Add Power Outlet To Light Switch

Turn off the power to the switch box remove the switch plate and unscrew the switch so you can examine the wires.

Add power outlet to light switch. The problem is when the power comes to the switch and then from the switch to the light outlet or lights and only on a 2 wire cable. Terry peterman the internet electrician. Before you tackle any part of this project turn off the power to the circuit at the main electrical panel by switching off the breaker or removing the fuse. Hook up the outlet as you normally would.

In this case you must change the cable from the switch to the light outlet from a 2 wire to a 3 wire cable. How to properly add wire a usa north american grounded electrical receptacle outlet from a wall light switch single pole 3 way. How switch wiring can be used for receptacle outlets. Thanks for the questions.

Switched outlets can be very useful when you want to coordinate lighting throughout the room to a single switch or dimmer on the wall. Before touching any bare wires or terminals on a switch or outlet use a voltage tester on all the wires to make sure the power is off. If power is coming into the switch box from the panel and you want to connect an outlet to the switch your first option is to wire the receptacle to always be on. The first thing you need to do is distinguish the line cable coming from the panel from the load cable which is the one going to the light fixture.

You then splice all the white wires and all the ground wires in the switch box together. If you know which breaker in your electrical panel serves that circuit then switch it off. To add an outlet to a light switch you start by making a pigtail using the hot wire the wire going to the fixture controlled by the switch and a third length of wire. Wiring from an existing power source like a light fixture makes sense in these cases you already know where to tap into the power and it makes it easy to add a switched outlet into your house.

Adding an outlet from a light switch is easy and it takes just a few dollars and a couple hours to do. Adding an grounded outlet will require a neutral wire a hot wire and a ground wire. You can then add the new black wire to the black the white to the white and the ground to the ground wires. If there s a pair of neutral white wires that aren t connected to the switch you re in luck see photo.

If the power comes to the switch outlet box first and then to the light fixture you could add a receptacle from the switch box in that situation. Adding a hot receptacle to a 3 way switch.