How To Wire A Switch Leg Drop

The switch is just a switch leg drop so the power for the light comes in to the light box and then there is a 2 wire drop down to the switch to turn the light on and off.

How to wire a switch leg drop. As you can see switch loops don t only provide convenience but also improve our home design hiding those ugly fan and light fixture cords. It sends the electricity to the light fixture. Some newer switching devices require a neutral and so seeing a 3 or 4 conductor cable in a switchbox with the white being a neutral is becoming more common. There are two methods for wiring a basic on off single pole standard duty switch to a light or a set of lights.

Either 14 2 with ground wg for 15 amp circuits or 12 2wg for 20 amp circuits. Remaining black to neutral switch box white to bottom terminal. What is a switch leg. The switch leg is still made up of two wires but the hot wire connects directly to the switch and the two wires connect directly to the outlet.

Install cables terminate ground wires. Two common methods for wiring a light switch. The most simple and common method of wiring a single pole switch. Black to top terminal.

The switch leg drop. This article explains the two most common methods for wiring a basic light switch. Level beginner description power a hot and a neutral is fed to the switch with 1 switch leg run from the switch to 1 light. A 2 wire feed is pulled from the nearest source of power like a receptacle or the panel to the switch.

Run 2 wire power feed to outlet box for fixture. The switch leg also known as the hot black wire described above is the wire that actually turns the light on. In light box splice black power wire to white wire going to switch. Wiring with a hot supply cable to the switch boxes is usually more expensive both in wire and cost of switch boxes they have to be larger.

Run 2 wire cable to outlet box. Power to switch then to light or lights. Without some additional wiring you will not be able to accomplish this task. The switched leg of a switch simply refers to the wire that is supplied electricity when the switch is turned on.

When the switch is on the switched leg then provides power to the fixture or device to be powered. The second wire completes the circuit by connecting to the house neutral wire in the switch wiring box instead of in the outlet wiring box. If you want to install a light fixture or switched outlet you will need to know how to properly wire a two conductor switched leg. Although i m sure you ll get the idea of what a s.