Does ANYONE make a switch with MULTIPLE DIMMERS in 1 gang, for LEDs and 3 ways in decora/rocker??

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BobT3354

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Actually, I've found that Lutron makes a switch that has 2 dimmers in a one gang, decora/rocker style swtich BUT its for incandescent lights only and I'm also upgrading to LEDs wherever it makes sense, which within the last year or so I've seen the prices on all sorts of LED light fixtures as well as can light retrofits, etc come down considerably and the quality of the light they produce seems to be better than incandescents now in many cases in my opinion, which I thought was not the case maybe 3 years ago when I tried out several brands to maybe retrofit in my old home and was very disappointed in the light they made, it looked as bad as the CFL's have been and still are. Now, for my new (to me) house, I did same thing and bought one from a bunch of different brands and even multiple models for some brands and wow, they've improved a lot AND prices have dropped through the floor, I often see the brands I liked for at most $30 each, but often well under $20, even a few sales came close to $10!! That's awesome if I can go from 50, 60, 75 watts each for bulbs that will burn out every so often to around 10 watts and (fingers crossed!) hopefully many years of life!

I also have a LOT of 3 ways here as well and this Lutron 2 dimmers in one gang switch was no LED's, no 3 ways, just plain ol incandescents and 1 switch per fixture for about $50 each. I'm not looking to break the bank on this, BUT if I've got to spend $50 or maybe even up to $75 each for a few spots, I'll do it because I'm having trouble due to having a few "switch banks" here that have 4, 5 or in this one spot, 8 switches (6 dimmers and 2 switches) in a 7 gang spot and my problem is really with the wall plates, where I REALLY want to upgrade to something nicer than the usual 25 cent (for 1 gang) wall plates i the cheap plastic. I've seen so many really nice looking plates, some in much nicer plastic, but also in all sorts of metals, wood, even stone but I NEVER see any going more than 4 gang for the rocker/decora type and often just up to 3 gang.

For the 7 gang unit, the only real upgrades I've seen aren't much of a upgrade, Lutron has a screwless plate but in plastic that doesn't look much nicer than the 25 cent plates, for $217.00 on the net from many sites, or I've seen a bunch of stainless steel plates with exposed screws that would be great for a very modern home, but this place is anything but modern! Also, many of the rooms have plaster finishes and I've got a guy who can replicate it perfectly and would gladly pay him to fill in the space left over if I can shrink the 7 gang to a 4 gang and a few more spots he's got to come to do anyway, but I don't want to be replastering half the room or rooms which we'd have to do to rewire anything, as these are all on the first floor of a 2 story, so rewiring would require tearing some ceilings open, not to mention the electrician's much larger bill. I know wiring well and think I could wire an entire home with only a few questions, but NO WAY do I DIY it with wiring because of liability issues as we need to get permits in this area for anything more than swapping out an existing outlet or switch and homeowners insurance isn't going to pay out of I happen to sell it someday and my unpermitted wiring job goes bad, burns it down and someone dies, that's a multi million dollar lawsuit! So, I don't fool around with that!

I'm attaching a few pics here, wondering about my multiple dimmers in a 1 gang question or ANY other ideas as well, just keeping in mind the need for LED compatibility AND that there's a lot of 3 ways here thanks for your help!!!
 

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WorthFlorida

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I cannot answer your question about dimmers but just to inform you that LED lamps really do not dim as incandescent. Usually the best dimming of an LED lamp is maybe 50% of brightness from full brightness. When LEDs are dimmed they do not turn color to a warm glow as incandescent does, therefore, replacing with LEDs is great but wanting to dim may not be what you would expect. I would by a LED dimmer and a few different LED lamps and give them a try. See if they perform what you want before getting into some expensive replacements.

I wrote a review at HD on BR30 LED flood lamps. They are quite impressive going from a total of 390 watts to 54 watts for six lamps. http://www.homedepot.com/p/Feit-Ele...ht-Bulb-6-Pack-BR30DM65-LED-MP-6-24/206036849
 

BobT3354

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Thanks for the info, I already did just that for the can light retrofits I've installed in the kitchen, which I actually mentioned in the OP, I bought them from a bunch of various brands and even several brands had a couple or a few choices in their brand and tested them and made my decision on those. I can say that the Kelvin scale color ratings (such as the 2700k or so warm whites and 5000k or 6000k daylight whites) are generally pretty accurate, such as none of the warm whites which I was looking for as far as interior lighting had the blue-ish look of the 6000k units, but there is definitely some variance in color between brands with the same k rating and I ended up buying one of the lower priced brands interestingly, which I thought had the best color to it, but yes I do know about the dimming issue and I'd say that with an LED rated dimmer AND dimmable LEDs, you get a bit lower than 50% before they just go off, but I'd guess more like 30% although I'd need some sort of testing equipment to know for sure where that cut off is, if its 20, 30, 40 or 50% and that's not a big deal to me since I'd say I usually dim the lights no lower than 50%, so the lack of being able to dim to 5 or 10% light before going to off isn't a concern.

I'm just looking for a solution to my switch plate/outlet plate dilemma and maybe for the one spot with the 8 switches in the 7 gang unit, I'll just have the electrician do what they did on the other end of that room and have 2 stacked switch banks, although that's not my ideal solution but I want to upgrade the switch plates (that's in the living room, which along with the dining room and foyer are the "formal" areas of the home, so those are the rooms I'd most want to upgrade to fancy plates) but with me cutting the hole and electrician simply moving the switches to the box right above the current one, the cost will probably be lower.
 

BobT3354

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Actually, I forgot to mention I had a question on your review too, I see in the description that they claim those Feit LED bulbs are great for can lights, but I've read in a few places that the reason for the can retrofits being sold as the type integrated into the trims is because for whatever reason, the LED bulbs don't fare too well when used in cans?
 

WorthFlorida

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The LED's are getting better every day. I just ordered an LED DMX-RGB Controller which drives LED's lights or strips (DC voltage) and they claim they're dimmable down to 20%. They do not make LED dimmers for A/C applications as you need but do have nice high end under cabinet lighting products. If you sort through their web site there is some good information about LED lighting.

http://www.solidapollo.com
http://www.solidapollo.com/dmx-led-controllers/
 
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