Lighting and light sources are developing at a very fast pace. Engineering solutions are combined with design solutions and very interesting products are obtained at the output. The changes also affected ordinary light switches. A fairly common form of them, which is used in many apartments, is a switch with two keys. How to connect it correctly and in accordance with the required lighting functionality? The answer to this question will be considered in the article.
Advantages of a two-key switch
Despite its simplicity, such a device can share work areas in an apartment with the help of lighting. A light switch with two keys allows you to avoid installing separate buttons for each area, which is a good design decision.
It is worth noting that connecting electrical objects to such a switch is simple in itself, and does not require any special construction knowledge. All that is needed is the availability of a standard tool, desire and following the instructions described in this article.
Options for using the two-key switch
As noted above, such devices can control the lighting of two groups of lighting devices at once. Depending on this, you can think of various options for lighting the apartment:
- To save energy, the chandelier can be used not at full power, but only turn on a few bulbs if necessary.
- The control of two lamps with a single switch is now possible.
- Controlling the lighting in different rooms from one place will not cause difficulties.
- Fulfillment of special wishes - before visiting the bathroom, you can turn on the light using the switch in a particular room.
As you can see, the characteristics of switches with two keys can significantly simplify and improve lighting control. Nevertheless, future lighting sources and their layout should be carefully planned before installation and even marked out the main points on paper.
Future lighting planning
Before installing the switch, you need to consider a lot of features: the nuances of the apartment, special ideas for future lighting, the location of the planned location of the light sources, the position of the switch itself, the location of the distribution panel for powering the network.
When planning lighting, a trace is created in which the cabling locations are visible. This takes into account various obstacles, such as windows, heating pipes, various fastenings in the walls.
It is worth remembering about the cables that go to other electricity consumers in the apartment. When developing the installation diagram and before installing the switch, you need to choose a suitable wire cross-section, depending on the planned load of the electrical network. The insulation material must also be selected taking into account all the features of the wall and its material. In no case do not use self-made wiring that does not comply with accepted standards. It is very dangerous to operate and may cause a fire.
Preparatory work for installing a switch with two keys
Installation of the switch should begin with preparatory work. The first thing you need to decide on the wires: which of them is phase, and which is zero. This procedure is best carried out with a special indicator. Professional electricians in this capacity have a special screwdriver with a light bulb in the handle. It will be needed in many electrical work, so it will need to be purchased. To determine the phase, it is necessary to touch the metal part of the indicator to both wires. On which the light in the screwdriver lights up, that will be the phase. In order not to get confused in the future, the wires should be marked in some way.
When connecting the chandelier, you should take care to de-energize the wiring that comes out of the ceiling. After marking the ceiling wires and turning off the power, you can begin to install the switch with two keys. But before that, it is worth preparing the connecting elements and electrical insulation, which are represented by the following varieties:
- self-locking terminal ;
- screw clamp;
- insulating tape or cap made of silicone.
Tool kit for connecting a switch
To correctly connect the lamps in the chandelier, you need to carefully read the circuit diagram of the device. In the future, this will quickly eliminate any damage during the use of the lighting device. For successful and safe work on connecting any circuit breaker, it is necessary to prepare the following tool:
- a set of various screwdrivers;
- a knife or other tool suitable for stripping wires;
- pliers with side cutter.
This is a standard set of tools. It can expand depending on the conditions and degree of preparation of the place, as well as on which switch with two keys will be used. How to connect it and where to start the connection is described below. First of all, you need to prepare the wires.
Electrical wire preparation
The preparation of the wires varies depending on the types of electrical devices that need to be connected to the switch. If a chandelier with several paws is mounted, from which a pair of wires emanates, then the connection can be made depending on the desires of the landlord.
In modern lighting fixtures, wire preparation, as a rule, has already been done at the factory according to the standard connection scheme. If you need to make adjustments to the combination of connecting the bulbs, you will have to deal with disassembling the chandelier.
Usually there are three wires in the installation box. Their optimal length should be about one hundred millimeters. The ends of the wires must be stripped to a distance of about a centimeter.
If you connect a modular chandelier switch, which in its design has two separate keys, you need to think about powering both of its parts. For this, a jumper is made from a wire that connects two parts of an electrical device.
Preparatory stage for installation of the circuit breaker
The main rule of work is a correctly designed circuit breaker with two keys and the way it is connected to an electrical device. The neutral wire is always connected directly to the lighting device, and the phase is through a circuit breaker. To fix the device in the wall, you need to punch a socket with a diameter of about eighty millimeters with a puncher. Then the power is turned off using the switch in the switchboard. After this, you need to check the indicator for lack of electricity on the wires, which is the main requirement for your own safety.
A wall socket is fixed in the wall, in which there are holes. Wires are passed through them, which are then shortened to ten centimeters in length with the help of wire cutters. The ends of the wires are stripped to the distance of one centimeter. If before this phase has not been defined and marked, you need to do this at this stage. To do this, the electricity is turned on again, with the help of the indicator the phase is determined, marked, and the power turns off again.
The main stage of work
Next, the main stage of work begins - when the keyboard switch is directly connected to the lighting device. The electric wire marked in advance as a phase is connected to the terminal of the switch with the letter "L". The remaining wires are inserted into the arrow sockets. In the standard scheme, the phase is indicated by a white residential, zero and ground - yellow and blue, respectively. To distribute the connection of different light bulbs on both keys, you will need to alternate the connection of wires in the terminals with arrows.
Next, the keyboard switch is fixed in the socket using self-tapping screws or clamps of different lengths. Then the keys themselves and the decorative frame are installed.
At the end of the main stage of work, electricity is supplied and the correspondence of the switch keys to groups of lighting devices is checked. If something does not work as intended, or does not work at all, you need to again disassemble the entire system and check the compliance of the wires with specific light devices and the correctness of their connection to the switches.
Wiring diagram for circuit breaker
A double wire from the distribution panel is usually drawn into the installation box. In this case, the phase is marked in red and zero in blue. Two wires are also laid for each group of lighting fixtures from the installation box. In this case, the neutral wire of each group is connected to the neutral core coming from the distribution panel. The phase is connected to a wire of three wires going to the switch. Following the diagram, two other conductors must be connected to the free ends of the wires that are suitable for light devices.
Why does the phase break in the switch
A wire break with a phase is made primarily for the convenience of repairing and replacing burned out light sources. For this operation, it is enough to turn off the switch, and not cut down the power in the whole house.
If the wires are confused and the neutral wire is broken instead of a phase, standing on the floor or a metal ladder, when you touch the part of the cartridge connected to the phase and conducting electric current, you can get an electric shock. Therefore, you need to pay special attention to preparatory operations and carefully mount the switch with two keys. How to connect it is already known and should not cause special problems.
When carrying out any electrical work, first of all, you need to remember about safety and strictly follow it. Following it, you can improve the electrical circuit of any room and adapt the lighting to specific tasks.
Finally
Thus, in our time, lighting can be customized to your wishes and for specific functionality. This was made possible thanks to the development of various electrical devices and the improvement of old developments. This article proves that you can flexibly control the light, and a switch with two keys comes to the rescue. How to connect it and make the most of it is now known. The only thing left is the big desire to change the lighting in your apartment or house in the best way.