How to connect the switch in the apartment. How to connect a one-button switch when replacing an outdoor socket

The device must be selected in such a way that it marginal electrical characteristics were equal or more such characteristics of current consumers.

This article will talk about connecting a light switch in an apartment with one connected lamp. Previously, this was the simplest thing - two wires, we turn on the switch in the gap and that's it. But the times of Khrushchev and panels with the simplest electrical networks have passed in modern houses it's a bit more complicated. In fact, for a person who is more or less knowledgeable in technology, this is a simple matter that requires only: basic knowledge about electricity and the operation of the switch, a flat and Phillips screwdriver, a voltage indicator (optional).

The article is divided into two stages:

1. The first stage is theory, or what the connection diagram of a switch with a lamp looks like.
2. The second stage is practice. Grab your tools and get to work.

Principal connection diagram

The light switch looks like this in the diagram:

This is the simplest circuit. In order for a standard 220V lamp to be switched on, two wires must be connected: live (L) and neutral (N).

When the electrical circuit is not interrupted and an electric potential occurs in the phase wire, current flows through the lamp and the lamp lights up. The light switch has a task to close or open electrical circuit to turn on or off the lamp. In addition, a protective (earth) conductor must be connected to the protective terminal of the lamp in order to equalize the potential of the lamp body with the potential of the earth. This protection against electric shock is needed, for example, when touching the body of a damaged light bulb.

The following scheme is closer to the present:

Here, a 3-wire power cable is supplied to the electrical unit.

• bronze wire - phase
• blue wire - neutral
• yellow-green - protective wire

An additional cable is routed from the electrical box to the lamp. As we have already determined, the light switch has the task of interrupting the circuit in only one place, and this place is the phase wire.

Attention! If you make a mistake and connect the neutral wire to the switch instead of the phase wire (and the phase wires will go directly to the consumer), everything will work - when pressed, the lamp will turn on or off. However, the problem will arise that despite the light bulb being off, the electric potential will be applied to the lamp itself. This creates an additional risk of electric shock if you want to replace the lamp with the lights off - the phase will still be present on the wires and on the lamp. As a result, during any work to replace a burned-out lamp, it will be necessary to turn off the voltage in the home switchgear(open circuit with circuit breakers). In general, it's best to do the right thing.

For the above circuit in the example considered, we will add two more elements that may not be used if there is a circuit breaker, but it is worth mentioning them anyway. These elements are:

• The three-wire power cord is routed to the next switch.
• The fourth wire (black) in the cable between the box (this is a hole in the wall for the switch) and the lamp.

This as yet unconnected conductor may be useful in the future, for example, when it is necessary to install a double switch and a lamp with large quantity light bulbs to selectively turn on the light on different levels brightness.

What does a switch look like

Here is an example of a classic dark gray switch.

There are many holes here, but we will only be interested in the 4 located in the red rectangle. These are equivalent to terminals 1 and 2 in the diagrams above. The other holes in the switch have no function. In addition, there are gray plastic elements for snapping the case in the upper and lower parts.

Returning to the front of the switch, after removing the key (usually with your fingers, pressing slightly towards you), we see a plastic element that is used to attach the key and switch. It is not needed during assembly, so slightly pry it with a flat screwdriver and remove it.

Installing a single-gang switch

According to the diagram, 3 wires are freed from external insulation: the lower 3-wire harness is power, the upper 4-wire cable is the connection to the lamp, and the 3-wire cable on the right is power to the next switch (you probably won’t have it).

When you assemble or replace circuit breaker, you may have a slightly different wiring diagram:

• There may not be a 3-wire cable to feed to another lamp.
• The network can be two-wire (without a protective conductor). There can only be two wires in the box (if so, then the neutral and protective conductors are connected elsewhere, for example, in a box under the ceiling.

To make sure that there is no power, use a voltage tester (probe) to check if there is a potential of 220 V on the wires of the power cord.

The next step is to remove the insulation from the ends of the cable. It is better to carry out this operation with an insulation stripper. If you do not have it (most likely not) - take a mounting knife and strip the ends by 20 mm.

After stripping the insulation, connect the neutral wires using the electrical connector.

There was no blue wire in the four-wire cable to the lamp. We will use gray as a neutral. In order to avoid misunderstandings in the future, it is advisable to wrap the end of the cable with the wrong color with electrical tape.

We connect the protective wires in the same way.

The connecting neutral and protective wires are hidden inside the box. In this case, there are three phase wires left that must be connected to the switch.

On one side of the switch we insert a phase wire going to the circuit breaker.

On the other side of the switch is a phase wire that leads to the lamp.

We collect the switch. Lightly tighten the screws alternately so that you can align the switch in the wall evenly. Depending on the manufacturer, the method of fastening and connecting the wires may be different.

Put the key on the mechanism.

Sometimes a plastic decorative casing is put on first, and the key is at the very end.

Spend electric installation work you can connect such switches yourself, for which you should consider all the features of the device, connection diagrams and other nuances.

The design of modern switches is simple, but at the same time quite fragile.

Often it is represented by the following elements:

1. Key- the element that is pressed when using the switch. It is worth noting that it is quite easy to remove it, since it is attached to the plugs. A slight impact will allow you to remove the key itself from the seat.
2. After the key has been removed, you can see the screws that secure the switch to . They hold the body in place.
3. Also, there are screws in the case. which are intended for fastening electric cable. They also conduct electricity when loosened or twisted when the circuit is de-energized.

When considering the design, it is worth turning off the electricity supply and checking for voltage using an indicator. The plastic parts of the structure do not conduct electricity, but there are live elements inside.

Wiring diagram

In order to carry out the correct connection of the switch, you should pay attention to the wiring diagram.

Often it consists of the following elements:

1. Machine, which can be located in an apartment or on a stretch platform. It works when short circuit or a strong power surge, allows you to de-energize one or several rooms at once, depending on the type of power scheme that was used.
2. , in which the connection of an electric cable or its branching is often carried out.
3. Switch.
4. consumer of electricity.

The detailed connection diagram is as follows:

1. From the apartment shield or machine 2 cables are supplied: one phase and "zero".
2. Zero immediately goes to the consumer of electricity.
3. Phase goes to a single switch.
4. Closed the circuit is open, the phase breaks at the switch.
5. The second part circuit breaker through the box goes to the energy consumer.
6. When turned on circuit is connected.

In a similar way, a conventional energy consumer is connected. The circuit is simple, and you do not need to have special skills or knowledge to create it.

A feature of connecting a switch with 1 key is the supply of only 1 wire with a phase to the switch and its output, for example, to a lamp. In order to carry out the work of the circuit breaker, it is also necessary to bring “zero” to the consumer of electricity.

Necessary tools and materials

voltage indicator

In order to carry out the work yourself, you need to have the following tools:

1. Indicator – special device, which allows you to determine the presence of current in the conductor. Without this tool, no work with electricity is carried out. The cost of the indicator is low.
2. Screwdriver is needed in order to disassemble the switch and clamp the cable in the landing slots. When choosing, it is worth considering that manufacturers often use curly bolts. The screwdriver must have a handle made of insulating material. The longer the stem, the greater the protection of the screwdriver.
3. Pliers will be needed in order to clean the cable and fit it to the landing slots. You also need to use pliers with handles that are made of insulating material.

Also, do not forget that the socket for the case must be precisely fitted to certain dimensions. Depending on what material the base is made of, you can use a puncher or other tools to form a notch.

In the course of work, the following materials may be needed:

1. Cable, which is selected taking into account the resulting load.
2. insulating material, which is represented by electrical tape.
3. Junction box.
4. The switch itself.

With the above materials and tools available, you can get to work.

Step by step installation instructions

Work on the installation of the considered connection scheme is carried out in several stages.

At the same time, you should first consider the location of all elements, take into account their features:

1. The first step can be called the placement of the junction box. When choosing a location for its location, you need to consider the following:
   • Must be located away from water or moisture source.
   • If possible, the junction box is recessed into the wall. We create a niche for it.
   • When choosing a location, you need to consider the location of all circuit elements and choose the shortest way to connect them. After the location has been chosen, we carry out the installation of the junction box.
2. next step you can call the creation of a strobe for a cable or a protective box, if its deepening is not carried out. The cable is laid and routed through the junction box. When cutting the cable at the power supply, consumer and switch, leave a margin. Connecting to the power source is done last.
3. Third stage can be called the creation of a landing niche for the switch box. The most suitable place is selected and a hole is formed, which is precisely adjusted to the dimensions of the case. If fastening is carried out from above, we simply outline the locations. After that, we carry out the following work:
   • We insert the box into the niche and fasten it with screws that need to be tightened until it stops.
   • The ends of the cable, which were previously stripped, should be shortened to the desired length, inserted into the seats and tightened with screws. It is not necessary to leave long ends, as they can touch and a short circuit will occur. However, very short ends are also a problem: if the cable burns out over time, it needs to be stripped and its length may not be enough. These nuances should be taken into account when carrying out work.
   • Bare cables must not be left inside the case. We carry out their isolation and breed in different directions.
   • We connect the cable to the consumer.
   • We connect the cable to the power source, which must be de-energized.
   • We carry out isolation of all connections that are.
   • Set the key in place.
   • Turn on the power source. If there is an automatic machine, it will be knocked out if a mistake is made. When you first turn on, you should be near the machine for some time in order to be ready to quickly de-energize the circuit. In a similar way, a simple circuit with a mechanical interrupter is organized.

Safety

Special attention When working with electricity, it is worth paying attention to safety precautions.

When considering it, the following nuances can be noted:

1. All works performed only with the circuit de-energized. Do not rely on your accuracy and care.
2. After de-energizing the circuit you need to make sure that no one turns it on accidentally. To do this, you can close the shield with a key, put a person who will stand near it.
3. Despite that the machine was turned off, it is worth checking the absence of current in the circuit. It may be due to the fact that the machine is faulty, or that when creating the circuit there were branches that did not pass through the machine. This is often found in older houses.
4. Despite the de-energization of the circuit, contact with the connected conductor to the power circuit is possible only with a screwdriver.
5. Work can only be performed under the condition normal humidity in room.
6. Cable cannot be laid in damp walls.

You can complete the above work yourself within one or several hours. When doing work, do not rush, as mistakes can be made. Particular attention should be paid to cable connections and strive to make them as small as possible. This is due to the fact that it is the junctions that are considered the main vulnerability of the chain.

The simplest device for directly turning on the light in a room is a single-button switch. Its installation will not be difficult for a technically savvy person, if you follow the recommendations below.

To designate the planned channels for wiring, you need to know the principle of mounting the switch. The scheme of its connection is not particularly difficult. The first and foremost rule: a single-gang switch must interrupt the phase wire (usually brown or white color). This is done for security reasons to once again didn't get electrocuted.

Usually, grounding is not used for ceiling lighting, but the ground wire is indicated on the diagram. The fact is that according to the rules of electrical safety, this type of wiring is needed for wet rooms, but apartments are not. However, it will not be superfluous to use a three-core cable with a ground wire for the installation of lighting in dry rooms.

Having studied the installation diagram, we draw the cable laying lines of the most convenient way and start getting ready to work.

Step-by-step instructions for connecting a single-gang switch

Consider first the case with cables hidden in the wall without grounding. It is necessary to remember the main safety rule when installing any type of electrical wiring - all work is carried out with the voltage turned off. That is, when starting to act, turn off the machine in the shield in order to save own life and health.

Necessary tools and materials

It is clear that first of all you need to stock up on a cable. Its required length can be determined by measuring the drawn lines of electrical wiring with a tape measure. For lighting, a wire with a cross section of 1.5 mm 2 is used. In addition to the cable, you need to prepare:

• switch;
• lamp;
• electrical tape;
• standard glass (socket box) for a device built into the wall.

From the tools you will need the following:

• perforator with a channel blade;
• screwdrivers flat and Phillips;
• tester-probe;
• pliers with insulated handles for safety;
• knife;
• crown for concrete with a diameter of a glass (6.8 cm);
• spatula and putty.

Preparatory work

Suppose there are no electrical wires for lighting the room. First you need to decide where you can pick them up. It is enough to find an electrical box upstairs under the ceiling, in which the apartment's cabling is hidden. Usually it is closed with a round plastic cover, the latter can be easily removed if you pry it off with a screwdriver.

Next, you need to determine the position of the future switch and find the center of the ceiling of the room. The luminaire will be placed at the last specified point. In general, if there are no appropriate cables in the ceiling, they must be run. For this it is necessary in electrical box find the wires coming from the shield in the entrance.

To find power line with a phase coming from the general network of the house, you need to use the help of a partner. The latter should go out into the entrance and turn off in turn each of the machines that feed the electrical wiring of the apartment. At this time, the second person determines with a probe whether the electricity online. When you touch the tip of a tester screwdriver to a bare wire with brown insulation, the indicator light should disappear. Usually a thick cable comes out of the entrance, and you need to start checking from it.

The installation location of the switch is selected based on the convenience of pressing its key. That is, it is enough to choose a small height from 1 to 1.5 m from the floor and retreat from the door jamb some small distance (from 1 to 40 cm). The middle of the room can be determined using a tape measure, measuring the length and width of the room and dividing them in half. When the indicated places are determined, you need to draw an imaginary line for laying the cable on the wall and ceiling with a pencil.

Sequence of cabling and connecting devices

We will make a channel for the cable with a puncher if the wiring is hidden. If scheduled outdoor network, then this power tool will not be needed, but plastic cable channels will be needed.

1. We begin to punch channels for cables with a puncher, focusing on the drawn lines . To do this, we fill a special blade into the puncher and turn on the chiseling mode. Carefully go through the entire required length. The depth of the channel should be such that the cable then drowns completely, and there is still 2 - 3 mm left for putty (sealing the channel).
   

   With the help of a spatula inserted into the puncher, straight recesses (strobes) are made in the wall strictly along the marked cable installation lines

2. We lay the cables according to the scheme. We bring two wires to the switch from the box. One of the cores - phase, brown or white - will go to the switch, the second is not needed. We bring another similar cable from the box to the lamp, here we use only “zero”. Finally, we remove another cable with a phase wire from the chandelier. He must come to the switch.

   A cable is laid in the strobes made and fastened at several points with plastic clips

3. We make a recess for the switch using a concrete crown. Here the hammer must be switched to the mode of simultaneous drilling and chiselling.

   Necessary seat drilled with a hole saw of the appropriate diameter

4. We close the channels with putty using a spatula. This process is not difficult in itself. It can be done even without any experience finishing works. The main thing is accuracy. At the same time, we insert the glass and also grease the place of its fastening with putty. In this case, the protruding piece of cable must be inserted into a special hole on the glass.

   All channels made in the wall, including the place for the installation of the socket box, are covered with putty, and the cable under the switch is led out through the socket box

5. We open the packaging of the new switch. Initially, pry off the key with a slotted screwdriver and remove it. Remove the switch cover.

   After removing the cladding panel, access to the switch mechanism will appear.

6. We expose the ends of the wires in the socket of the socket. A single-gang switch has two inputs. We insert the stripped segments of the phase lines into them.

   When connecting the switch, the order of the wires does not matter

7. Install the switch itself. After tightening the bolts on the wire contacts, we insert the device into the glass, deepening flush with the wall, and tighten the side screws with a screwdriver. When tightening the latter, the antennae extend, which fix the switch in the glass.

   The switch mechanism is attached to the socket with two bolts along the edges of the metal support

8. We assemble the switch: we fix the facing panel and insert the key into place with our fingers. The process is over.

   A facing panel is put on the installed mechanism, and then the switch key is inserted

There are also types of switches that do not have bolts on the contacts. In this case, the stripped ends of the wires simply need to be inserted into the appropriate inputs, and the wires themselves will be fixed by an automatic clamp. If you need to remove the ends back, you need to stick the tip of a slotted screwdriver into a special groove and wring out the mechanism.

If, when laying the cable in the channel made, it is not fixed, then special dowels must be purchased. They look like this: at one end there is a ring for the cable, at the other - a regular rod. Next, you need to drill several holes along the channel with a puncher and insert the specified dowels, fixing the cable with their help.

With open wiring, everything is much easier. A puncher is not needed. It is enough to lay the cable along the outer part of the wall and attach it with any improvised elements, for example, with the same dowels. But usually in this case, decorative boxes for electrical wiring are used. The latter are simply glued to the wall with double tape or mounted on self-tapping screws, and wires are laid in them, opening the lid. The rest of the process is exactly the same as described above.

Video: connecting a single-gang switch with indication

How to connect a switch from an outlet

In this case, you can save on electrical wires. The connection is made in the usual manner according to the scenario already described. However, the wires are not powered in the electrical box, but in the socket.

Video: connecting the switch from the outlet

How to connect three sockets and one switch from the box

Let's consider one more case. Suppose we need to power three sockets and one switch from the electrical junction box. Then it's best to do so.

The lighting cable is sometimes taken out of the box right away. Then two separate lines are obtained - one for sockets, the second for lighting. The switch is connected according to the original scheme described at the very beginning of the article.

Connecting a single-gang switch to two light bulbs

It is also possible to arrange a single-gang switch with two lamps. In this case, the lighting nodes are simply connected in parallel.

For example, the phase wire coming from the switch can be brought into a separate box. Inside its case, insert the end of this wire into a terminal block or other device for connecting wiring. And on the other side of such a contact group, two wires must be connected at the same time. These two phases should power both lamps.

Another option: both wires from lighting fixtures should be inserted into one switch output. The disadvantage is that one of the ends during operation may fall out of contact.

Video: how to connect a single-gang and two-gang switch

Usually a single-gang switch lasts a long time. If the key stops “clicking off”, then it is better to replace the assembly completely. Modern switches are difficult to repair. Most often, such a malfunction occurs: one of the wires falls out of contact. Then you need to pry off the key with a screwdriver, loosen the bolts that have opened, pull out the base, insert the contact into place and fix it. However, breakdowns are usually rare if equipment from well-known manufacturers is used.