From your previous post, I gather all you want to do is SWITCH the load on or off. Can we define what the load is? A TV, Stereo, lights (how many watts) and how fast do you want to switch them. If all you want to do is turn something on or off infrequently what not use a relay - which is just a switch - just like turning on at the power point. I assume the power outlet is CE (in europe) so there mustn't be an issue with switching EMI for the usual household items. So, say you wanted to make a box that turned on your house lights randomly whilst you're away - have your micro control some relays. The hardest part is choosing which one! Many years of my professional life was designing light dimmers controlling kilowatts of lights. If I only wanted to switch a load, I would use a relay. Why? You have to be pretty nasty to a relay to make it fail, whereas a short circuit will kill most triacs well before the fuse decides to blow or the breaker trip.

A similar method to your ramping idea is used in some light dimmers but IGBT's are used. They are either turned on slowly or turned off slowly (by slowly I mean 10..800 microseconds) so you don't need a big inductor. Dissipation is a problem though for large loads and you need to have a bit of protection around the devices to protect against short circuits and high voltage spikes.

That's my ten cents worth!