Switches are as short-lived as most household appliances. Often the cause of the breakdown is the failure of the switch. How to change the switch at home, at work or in the office, this article will tell you. This will significantly reduce the electrician's waiting time or save the budget. Acquiring new knowledge and skills, especially in terms of everyday life, is always useful.
Switch operation principle
Before you change the switch in the apartment, do not forget about safety and remember such unpleasant situations as:
- possibility of short circuit;
- burnout of lighting fixtures;
- probability of wiring burnout;
- and the most dangerous of them is the possibility of electric shock.
In order to avoid such situations, you need to know the principle of operation and design of such devices, safety precautions, study electrical wiring diagrams andFamiliarize yourself with the rules for dismantling and installing switches. It should be borne in mind that different types of such products are connected in different ways.
Main species
Switches are classified according to the way they are mounted on the wall:
- Flush-wiring devices are installed in a pre-made hole in the wall with a socket made of plastic or metal, in the form of a cylinder.
- In structures made of wood, open wiring and overhead switches are usually installed. They are simply fixed to the wall or placed in special plastic cable channels.
Depending on the design of the terminals, the switches have different features of the device and installation. The answer to the question largely depends on this: how to change the switch?
- Screw terminals clamp the end of the stripped wire between two plates. The main disadvantage of this design is that the contacts heat up as a result of clamping the wire between the plates. The material of the plates is brass, the wires are aluminum. Since different metals are used, a difference in contact is created, and as a result, resistance, and the terminals heat up. Therefore, from time to time you need to check how tight the screws are, and periodically tighten them. This problem itself is eliminated if the wiring is copper.
- Terminals in which a clamping spring is installed. It is not necessary to tighten the screws prophylactically. The brass plate under which the end of the wire is located is securely fixedspring.
- Switches can also be divided by the number of buttons: with three, two or the simplest - one-button. A single button fixture is used to turn on a single lamp or a group of lamps, such as some chandeliers. Such switches are used in bathrooms.
Variants with three or two keys are used to illuminate large rooms, where different parts of the room are illuminated separately. Also, the installation of such switches is relevant in the living room, where large chandeliers are used.
Variety of switches
The offer on the market is very diverse. There are conventional push-button switches. They are the most common and commonly used. There are also more expensive devices. Here are some of them:
- Touch - turn on at the touch of your fingers.
- Acoustic, which respond to a pop or a loud voice.
- With a dimmer that allows you to change the brightness of the light in the room.
- Remote control.
Dismantling
When starting repairs in the apartment on your own, you need to familiarize yourself with the safety rules. First of all, be sure to de-energize the wiring by turning off the circuit breakers on the distribution panel. When the network is de-energized, you can proceed to dismantle. This will help instructions on how to change the light switch. You can find it in this article.
Dismantling of switches and wiring that are listed as old is much easier, becausethe bolts securing the switch to the wall are easily accessible. New models of such devices provide for hiding bolts under the keys. First you need to remove the buttons from the switch, and then unscrew the bolts and dismantle this product.
After unscrewing the bolts and accessing the switch circuit, you first need to check for voltage. For this, indicator screwdrivers are used. Today their range is very wide. The indicator screwdriver, when it comes into contact with the powered parts of the switch, it glows at the end. If there is no voltage, then the tip of the screwdriver will not glow. You can also choose screwdrivers that will not only glow, but also emit a sound signal.
According to the rules for dismantling and installing switches, the thumb is held on top of the indicator handle, this is where the contact providing the control circuit is located. This is the safest.
By turning off the switch of the group in which the switch is to be replaced, you can proceed to the next stage of work. Unscrew the screws of the sliding bars that hold the switch in a special hole in the wall. Release the wires by unscrewing the screws on the terminals. If the ends have burnt marks, then they just need to be bitten off with the help of wire cutters. The wire on which the phase is located should be marked by bending it or wrapping it with electrical tape, this will come in handy when connecting.
How to change the switch with one key?
It is necessary to initially strip the insulation, freeing the wires, stripping pieces of about 5 mm, connectthem to the terminals. The phase (red wire) is connected to contact L1. Blue or black is designated L2. The next step is to install the switch in a special place and fix it with strips using screws. Check the operation of the switch by turning on the network. If the layout of the switch buttons is more familiar in such a way that turning off occurs by pressing up, then the switch just needs to be turned over or the wires changed. If after connecting the device works, then you can install a decorative cover. This is the easiest way to change the light switch with one key.
Replacing switches with two buttons
When installing a two-button device, you should follow the same sequence as when replacing a device with one button. How to change a switch with two buttons? The difference is that three phase wires are connected to terminal L3, and two wires to L1 and L2. Three-button switches are connected using three contacts and one phase.
When figuring out how to change a switch with two buttons, it is worth remembering the probability of wire mismatch in color, like red is phase, and black (blue) is neutral. You can find the same wires in detached houses, their purpose will be directly reversed. You should always check the presence of phase with an indicator screwdriver.
Conclusion
So we've looked at how to change the switch. If you follow the rulessafety, you can change ordinary appliances of any type with your own hands, without the help of an electrician. In principle, there is nothing complicated about this, and most people do this work on their own.
