If you thought dimmers were about as fancy as switches
could get, think again. There's a whole world of specialty
switches out there just waiting to make your life more
convenient, and they're every bit as easy to install as an
ordinary dimmer.
Timer switches and solid-state programmable switches
can turn fixtures on and off when you're not around. And
motion-sensor switches will turn on the lights when they
sense your presence so you're never in the dark. Be aware,
though, that some of these switches require a neutral wire
connection so they can't be installed at the very end of a
circuit. Don't worry-we'll show you how to tell what will
and won't work in your installation.
Timer
switches have three preattached wire leads. The black lead
connects to the hot wire, and the red lead connects to the
wire that carries power to the light fixture. The
remaining neutral lead is connected to the neutral circuit
wires. After a power failure, be sure to reset the switch
to the proper time. (If the circuit you're working on
doesn't have a neutral lead, an analog timer switch won't
work. Use a solid-state programmable model instead.)
Solid-state
programmable switches require no neutral wire connections.
That means they can be installed in switch boxes
containing either one or two cables -- at the end of a
circuit run or somewhere in the middle. Both wire leads on
the switch connect to hot circuit wires with wire
connectors.
Timer
switches have three preattached wire leads. The black lead
connects to the hot wire, and the red lead connects to the
wire that carries power to the light fixture. The
remaining neutral lead is connected to the neutral circuit
wires. After a power failure, be sure to reset the switch
to the proper time. (If the circuit you're working on
doesn't have a neutral lead, an analog timer switch won't
work. Use a solid-state programmable model instead.)
Solid-state
programmable switches require no neutral wire connections.
That means they can be installed in switch boxes
containing either one or two cables -- at the end of a
circuit run or somewhere in the middle. Both wire leads on
the switch connect to hot circuit wires with wire
connectors.