Detailed Electrical Wiring Diagrams and Pictures assist your Home Electrical Projects.Īsk The Electrician Electrical Newsletters ArchiveĮlectrical Wiring Projects Electrical Code SearchĮlectrical Tips To Help You Wire it Right In response to the requests for this information, I have developed a comprehensive,step-by-step guide designed to walk you through the identification and wiring of your 3-way switches.ģ Way Switch Diagrams Fully Explained.It is true that there are several wiring configurations for wiring 3-way light switches, and all of the wiring configurations will depend on where the incoming circuit power is located and once that is identified the rest of the three way wiring connections are straight forward.Įasy to Understand 3 Way Switch Wiring Diagrams: 3 Way Switch Diagrams for Multiple Light Fixtures Materials: Make sure replacement 3-way light switches have the same amperage and voltage rating as the original three way light switch, and is the switch is fully compatible with the electrical circuit, the light fixture and the type of light bulbs being used. Notice: Installing additional 3-way switch wiring should be done according to local and national electrical codes with a permit and be inspected. Precaution: Identify the lighting circuit, turn it OFF and Tag it with a Note before working with the wiring. Tools Required: Basic Electricians Pouch Hand Tools and Voltage Tester.Įstimated Time: Depends on personal level experience and ability to work with tools. Preparation for Wiring 3-Way Light Switches Thanks for your electrical wiring question Buzz. This electrical wiring question came from: Buzz, a Homeowner from Westport Point, MA.Īdditional Comments: Great website – clear diagrams and good information. In both cases, the power originates at the first switch.Multiple lights between 2 3-way switches, with additional lights beyond the second switch.Multiple lights between 2 3-way switches.They are also available in the same types of switches: incandescent, fluorescent, LED, low voltage, and multiple load.Electrical Question: Could you please provide diagrams for: Like 3-way switches, these have on/off and dimming controls at the switch. Any device on the circuit can control the dimming, such as a Pico remote paired with a Smart Bridge or your smart phone, depending on your setup. These can be paired with a compatible dimmer switch, non-dimming 3-way switches, or smart-home systems and remotes. Unlike 3-way dimmer switches, which cannot support multiple dimmers on the circuit, multi-location dimmer switches allow for dimming controls in more than one location. For example, this type of dimmer switch may support CFL, halogen, incandescent, and LED or a combination of those. Multiple Load: Rated for use with more than one type of technology. Magnetic Low Voltage: Used for 12V and 24V light bulbs using a magnetic low-voltage transformer to step down the voltage. Other types of 3-way dimmer switches include:Įlectronic Low Voltage: Used for 12V and 24V light bulbs using an electronic low-voltage transformer to step down the voltage. Using LED lights with an incompatible incandescent/halogen or fluorescent dimmer may cause humming, incomplete dimming, a shortened lifespan, or other performance problems. When switching to LED, if buying from, you can check the dimmer compatibility PDF on each LED light bulb product page to make sure you won’t run into any problems. If you already have your lights on a circuit with a dimmer, new LED lights may not be compatible with an older dimmer. Types of 3-Way Dimmer Switchesĭifferent technology is needed to dim LED light bulbs than fluorescent or incandescent and halogen lights. Use the on-off toggle switch or push button that is part of the dimmer switch instead so that you don’t render the other switches useless. For this reason, you don’t want to dim the lights to off. The other light switches turn the lights off and on to the level set by the dimmer. In this setup, the light level is controlled from a single location, whichever light switch you replace with the dimmer switch. The other switches (you can have more than one) must be on-off switches only. When using a 3-way dimmer switch, you should only have one dimmer on the circuit. If you’re replacing two 3-way light switches at the top and bottom of a stairwell or at either end of a hallway, you might think you need two 3-way dimmer switches, but you actually only need one. Whether you need a 3-way dimmer switch or one compatible with multiple locations depends on how much control you want over light levels and from how many locations. If your lights are controlled from more than one switch, a single pole dimmer switch just won’t do.
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