What are light switches? Types of household light switches Description of light switches
The light switch is a simple electrical device that we encounter every day without noticing its significance. But the types of light switches are not limited to beautiful keys in our apartments. Let's analyze them in more detail.
Let's highlight the types of light switches
Switches, as an electrical device, can be classified into the following types.
types of light switches
- According to the control mechanism (design);
- By way of management;
- By controlled load (current in the switching circuit);
- By the number of connection poles (connection method);
- According to the method of installation;
- According to the degree of protection of the case;
- At the place of installation;
- according to the control scheme.
Note: Please note that according to all regulatory documents (links at the bottom of the article), the installation switch and the contactor are two different types of devices. We also do not confuse light switches with automatic low-voltage switches (circuit breakers). We understand that the lighting switch and the installation switch are one and the same, and in this article we simply call the switch.
Lighting switches by control mechanism
The control mechanism of the switch ensures the closing and opening of the electrical circuit. According to the design of the control mechanism, the switches are:
- Mechanical:
- Semiconductor:
By way of management
Here is the division into:
- Manual control;
- Remote (VDU).
By controlled load
The switches in question operate in AC and DC electric networks, with voltage up to 440 V. They are technologically produced and marked for the following operating voltages and currents:
- 130, 230, 250, 277, 380,400, 415 and 440 Volts.
- 6, 10, 16, 20, 25, 32, 40 and 63 Amp.
According to the installation method
According to the installation method, we divide the switches:
- For hidden installation, when using hidden wiring technologies;
- For open installation, in open wiring technology.
According to the degree of protection of the case
Quite an important typing, which must be indicated on the case.
- The switch is conventional (protected only against the ingress of water), has a degree of protection IPX0,
- Splash-proof, IPX4,
- Jet protected IPX5.
By on/off method
Here the division is more varied:
- Turning. Switching on/off is done by turning the lever around the horizontal axis.
- Changeover. This group will include all switches for controlling lighting from several places (travelling, marching, toggle, reversing).
- Key. This type is typical for domestic use. Lighting is controlled by keys.
- Button. A latching pushbutton switch can be electrically operated, the mechanism is activated by lightly pressing the button. Pushbutton switches without fixation in everyday life are familiar to everyone by the bell button.
- Lace. The mechanism is controlled by a cord.
By connection method
An important parameter for choosing the type of cable.
- With screw terminals;
- With without screw terminals, according to the type, they are used only with rigid conductor conductors;
- With screwless terminals for all types of conductors.
By place of installation
Divide the switches and at the installation site:
- For the street - outdoor installation;
- For premises - internal installation;
- Universal.
By number of poles
The number of poles is an important parameter of the switch, especially for organizing lighting control from different places. Here is the following division:
- Switches 1-pole to 2 directions with one "off" position;
- Reversible switches for 2 directions;
Switch marking
There are rules for marking switches, which can be read on the device case. According to the regulations, the following marking of switches is provided.
For example:
10 AX 250 V. This is a switch for, with a load current of 10 Amperes and a voltage of not more than 250 Volts. Briefly 10X/250~.
Normative references
- GOST 52565-2006
- GOST 51324.2.1-2012 (changes)
- GOST 51324.2.2-2012 (changes)
- IEC 60669187
A single-button light switch is a lighting control switching device, structurally designed to perform two operations, closing and opening an electrical circuit. It is used exclusively for work in lighting circuits with voltage up to 1000 V. It has a manual control drive. It does not have the functions of protection against overloads and short circuit currents. It is not equipped with arcing chambers, therefore it is not intended for high current loads. The single-key light switch is one of the most common and well-known lighting elements. Of all the switching devices used to control the light, this type of switch is the simplest in design and connection. You can verify this by reading this article. Here, we will analyze in detail the design of a single-gang switch, the principle of its operation, and also get acquainted with its circuit diagram of connection.
Design variants of single-gang switches
Single-gang household switches can be of the following design:
- outdoor;
- internal;
- modular;
- waterproof.
Switches for indoor installation, used in hidden wiring, under plaster or inside frame walls. The switch mechanism is mounted in a socket box pre-installed in the wall. For internal wiring apply and.
External switches are used for externally made electrical wiring, openly along the walls or with the use of additional protection for cable channels, metal or plastic pipes, as well as flexible corrugated tubes. This type of wiring is mainly used where it is not possible to carry out hidden installation of wires.
Modular switches are mainly used only in some series of cable channels. This type of switches is used mainly in office, industrial and commercial premises. Are issued only for installation in a cable channel.
Moisture-proof switches are used in rooms with high humidity, for example, a bathroom, basement, and also where there is a possibility of direct contact with water on the switch, for example, a street. They can be both indoor and outdoor.
The principle of operation of a single-key light switch
For the easiest understanding of the principle of operation of the device, I suggest that you familiarize yourself with the figure below.
Figure 1. The principle of operation of the light switch
On it, in the most simple and visual form, the principle of operation of a single-gang switch is shown.
As can be seen from the figure, there is a movable contact inside the single-key switch mechanism, which, when the key is pressed, can take one of two positions. The first position is "on", the second is "off". In this case, the moving contact will either connect the circuit or disconnect it.
In the figure above, the key is in the "off" position, the contact is open, the phase is not supplied to the lamp, the lamp is not lit.
Now, let's see how the circuit changes if the switch is turned to the "on" position.
Figure 2. The principle of operation of the light switch
Well, we figured out the light switch device, let's move on to the next point.
Connection diagram of a single-gang switch
The figure below shows a schematic diagram of connecting a single-gang switch.
A switch is an electrical device designed to connect and disconnect an electrical circuit. Most often, switches control lighting fixtures, less often they are used to turn on and off exhaust fans, air conditioners, etc. According to the type of installation, switches are divided into flush-mounted switches and outdoor switches. The former are used when installing hidden electrical wiring, the latter when laying wiring in an open way.
Types of switches
The switch is a device that technical designers love to improve and add additional options to. Depending on the methods of switching, adjustment, purpose and protective properties of the housing, switches can be divided into several types.
1. Keyboards
The most common type of switches. The closing and opening of the electrical circuit occurs when the key is switched from one position to another. One-, two- and three-key versions are available. Key switches are inexpensive, convenient to use and easy to repair. On the other hand, they have a rather low service life, you can not adjust the intensity of lighting, there is no power saving mode. 2. Pushbutton
The principle of operation of a push-button switch is similar to a keyboard switch: you press the button - it is fixed and closes the contact. Pressing again opens the contact. Often available with LED lighting. Do not confuse such switches with ordinary electric buttons, for example, at the bell: such buttons close the contact only if they are held by hand. Pushbutton switches will easily fit into the interior of any room, despite their slightly non-standard appearance. They cost a little more than their keyboard counterparts. But they will serve you faithfully for a long time.
3. Dimmers (switches with a regulator)
They are a kind of rheostat, which is familiar to most of us from school physics lessons. The dimmer works on the same principle. The rheostat changes the resistance of the electrical circuit, and hence the current strength in it. Higher resistance means less current. The lower the current, the dimmer the bulb included in the electrical circuit burns. With these switches, you can adjust the intensity of lighting by turning the control wheel. The advantage of dimmers is energy saving (some devices even turn off on their own when no one is in the room) and ease of use. But there is also a minus: due to the high cost, not everyone can afford such switches. Note: dimmers work great with incandescent lamps, but LED lamps and lamps that have recently been fashionable can conflict and function incorrectly.
4. Swivel
About 50 - 60 years ago, rotary switches were still actively used in the construction of houses, but recently they have been used only in semi-antique design projects or in creating interiors in country style, loft, Provence. As a rule, they are produced only for outdoor installation, used together with open wiring. They are switched by turning the lever by 90°. 5. Rope
The principle of operation of this switch is similar to the push-button: pulling the rope until it clicks, you close the contacts. Pull a second time and open. This type of switch is mainly used in wall sconces and sometimes for turning on exhaust fans. Rope switches are used not only for decorative purposes, they have a number of practical advantages. For example, a hanging cord is easy to find by touch in the dark, and such switches are also suitable for families with small children, the child can easily reach it and be able to turn the light on and off on their own.
6. Touch
A modern type of switch that has a long service life due to the absence of mechanical parts. Triggered by touch. Many models of touch switches are equipped with additional features, such as smooth dimming or auto-off. Such switches like to use in "smart homes". 7. Acoustic
Such switches are also called cotton or sound switches. Switching on occurs from the sound signal of a certain volume, for example, clapping your hands. Switches of this type with a timer are installed not only in apartments, but also on landings. In some models, a setting is provided for the time after which the switch disconnects the circuit. Often, acoustic switches are hidden in junction boxes and duplicated by ordinary keyboards.
The main advantage of this model is obvious: with it you don't have to feel for the switch in the dark or walk through the whole apartment in dirty shoes because you forgot to turn off the light. However, such devices do not always respond the first time and can work spontaneously, which sometimes annoys the owners.
8. Remote
These are switches that are triggered by a signal from the remote control. There are also combined models: for example, a touch switch with a remote control. Remote switches are not very common because they are quite expensive. In addition, remotes tend to get lost. But there are also advantages. Firstly, with remote switches you don’t have to damage the walls: it will be enough just to arm yourself with self-tapping screws or double-sided tape and fix the switches in the right places. And no problems with fixed wiring. Secondly, you can turn on and off the light bulbs from anywhere in the apartment or house and feel like a master of light.
9. Checkpoints
Externally, the pass-through switch is no different from an ordinary one, but its internal filling has a slightly different scheme. Pass-through switches allow you to control one electrical appliance (or a group of electrical appliances) from different points in space. For example, you have a two-story house. You walk up to the stairs and turn on the lamp that illuminates it with the switch located downstairs on the first floor. You go up to the second floor. The light on the stairs is no longer needed. If there was a normal switch downstairs, you would either have to leave the stair light on or go downstairs to turn it off. It is this problem that pass-through switches solve: you put them on top and bottom and control one lamp from different points.
Unfortunately, in order to fit such convenient walk-through switches into the lighting system of your house or apartment, you will have to spend a lot of money and effort (compared to the classic options) due to the complex wiring diagram, the impressive amount of materials used and the high cost of the mechanisms themselves.
10. Sealed
A special type of switches - hermetic switches designed for installation in rooms with high humidity or dust: in baths, saunas, showers. Also, like waterproof sockets, they are classified according to the degree of protection. So, a switch that is installed in a bathroom or shower must have a protection class of at least IP-44. Read more about protection classes in ours. 11. Switch with built-in motion sensor
As the name implies, the switch, or rather, the sensor connected to it, reacts to movements: the light turns on when a person is in the field of view of the sensor, and turns off when that person disappears from it. Most often, the principle of operation of such sensors is based on tracking infrared radiation.
Switches with built-in motion sensors save energy. With the help of them, you can also adjust the intensity of lighting, turn on spotlights, a siren, CCTV cameras and control other useful equipment. Unfortunately, the price of these super-mechanisms is appropriate.
Helpful Hints
- For the bathroom and kitchen, use sealed switches with a moisture and dust protection class of at least IP - 44
- Rope switches will harmoniously fit into the nursery: the baby can easily reach the lace and be able to quickly turn on the light in the dark if he suddenly has a bad dream at night
- For the living room, dimmers are best, as watching TV and reading a book require different amounts of light.
- For your convenience, flights of stairs in a private house should be equipped with either walk-through switches or switches with built-in motion sensors
Having got used to using the benefits of civilization in everyday life, people stop noticing them, taking them for granted. This is how we treat lights, sockets and switches. By pressing the key, hardly anyone thinks that technologies do not stand still and a new generation has already replaced the usual devices.
Modern building materials, making it possible to make each housing special, have caused the emergence of new trends in the organization of housing lighting, which could not but affect the devices that connect the lamps to the mains. A new generation of switches has appeared - beautiful, convenient and functional.
Breaker classification
At the moment, switches can be divided into three categories:
Device installation type. Depending on the type of wiring, which can be external or hidden, switches are also divided into devices for external or hidden installation.
In modern apartments, most often the wiring goes inside the walls or under a layer of plaster, so the switch is installed in a special box, recessed into the wall and fixed with adjustable legs, only the body remains outside. These devices have an attractive appearance and many different designs.
In old houses with wooden walls and ceilings, you can still find open wiring, when electrical wires are attached directly to the surface of walls or ceilings using special rollers. Often this method is used to organize power supply, baths or modern houses, the interior of which is stylized "antique".
The devices for these postings also differ. For the external, more voluminous sockets and switches are used, which are installed directly on the wall using a socket. Modern models look good, but stick out strongly above the surface. But it is easier to maintain and repair such switches than flush-mounted devices.
Way of switching wires. The wire inside the switch can be attached in two ways:
For aluminum wires, fastening the cores with screws is more often used. For this, a special clamping plate is used, which securely fixes the wires in the inlet. But over time, the screw mount can loosen and have to be tightened.
Screwless fastening is often used when using copper wires. Its design ensures reliable contact of the wire and current-carrying fittings.
Variety of control methods
According to the control method, the switches are divided into the following types:
Such devices look original in the room. There are models with several buttons, decorative trim and light indication. The choice is large enough, so you can choose a device for any interior.
- Rope - used for decorative purposes and in places where the lighting fixture is installed high.
Such a switch is easy to find in the dark; they are used in children's rooms so that the child can turn on the light on his own. 
- Keyboard - the most popular type of switches. They are beautiful, comfortable, have many varieties and colors. They are equipped with almost all lighting systems for office and residential premises.
The device may have one, two or three keys. This allows you to organize the control of individual groups of lighting devices. Widespread use due to such advantages as:
- low price;
— easy replacement, repair and installation;
- ease of use.
Such a sensor activates the lighting when a person appears and turns it off when there is no movement in the room. Such devices are most often mounted on the ceiling so that they have a large viewing angle. They are used to temporarily turn on the light in certain places. For example, on the stairs, where there is such a sensor in each flight, the light will turn on where the person is currently located.
At the heart of the device, instead of sliding contacts, a microcircuit is used. This eliminates the occurrence of a short circuit and several times increases the service life of the lamps. Wear of the device is very small, which increases its service life.
- Remote - are a set consisting of a flat control unit and a remote control. For installation, you do not have to drill the wall, the device is fixed with self-tapping screws or even double-sided tape where it is convenient to use it.
The principle of operation of the device is as follows: when the switch button is pressed, a radio signal is sent to the relay, while it closes or opens the circuit in the phase that goes to the lighting device. The range of such a switch can be 20 - 25 m. The battery is used as a power source, which lasts about 5 years.
The device works by means of digital signals and does not cause interference. The presence of a remote control makes the use of such a device even more convenient. Remote switches are often part of a smart home system.
- Dimmers - allow you to adjust the intensity of lighting and can have a fairly wide range of functions:
- control of the brightness of the light;
- automatic shutdown; 
- imitation of presence;
- smooth switching on - switching off;
The external panel of the device can be equipped with keys, a rotary button, an infrared sensor. Dimmers are divided into three large groups:
- for energy-saving fluorescent and LED lamps equipped with electromagnetic ballast;
- for halogen lamps and incandescent lamps;
For halogen lamps connected via ferromagnetic or electronic transformers.
- flip;
- checkpoint;
- duplicate.
Outwardly, these devices resemble a conventional key switch, but have a different principle of operation. A conventional switch only opens the circuit, and the switch, opening one circuit, switches the contact to another. This allows you to manage multiple locations at once.
The use of switches makes it difficult to create a complex wiring circuit. The cost of the switches themselves is higher than the cost of conventional ones. However, ease of use is constantly expanding their scope.
Thus, modern switches, in addition to their use for their original purpose, allow solving a whole range of tasks:
- save electricity;
- manage lighting;
- complement the interior of the room due to the variety of models and colors.
Recently, when designing a lighting system, not only technological, but also design aspects are taken into account. Comfortable, economical and advantageous lighting depends on the correct placement of electrical switches of the respective type. The choice in favor of one or another connection option is based on the characteristics of the rooms and their purpose.
Varieties of switches
An extensive range of switches allows you to choose the most favorable lighting option. Most often, a modern consumer prefers the following types of switches:
- One-, two- and three-key.
- Checkpoint.
- Cross.
- Resistive, dimmers.
- Timer.
- With backlight.
- Control.
- Automatic.
- Anti-vandal.
These switches control the lighting. Their difference lies in the connection method and functionality.
Features of single-gang switches
This type of switch is the most common among household consumers. Technologically used in circuits with a single lighting device and serves to turn it on and off. Single-key electrical switches perform their tasks by breaking (shorting) one of the paired wires connecting the network to a light source (chandelier, lantern, lamp, etc.). Suitable for residential and non-residential areas - bedrooms, living rooms, kitchens, bathrooms, etc.
Advantages of using two-gang switches
A two-gang switch allows two lights or circuits to function independently of each other. It is useful for controlling lights located in different parts of the yard, or one lighting fixture with two lamps. It is installed in zoned rooms (for example, bathroom and toilet) or rooms with two-component chandeliers.
In what cases will it be necessary to install three-gang switches
The principle of operation of two- and three-gang switches is similar. The latter allow you to simultaneously turn on and off three light sources. The main disadvantages of this type are the complexity of installation and low reliability. To avoid problems during the installation and further operation of three-gang switches, you should use the services of a qualified electrician.
Electrical switches in modern stores offering various goods for home and repair, in the vast majority of cases, are represented by such types of devices as:
- A European-made design that has more than three keys cannot be found today. But if such a device is required to solve a particular problem, then it can be made by combining several products with one key in one frame.
- If we talk about products made in Japan or China, then here you can easily find a switch of absolutely any design, for example, a product with six keys. Each of them has its own indicator light, which makes it easy to determine the button needed to turn on one or another lamp at night.
Functionality of walk-through switches
With the help of these switches, installed in two different places, one light source or an entire unit is controlled. This configuration is convenient and economical, therefore it is suitable for lighting large corridors, landings and huge rooms. To turn the light on and off, just go to one of the two switches.
Cross switches
Cross electric switches are an improved modification of walk-through switches. The latter allow you to control the lighting from two places, but this is not enough for large rooms. Cross switches are installed at three or more points, so they are best suited for controlling lighting fixtures and electrical circuits in large industrial premises (warehouses) or high-rise building entrances.
Extended possibilities of resistive switches, dimmers
This type of switches is designed not only to turn the light source on and off, but also to control the intensity of lighting. It is important to know that one or another dimmer () usually controls a certain number of light bulbs, the power of which, of course, is limited. However, the technology of some lighting devices cannot be adjusted. They are not compatible with energy-saving appliances, but work effectively when paired with spotlights or standard incandescent lamps.
Among the most understandable in use and structurally simple switches, it is worth highlighting devices equipped with special lighting , and control switches. Both some and other products have a special light indicator that lights up when the light is turned off and goes out, respectively, when it is turned on. With the help of such an element, the switch can be easily found in the dark. If we talk about control devices, then their light indicator lights up when the light is turned on. These electrical switches are ideal for garages and basements, as they allow you to determine whether the light in the room should be turned on or off.
The most popular today circuit breakers , which, in addition to turning the light on and off, are able to protect the power grid from possible overloads, and also make it possible to exclude any possibility of breakdown of household electrical appliances. Such devices are not only capable of performing their basic functions in the normal state of the electrical network, but can also automatically shut off electricity in the event of any emergency.
Increasingly popular today anti-vandal electrical switches , which are used mainly in various public places. Such devices are able to withstand various external influences and damage, and high-strength metals are usually used for their manufacture.
The wiring diagram must indicate the points at which it is planned to install the switches. When choosing a location for their placement, it is necessary to be guided by the following principles:
- The main light source is controlled by a switch located at a minimum distance from the door. The placement height is usually 80 cm from the floor level.
- Before installation, you should decide on the location of the furniture. Cabinets, sofas and tables should not restrict access to the switch.
- Installation of switches in rooms with high humidity (bathrooms and kitchens) requires compliance with GOST. So, it is allowed to place the switch at a distance of at least 60 cm from the sink (bath) or in an adjacent room.
