I have a 150 watt bulb in a living room lamp. The cord has a built in dimmer which we keep pretty well dimmed most of the time. Am I using the full 150 watts of electricity even when the bulb is not being fully lit?

I asked a similar type of question on the following link. https://www.askmehelpdesk.com/electrical-lighting/dimmer-switches-really-use-less-electricity-144555.html

Apparently, you would not be using the full 150 watts of electricity if the bulb is not fully lit.

Below, is the answer that I received from our Electrical Expert on this site, tkrussell.



Originally Posted by tkrussell
It's simple, if you lower a load, with resistance, or frequency, the amp draw lowers, as will the watts proportionally, which is what the utility measures to bill usage.

How about some public domain information:

Dimmer switches save energy (http://www.carolinacountry.com/StoryPages/howtos/Dimmer/dimmer.html)

8 Simple Steps To Saving Energy (http://electrical.hardwarestore.com/learning/8-simple-steps-to-saving-energy.aspx)

BC Hydro - Power Smart for Business - Questions & Answers (http://www.bchydro.com/business/investigate/investigate880.html#2)

Electricians have so many other things to keep track of, we don't spend time trying to keep up with all new micro technology that evolves, most obviously solid state. Controls change so fast and do so much more, and the amount of products available are staggering.

I can say that dimmers with large heat sinks to dissipate normal heat created will last the longest.

You may want to make sure the fixture and dimmer are rated for 150 watts.