Comments by "Jovet" (@jovetj) on "Single Pole Switch Lighting Circuits - How to wire a light switch" video.

  1. The first scenario provides a neutral in the switch box by default. That isn't what the Code change was designed to address. The Code change addresses the second scenario, where no neutral is sent to the switch box because the black and white wires are a switch loop to control the light. The third scenario shows how it shall now be done, according to Code, with a neutral wire in the switch box even if it is not used at installation.
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  2. If the two-wire cable was installed when the building was built, it will be anchored in too many places and will be impossible to do what you are suggesting. But, it is possible to run a new 3-wire cable and remove the 2-wire cable from service.
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  3. Get your thinking straight. A white wire is a neutral OR a hot/phase. It cannot be both. By default, white means neutral. If it's reassigned to be a "hot" wire then that's when it gets the black marking. This has been done for decades because it's cheaper. But it is no longer allowed in new installations except in specific circumstances, because future-proofing.
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  4.  @alimohammad7799  If the switch is in the neutral? It's against code to wire a switch into a neutral wire. So, don't do that.
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  5. It doesn't matter.
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  6. In the third example, it's better to use Black for sending power to the switch loop, and red for the switched hot after the switch.
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  7. There are three versions because sometimes it's convenient to route the power from the service panel to the switch and then to the light... and sometimes it's more convenient to route the power from the panel to the light and then to the switch. For going to the light first, the second version is no longer legal, but is still perfectly safe. The third version is the way it should be done now, to comply with Code.
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  8. It's not very bad nor dangerous, and certainly not crazy. It's inconvenient sometimes, that's all.
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  9. Hard to tell why. If you're not careful, when installing the switch into the box, the bare ground wire can come into contact with one of the switch terminals, causing a short circuit. If there is more than one cable entering the box, then the white wire you connected may actually be a neutral wire, not a hot wire. (Was it marked with any black, as shown in this video, like it's supposd to be?)
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  10. Electrical code requirement. Futureproofing for potential "smart" devices in-wall.
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  11. It isn't a popularity contest. It's a function of practicality and economy. Cable and wire are expensive, and installing it takes time, so you want the shortest, most-efficient runs possible. The physical layout of the structure and the electrical device locations to meet that goal are how the method is chosen in a given situation.
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  12. https://youtu.be/opoEswRp_jg
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  13. @Raymond Ray There's nothing wrong with circuit #2 shown in the video. The reason it's now illegal is because of the pain of adding a neutral to the switch box if it's needed in the future.  @jonburhan5478  Always turn off the power. It's sorta like looking both ways before crossing the street.
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  14. It's future-proofing for smart devices that is now required by Code. Just because it's not required at construction doesn't mean it won't be needed later.
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  15. Not legal.
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  16. 240V circuits are just like 120V circuits, except there are "two hots". Either hot and the neutral make 120 volts. But the two hots connected to something without the neutral make 240V. You only need the two hots for a 240V device, like a water heater. You need the two hots and the neutral for a 240V/120V device (it uses both voltages), like a clothes dryer or an electric range.
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  17. It's not complicated. It's exactly the same as the second way, except that the neutral wire that stops in the light box in the second example also goes down to the switch box, even if it's not being used yet. It may be needed later.
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  18. Yes, it's not legal for most new residential installations. Using 14-3 is the solution, as shown in the last example on this video.
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  19. No connection guide should be needed. 2-way switches are as basic as they get.
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  20. @philip duffy That depends. If you want a wall switch for each the light and the fan, then yes, you could do that: send the power down one of the wires, and then send the switched power back on the other two. But, if you only want the light switched, especially if you want to use a pull chain on the fan for the fan control, it's easy to send the fan constant power from its box, and control the light with the existing circuit and switch.
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  21. If there are only two non-green screws on the switch, then 1) turn the power off 2) remove cover from the switch and switch from the wall 3) remove the two wires and use a wire-nut to tie them together. 4) put the switch and cover back together.
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  22. What? Edit: The wires shown running alongside each other are in the same cable bundle or conduit. It's not rocket science.
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  23. It depends on the routing of the cables. The usual goal is to save money with the shortest cable runs possible. Having the power feed cable to an extra 20+ feet to get to a switch and back is going to cost extra money and installation time.
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  24. No you're not. The second example is no longer up to code!
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  25.  @jonburhan5478  You now have to run a neutral to the switch box, even if it's not currenetly used. Three-conductor cable is needed. The switch loop is carried on the black and red wires.
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  26.  @jonburhan5478  2011, I believe. 404.2(c).
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  27. The switch is always electrically ahead of the light in the circuit. But it doesn't have to be first as far as the routing of the conductors. The difference is the routing of the conductors, but the circuit architecture is the same.
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  28. Because basic non-metallic cable has two conductors: black and white. They don't make black-black cable, and if they did, it would just be an added expense to keep around for that ONE thing.
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  29. The wires shown running along next to each other are in the same run. They can be in the same cable or the same conduit. Just one switch for that light? Hmmmm
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  30. If you have an unswitched hot, and a neutral and ground, then yes you can stick an outlet there.
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  31. Electrical setups are basically the same everywhere. It's just the voltages and specifics of equipment that differ. Switches in any country work exactly this way. Just the wiring colors will be different.
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  32. If both switches are controlling the lights, then they must be 3-way switches. Power comes from the fuse or breaker panel, and goes into the special-colored common terminal of the first switch. There the power goes to one of the two traveler wires, which are the other two same-color terminals on the switch. The travelers go to the other switch "in reverse" of the first. The common terminal of the second switch is switched output, which goes to all of the lights. The lights are wired in parallel with each other—the switched hot wire splits to all three hots on the lights.
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  33. If you have black, red, and white wires between the fan and the switch, you can control both from the wall. Take the back wire at the fan going to the switch and connect it to the black wire from the breaker panel. At the switch, feed that black into both the fan and light controls. The output of the fan control can go onto the red wire, and the output of the light control can go onto the white wire marked black. At the fan box, connect the red and white-marked-black wires from the switch to the appropriate hot wires of the fan. Connect the white neutral from the panel to the neutral(s) of the fan/light. Note that there will not be a neutral in the switch box, but it will work with a regular switch. To install a smart device as the switch device, you'll have to install one that does not require a neutral.
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  34. I'm not a bonafide expert, but that sounds like how I'd do it in your situation.
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  35. Yes, electrician messed up. The code was changed in 2011 to prevent this exact scenario. You will have to find a smart switch that does not require a neutral.
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  36. It should be obvious the switch has only two terminals. If this is confusing, then they should leave into someone qualified and knowledgeable. This stuff isn't rocket science, so if it doesn't click pretty quickly, best leave it to others.
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  37. KaibabaCorp HQ The white wire is now required to be a neutral in the switch box per Code. This is to ensure future-proofing, as more and more "Smart" devices are being installed in walls to replace traditional switches. Those Smart devices need their own power, which requires a neutral connection (just like the light bulb does). The second demo in this video is now illegal in new installations, but is still perfectly safe and works fine, unless you need to install a Smart switch. The first demo in this video has the neutral in the box with the switch, so there is no problem there.
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  38. It sounds like a switch that can be used as a "two way" switch (like in this video) or a three-way switch. A neutral is required, so that smart switch would only work in the first or third scenarios shown in the video here.
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  39.  @Air-buds  You probably want to wire the fan's hot wire to the hot wire entering the box from the panel. It will also go out to the switch. Once it comes back from the switch, that wire can be connected to the "light" hot wire (which is often blue, but check the instructions). This wiring will cause the fan to be controlled only from the pull chain, and the light controlled from the switch.
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  40. I'm no pro, but if I understand your question, then any listed lighting device for 120VAC should be fine. The most common listing agency in the U.S. is Underwriter's Laboratories (UL), but there are others.
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  41. Yup!
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  42. Yes. The fan is generally wired directly to the incoming hot so that it's controlled by its pull chain only. The hot also goes to the switch and back and is wired to the light only so that the light can be switched from the wall.
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  43. The terminals on the switch don't matter. I think it's more logical to have the black wire be the always hot, and the white-marked-black wire be the switched hot.
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  44.  @kurtrowland5587  Oops. Not a typo (which is a simple mispelling). I just didn't read what I wrote before posting it. :) Corrected.
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  45. You could, sure. Or even any other "hot" color (e.g. red, blue, etc.). The problem is that most of the wiring in a residence is done with non-metallic-sheathed cable. You can't get cable with an extra "black" wire in it. You can get cable with an additional red wire in it. But, both solutions are more expensive, so they were avoided. Current codes would require three-conductor (black, red, white, with ground) cable to be ran to that last switch so there is a neutral in the box, however; the "light first" wiring method shown in the video is not legal for new installations.
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  46.  @sdufg  Which country are you in...?
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  47. It's future-proofing for smart devices that is now required by Code. Just because it's not required at construction doesn't mean it won't be needed later.
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  48. Dimmer switches are exactly like regular switches, they just can dim. It can get more complicated if there is more than one switch controlling the light, or if you want to install "smart" switches that can be controlled over WiFi.
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  49. The reason is that the cable is cut. Unless you're running individual wires in a conduit, it's bad practice to try and loop a single cable through a switch box and only interrupt one of the wires. It's also takes more time to install. Just cut the cable, leave an appropriate length of each run in the box, and wire-nut the neutrals together.
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  50. Probably, yes. I know it's pedantic but let's get definitions down: – wire = a lone conductor, usually a flexible metal with an insulator over it. – cable = a bundle of multiple wires in a single jacket. You would have to keep the outlet box, but you could move it anywhere that can be reached by the existing cable, and positioned for convenience as the switch. The switch would go in that relocated box, and a new cable would be ran to the new box for light light figure. It would be just like first diagram, at 1:45, and you'd just need to add the cable between the switch and light, and the light box. If you're not completely confident with understanding what you're doing, have someone who knows what they're doing do it.
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  51.  @misternormL  It's a new electrical code requirement to future-proof for smart switches in the wall. I talked more about it in another comment here.
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  52. Most of the time, all the wires are "ran" a the same time because the cable has them all!
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  53. You understand electricity is cool, so you're good.
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  54. Just because that neutral white wire isn't needed at installation doesn't mean it won't be needed later. See the comment right above yours.
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  55. What do you mean "after the light"? You could replace the light with a fan/light combination, yes. The fan can be controlled locally with a pull-chain, and the light can be controlled with the switch. To have both the fan and light controlled from the wall will require new cable in the wall if there are only two wires in the cable now.
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  56.  @nmarmz  If you want the one switch to turn on both the light and the fan, then yes, that would be very simple to do.... but not very convenient to use. Most of the time, you want the fan and the light to be independent. And there's nothing wrong with pull-chains and they don't look "80s" LOL
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  57. What do you mean "first neutral"? The neutral in the first diagram at about 1:45? It's coming from the panel, just like the hot is.
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