Warm dimmer switch

[Alabama Mike]

I used the search function first and didn’t get a hit.
To me, electricity is magic so I typically don’t mess with it. Because I like my house and don’t want to burn it down, I got an electrician to put 6 recessed light cans attached to a dimmer switch in my den yesterday. After being on last night for a couple (5) hours I noticed the switch plate was warm when I turned it off. Is this something I should be concerned about? I figured I’d ask here first before I called him about it.
The cans are from Lowe’s and are just regular recessed lights. The dimmer switch is a standard on/off switch with a slider bar beside the switch to dim the lights. The switch is in a double box with a regular light switch beside it.
Thanks in advance.

 

[Eriehunter]

They get warm. Should not be hot.

 

[big.jim]

as above

 

[KANSASBOY]

During normal operation, dimmers get warm to the touch. Wallbox dimmer efficiency is typically around 99%. The other 1% is dissipated in the dimmer as heat. So, a 600 W load on a 600 W dimmer would produce around 6 watts of heat. This is approximately the heat generated from a small nightlight. Operating on its rated load, Lutron dimmers will stay below the UL limits of 140º F (60º C).

 

[Alabama Mike]

Thanks for the quick responses! I figured it was ok but wanted to double check.

 

[pattenp]

Warm is okay. The main thing is that the wattage usage of the fixtures do not exceed the wattage rating of the dimer switch. I hope the electrician wouldn't install lights in excess of the switch's limit.

 

[Charles (in GA)]

The large flat front plate on many modern dimmers is the heat sink. I installed one that says right on it to not trim or reduce the size of the front plate for this reason.

Mine runs four 60 watt incandescent bulbs in a bathroom. It is a waveform chopping type of dimmer. When turned down low, it makes the filaments in the bulbs "sing"

Charles

 

[rlitman]

The large flat front plate on many modern dimmers is the heat sink. I installed one that says right on it to not trim or reduce the size of the front plate for this reason.

Many dimmers have breakaway tabs on the front plate heatsink. The instructions allow you to remove tabs from one or both sides if space is an issue, but with a reduction in rated wattage for the dimmer (so 600W may become 400W).