveform.
Semiconductor dimmers switch on at an adjustable time (phase angle) after the start of each alternating-current half-cycle, thereby altering the voltage waveform applied to lamps and so changing its RMS effective value. Because they switch instead of absorbing part of the voltage supplied, there is very little wasted power.
The switch is controlled by a PWM (Pulse Width Modulation) signal, which alternately turns the switch on and off at a rapid rate. The relative proportion of off time vs. on time determines brightness. For example, if the switch is off 10% of the time, the resulting control signal would be the equivalent of 1 V produced with a variable resistor.
A Voltage controller thyristor based dimmer rack An electrical schematic for a typical SCR-based light dimmer. A voltage controller, also called an AC voltage controller or AC regulator is an electronic module based on either thyristors, triodes for alternating current, silicon-controlled rectifiers or insulated-gate bipolar transistors, which converts a fixed voltage, fixed frequency ...
The longer the switch is on compared to the off periods, the higher the total power supplied to the load. The PWM switching frequency has to be much higher than what would affect the load (the device that uses the power), which is to say that the resultant waveform perceived by the load must be as smooth as possible.
Two light switches in one box. The switch on the right is a dimmer switch. The switch box is covered by a decorative plate. The first light switch employing "quick-break technology" was invented by John Henry Holmes in 1884 in the Shieldfield district of Newcastle upon Tyne. [1]