To achieve more comfortable operation of lighting fixtures in the house, you can use special walk-through switches. The connection diagram of the pass-through switches shows in detail the principle of operation of the devices. With the help of such an installation, the owner will be able to independently control the lighting in the apartment, being in any room. You should consider in more detail the principle of operation of such a system and decide on its self-installation.
How does a pass switch work?
The light bulbs of the pass switch are responsible for lighting any point of the apartment. Such a system was created specifically to turn on and off the light from different parts of the house. For example, the owner can turn on the light at the entrance to the room, and turn it off at the end of it. This operation of the system significantly saves energy consumption and allows the owner of the apartment to feel more comfortable.
The walk-through lighting system is a simple switch. On theOn the outside of the movable panel of the switch, you can see two arrows (the first is directed upwards, and the second downwards). Simple switches have one inlet and outlet. The walk-through system includes one input and several outputs at once. This suggests that there is no current break in such a device, it simply switches to another output and continues its movement.
Despite the fact that experienced craftsmen in this field can distinguish a simple switch from a walk-through in appearance, conscientious manufacturers create devices that show the electrical circuit of a double switch, triple or single. Such a circuit can be found under the cover of the device.
You can understand that the user is presented with a single-pass switch if you carefully examine the terminals with copper contacts. The device must contain three such parts. To be sure that the terminals are not confused with each other, experts advise using a multimeter. The device is turned on and its input and output are called. If at the moment of contact with the contact the multimeter starts beeping, then there is a contact in this place.
Other differences
Specialists point out another noticeable difference between a pass-through switch and a simple one - the pass-through system has a three-wire switching, and a simple device has only two-wire. The walk-through switch independently redirects voltage from one contact to the second, located nearby.
Most often, pass-through switches operate in pairs and control only one sourcelighting in the room. Zero and phase are connected to each device. Changing the location of the switch button closes the circuit, which causes the light bulb to turn on. When the first or second switch is turned off, the phase wire opens, and the contact located in the pair system closes, which leads to the light turning off. From this we can conclude that at the time when the keys in the two devices take the same position, the light in the room turns on, as soon as they move to a different position, it turns off.
Connecting walk-through switches gives the user the ability to control the light in the house not only from two places, but also from three, four or more. To achieve this functioning of the system, you will have to add one or two cross switches.
The main advantages of the transfer switch
Connecting walk-through switches helps to effectively control the light in an apartment from two or more places and greatly facilitates the user's life. Such a lighting switching system is especially useful for houses with several floors and flights of stairs. In such a house, the first switch can be placed on the first floor, and the second on the next, which will help control the light below and above.
The switch will also be effective when mounted at the entrance to the bedroom and next to the head of the bed. In this case, it will be possible to turn on the light at the entrance to the bedroom, change clothes, get ready for bed and finally turn off the lights. Many install switches at the entrance to the house and at the far end of the corridor, which is also convenient and economical.
With the help of sensors or a timer installed in the switch system, you can independently choose the time to turn off the light in a certain room.
Connecting a walk-through switch with 2 or more places has significant advantages over simple devices. The main advantages of experts include:
- increased reliability and security of using the system;
- if necessary, the user can turn off the light in a certain place at any time;
- economical consumption of electricity;
- low installation cost;
- easy to mount, which does not require the help of a wizard;
- easy to set up the system (you don't have to study the instructions for a long time and understand how the device works).
How to create a DIY system?
Given that, at first glance, a single-gang switch and a simple switch used in every home do not differ much from each other, the price for them in the store is significantly different. When buying a pass-through switch, you will have to spend 2 times more money than in the case of a simple one. It is for this reason that many home craftsmen try to create switches with their own hands, using the minimum knowledge and materials at hand.
To create a single-gang switch, you need to take a simple one-gang and two-gang device of the same size and onemanufacturer.
When buying a two-gang thru-switch with a detailed diagram on the case, you first need to make sure that the device is equipped with mobile terminals that move in the order of breaking and closing the circuit independently of each other.
To convert a simple switch to a walk-through, you need to follow the following scheme:
- the key with clips is removed from the single-key overhead switch;
- carefully remove the core of the switch;
- squeeze out the housing clamps on the internal mechanism of the device;
- one terminal is pulled out of the socket;
- repositions one contact opposite the second;
- then a special rocker is installed on the contacts;
- at the end the circuit breaker body is assembled back to its original state.
It is also possible to assemble a pass switch from two places from two simple models. They should be placed side by side so that when the upper part of the key is pressed, the first one lights up, and the second one lights up on the lower one. The keys must be connected to each other by means of a plate that is glued on top. Between the two rows of contacts, a special jumper is built in without fail.
Connect device from multiple locations
Connecting a pass switch from 2 places is carried out using single-key devices that operate in pairs. Each of these devices has one contact near the entrance, and two at the exit.
Before you mount the installation, you should study in more detail the scheme in which allmain stages. To begin with, it is important to de-energize the house using the appropriate switch in the shield. After you need to make sure that there is no voltage in all the wires of the switch. To do this, use a special screwdriver.
Also, checking for the presence of electricity is carried out at the installation sites of switching systems. To mount the switches, you need to prepare a Phillips, indicator and flat screwdriver, side cutters, a knife, a tape measure, a puncher and a level. For mounting the switch and laying wires in the walls of the room, you will need to make holes and grooves, taking into account the location of the devices.
It is important to remember that it will not work to mount a pass-through switch in place of the usual one. Wiring is carried out at a distance of 15 centimeters from the ceiling. Wires can be not only hidden, but laid in separate boxes and trays. Installation of this type helps to quickly complete all repairs in case of accidental mechanical impact on the cable. The ends of the wires are placed in mounting plugs, in which all parts are connected by contactors.
Installation of light control from two places
The connection diagram of two-gang walk-through switches differs from the usual installation in that in this case two wires are used as a jumper between several switches located at different ends of the apartment. The third wire is used to feed the phase.
Five wires can be connected to the junction box at the same time:powered from the machine, three cables and a wire going towards the lamp. When creating a circuit for connecting a switch, three-core cables are used. The zero wire and ground are connected to the lamp itself. The brown phase wire, which supplies the current itself, passes through the switch and is led to the lamp.
To prevent possible difficulties with the operation of the wiring, experts advise using copper wires with a cross section of 2.5 millimeters square.
The switches are connected in a break in the phase wire, and zero, passing through the distribution box, is sent to the lamp. Passing a phase through the switch will help to achieve high safety when carrying out repairs.
How to mount?
Mounting the pass-through switches is carried out according to the following scheme:
- the master strips the ends of the insulation wires;
- using a special indicator, the phase wire is determined;
- by twisting the phase wire is aligned with the wire on the first switch (in this case, white and red wires are used);
- wires are connected to each other using neutral terminals;
- then the wire from the second switch is led to the lighting fixture;
- in the junction box, the wire from the lamp is combined with neutral cables.
Connect from three places
If the user needs to connect three walk-through switches in the house, then he will need a slightly different circuit. Most often, such a system is used by owners of multi-storey buildings, large buildings withlong corridors, in which there are several exits at once. When wiring three pass-through switches, you will have to purchase, in addition to two simple switches, also a cross one. The finished device will have not three, but four simultaneously switching contacts: one pair of input and several output, as well as a four-wire cable.
When mounting through switches from three places, simple switches are used at the first and last point, and a cross one is built in between them.
Since the voltage in the distribution box requires the use of more and more cables with each new point, the wires should be pre-marked.
Three-point connection diagram
The connection diagram of the pass switch from three places is the order of the following actions:
- wire "zero" and grounding are connected to the lamp;
- phase is connected to the first switch;
- using wires, the output contacts of the first switch are combined with the input pair of crossover terminals;
- output wires of the cross switch connect to the output terminals of the second switch;
- the wire from the second device is led to the lamp itself;
- the second wire coming from the luminaire is brought to the distribution box to "zero".
If the owner wants to control the lighting from more than three places in the house, then additional cross switches are added to the overall circuit, providing a reliable connectioncheckpoints.
Each pass-through device will have a separate three-core cable, and a four-core cable to the crossover device. All cables used to connect all devices according to the scheme must have the same cross section. Switches that can operate at 6A, 10A, and 16A must have the same rating.
Two rocker switch
With the help of pass-through devices, you can control not only one light source, but also monitor a whole group of lighting fixtures in the house. To do this, the owner will need special two-button switches. Each of them has 6 contacts. Common cables will be determined in the same way as in the case of simple switches, but in this case, many more wires will have to ring.
The main difference in connecting a two-gang pass-through switch is that in this case more wires are used. The phase is fed to several inputs of the first switch. From the two inputs of the second switch, wires are led to several lamps. When controlling lighting from three or more places, two cross switches will be required for each switch, as they are of a single-button design.
