Two way light switch with a difference!!!

[kkkkk]

I would be very interested to have everyone's comments on the safety aspects of this........

I have found a light switch in a commercial building which is wired up so that when it is in the "on" position, it switches a light on to be used in the day, but when it is in the "off" position it causes another light to be switched on to stay on all night (which is a low powered light). Therefore the switch is not an isolator, in either position there is a light switched on.

This has been wired this way intentionally.

Any comments?!!!

:90:

 

[ste77]

Correct the switch isnt an isolator. But neither is it meant to be. Is it a two way switch or a one way? By this i mean are there other switches that switch the same lights?

 

[Adam W]

Sounds sensible to me - leave it to the staff of the commercial building and they'd probably turn all the lights off before they left, like they would at home.

 

[kkkkk]

It is a one gang probably two way switch (haven't looked inside - not really my business). There are no other switches that switch the same lights.

 

[telectrix]

or could it be a cheap way of de-powering an emergency light which then runs on battery?

 

[ste77]

Theyve used a two way switch to operate two lights, one probably being a police light so there is some form of lighting in the building for people coming in to work early/ leaving late. Normally police lights are hard wired to prevent being switched off but this is another method

 

[kkkkk]

Nope, just ordinary switch, ordinary lights - whether "on" or "off", one or other light is on

 

[MDJ]

sounds quite a well thought out wiring system, I have done a similar thing myself actually with a 2 way switch and a door entry system in the past where one way the switch energises a door release in a room, but when kids are in the room the switch is put the other way up and allows the door release to work from a different room to stop the kids messing about with the door controls, the lights here have been designed to work that way with a well thought out intention actually working by the sound of things.

 

[Lighthouse Phil]

Seen this type of switching in pubs and off licenses,,,its a "police light", so that theres a small bit of light inside the building during the dark hours so police can see in and make sure all is ok...

 

[Elmer BeFuddled]

Did something similar on the mini mansion we were wiring recently.

2G switch for O/S floods, Sw1 switched off or fed Sw2. Sw2 fed Floods on or PIR sensor on. Switches were labelled!

 

[Carnegstar]

This thread reminds me of a Programmer I connected to control lighting contactors in a shop. When it switched OFF, it then fed a PIR motion sensor which would bring on the lights for staff or managers visiting after work hours.

It was a great pleasure to connect and test this :biggrin5:

 

[kkkkk]

Well thanks everyone - I feel a bit uneasy about this, I'm used to switches that switch on and off, not on and on!!!!!
But I can't argue with your higher experience and knowledge, so maybe I'll try wiring one in myself!!!!!! (Not literally "in myself"!!!):17:
I'm totally surprised, as I thought everyone would tell me it was unacceptable, and against the regulations.
Thanks again to all of you
:29::29:

 

[HandySparks]

Provided it's properly thought out and safe, there are a lot of "non standard" things you can do with electrics. For example, I have a flow switch in the water pipe to the shower. It triggers a timer which supplies the extractor fan. The fan then runs during a shower and for 30 minutes after, to clear the condensation. It's not one of the usual ways of controlling a fan, but it suits me and is perfectly safe.

 

[kkkkk]

I'd be very interested to hear how that works - sounds quite technical to me

 

[Carnegstar]

For example, I have a flow switch in the water pipe to the shower. It triggers a timer which supplies the extractor fan. The fan then runs during a shower and for 30 minutes after, to clear the condensation. It's not one of the usual ways of controlling a fan, but it suits me and is perfectly safe.

This same system also has a flow sensor/dump valve actuator to switch on the fan during number two time