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Posted by Chris Lewis on April 25, 2007, 3:44 pm
>
> >> I have discovered that there are two ways to wire a switch for a light
> >> fixture.
> >> 1) pull two NM wires to the switch - one power the other goes to light
> >> fixture
> >> 2) pull one NM wire to the switch - two wires to the fixture , one
> >> from the switch (mark the white lead with black marker at the ends)
> >> and one from power source.
> > 1) is preferred for future flexibility. The main advantage to (2) is
> > that it sometimes makes whole house electrical jobs a bit cheaper, or
> > it can take advantage of existing wiring on a reno.
> Are both methods allowed by electrical code?
> All switches I have seen are wires using method 1.
Both methods are permitted. I've seen several DIY sources
expressing a strong preference for (2), which makes little
sense to me at all. I think they're just copying what they
see electricians doing tract houses do. It's a bit faster,
so it lets them do more jobs.
Method (2) may originally have been a carryover from knob & tube
days, where the hot wire tends to route between ceiling
fixtures with the outlets and switches tapped off it, and where
there was less concern about multiple circuits (ganged
switches on different circuits) being in the same box.
I _prefer_, and almost exclusively do method (1), but sometimes
(2) works out better with a reno.
I don't like marking wires either ;-)
--
Chris Lewis,
Age and Treachery will Triumph over Youth and Skill
It's not just anyone who gets a Starship Cruiser class named after them.
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