adding an electrical receptacle to a switch box

Posted by on November 25, 2005, 9:27 pm

I'm a homeowner - not a pro. But, I've added fixtures, run new wire,
installed switches and receptacles, etc. With a lot of topics, I still
need "Home improvement for Dummies!"

I want to add a receptacle on the wall right next to an existing
switch. The switch has a hot line coming down to it from the power
supply of the fixture it controls. It interrupts that hot line, and
when turned on, sends current to the fixture. So, all that's in the
box is two wires: the hot line coming down, and the line that becomes
hot when the switch is on. There's no neutral wire or ground wire.
To put a receptacle in, I normally would have to snake a romex cable
down to the spot I want, and then install the black and white wires to
the correct screws. It would be so much easier if I could use the
existing electric source which comes to this switch. I wouldn't have
to snake any new wires. I would like to just replace my single switch
box, with a double box - screw the switch in and screw the receptacle
in.
But, can I wire the receptacle from the power that comes from that
switch? I've never done a receptacle without a neutral wire going on
the silver screw.
Can it be done? Is there a legal (code) way?
Please help!!
Thanks

Posted by Robert Barr on November 25, 2005, 9:37 pm

> But, can I wire the receptacle from the power that comes from that
> switch?

No. For it to work at all, you'll need a neutral. To do it right,
you'll need a ground as well.

Posted by JJ on November 25, 2005, 9:56 pm

mancini-j-l@mindspring.com wrote in

> I'm a homeowner - not a pro. But, I've added fixtures, run new wire,
> installed switches and receptacles, etc. With a lot of topics, I
> still need "Home improvement for Dummies!"
>
> I want to add a receptacle on the wall right next to an existing
> switch. The switch has a hot line coming down to it from the power
> supply of the fixture it controls. It interrupts that hot line, and
> when turned on, sends current to the fixture. So, all that's in the
> box is two wires: the hot line coming down, and the line that becomes
> hot when the switch is on. There's no neutral wire or ground wire.
> To put a receptacle in, I normally would have to snake a romex cable
> down to the spot I want, and then install the black and white wires to
> the correct screws. It would be so much easier if I could use the
> existing electric source which comes to this switch. I wouldn't have
> to snake any new wires. I would like to just replace my single switch
> box, with a double box - screw the switch in and screw the receptacle
> in.
> But, can I wire the receptacle from the power that comes from that
> switch? I've never done a receptacle without a neutral wire going on
> the silver screw.
> Can it be done? Is there a legal (code) way?
> Please help!!
> Thanks

Nope. you'll need a neutral. It would be easier to replace the switch
with a combination switch & outlet.

Posted by SQLit on November 25, 2005, 10:26 pm

> I'm a homeowner - not a pro. But, I've added fixtures, run new wire,
> installed switches and receptacles, etc. With a lot of topics, I still
> need "Home improvement for Dummies!"
> I want to add a receptacle on the wall right next to an existing
> switch. The switch has a hot line coming down to it from the power
> supply of the fixture it controls. It interrupts that hot line, and
> when turned on, sends current to the fixture. So, all that's in the
> box is two wires: the hot line coming down, and the line that becomes
> hot when the switch is on. There's no neutral wire or ground wire.
> To put a receptacle in, I normally would have to snake a romex cable
> down to the spot I want, and then install the black and white wires to
> the correct screws. It would be so much easier if I could use the
> existing electric source which comes to this switch. I wouldn't have
> to snake any new wires. I would like to just replace my single switch
> box, with a double box - screw the switch in and screw the receptacle
> in.
> But, can I wire the receptacle from the power that comes from that
> switch? I've never done a receptacle without a neutral wire going on
> the silver screw.
> Can it be done? Is there a legal (code) way?
> Please help!!
> Thanks

Romex or BX before ground wires would have one cable with two wires to a
switch. Which would mean the light is fed hot. or not.
Sounds an awful lot like a bathroom and you need a ground and a gfci out let
for that installation.

Time to fish a hot cable for the outlet you want to install.

Posted by Steve Kraus on November 26, 2005, 10:43 am

Is it a conduit installation? If so it should be fairly easy to fish a
neutral wire to this box.

If there is just a single pipe bringing the hot and switched hot from some
other junction box then if you find your way back to that box then that is
where there will probably be a neutral heading directly to the fixture
without taking the detour to the switch. If it's a connection point of
several neutrals wire nutted you can just add your white wire that you fish
down to your new outlet. If it passes by uninterrupted then you would cut
it and wire nut your new wire to the existing two (the two ends created
when you cut it). Make sure there is sufficient slack to do this.

If the hot comes in via one conduit and switched hot leaves via another,
again you would want to check the prior box where the hot is coming from
and bring a neutral in from there. That would be ideal. If in the
unlikely event there's no neutral there and somehow they have gotten
neutral to the fixture by some other route then you would have to get your
neutral at the fixture junction box and run it down the pipe conveying the
switched hot from the switch.

Either way as long as the runs aren't too long it should not be too
difficult to get the neutral through. With conduit the pipes themselves
form the ground connection.

If no conduit then you should just do the 3 wire Romex installation you are
used to doing. If you have to fish something through the wall it might as
well be 3 wire (hot/neutral/ground) Romex; no point in trying to take
advantage of the adjacent existing hot.

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