Ya dimmers can be used but they really don't have aything to do with the heat control. They do cut the power going to the source, but its still FULL power just lowerd downa litte bit. As apposed to how T-stats actually lower the heat output so taht you cna keep the temp. That is the main difference, with a dimmer there is still a possibliliy of unsafe conditions, with a T-stat there just isn't and i love that security.