9/2/2023 0 Comments Wiring a light switchWhen you have completed the latter steps and got neutral to the switch, then you can permanently energise the additional circuit(s) at the switch location by joining the live and switched live for each circuit together. In this case, it’s best to try and consider only one of the circuits (and its corresponding wiring) in isolation. It is more than likely that a switch has more than one lighting circuit wired to it. 2 What if my switch controls multiple circuits? We refer to this as “switch-first wiring” which means you do have a neutral at the switch. It’s important to note that your home may be wired differently to this, especially in newer houses and in mainland Europe where the incoming power goes to the switch first and then to the light. The live from the light to the switch uses the brown wire, then the switched live uses the blue wire and is normally marked with some brown tape to indicate it is actually a switched live and not a neutral. We refer to this as “light-first wiring” which means you do not have a neutral at the switch. Traditionally in the UK, this is wired such that the live (brown) and neutral (blue) wires (old houses may have red and black cables respectively) from the main power source (the incoming power) go to the light fitting first, then the live is sent to the switch and finally the switched live (the live that is made and broken) is sent back to the light. First, what is a neutral wire and why might I not have one?įor a traditional switch to turn a light on and off, it needs to make and break the circuit. In this case, red is normally live and black is normally neutral. In some older buildings, you may have red and black cabled in the UK. Shortcut (TL DR): Fig.1 is what most UK homes have and Fig.4 is the tweak to get a neutral to the switch and permanently energise the bulbs. Make sure you turn off any electrics at the consumer unit before working on them and test with an appropriate tool that the circuit is not live. Even if you think you know what you are doing, you could be wrong. Warning, electrics are dangerous and you should seek the help of a qualified electrician. Getting a light switch neutral wire to your switch brings connotations of ripping walls apart and turning your home into a building site, but that does not have to be the case as we discuss below. “What does the neutral wire do?” is a common question among homeowners, DIY enthusiasts, and anyone interested in understanding the basics of household electrical systems.
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