Switch Loop
#1
11-26-09, 09:20 AM
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Switch Loop
For my own educational purposes I am trying to figure out why the last homeowners electrician went through the xtra work and wire for this switch loop.
I tore all the extra wire out about 30-40 feet!!ran 14-2 from power to switch.My swith leg 14-3 from fan innstalled a double box one for fan one for fan light ....easy.
Here is how old homeowner did it.Power from this J-box
Out of the above j-box to this switch
Then out of same j-box back over to this smaller j-box
The fan leg goes into this small box also
I am still learnig how to post pictures...........
I tore all the extra wire out about 30-40 feet!!ran 14-2 from power to switch.My swith leg 14-3 from fan innstalled a double box one for fan one for fan light ....easy.
Here is how old homeowner did it.Power from this J-box
Out of the above j-box to this switch
Then out of same j-box back over to this smaller j-box
The fan leg goes into this small box also
I am still learnig how to post pictures...........
#2
11-26-09, 11:40 AM
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Trying to figure out the "why" of how things are wired is a futile effort. There are different ways to wire the same circuit and still achieve the same result.
It pretty much comes down to "it seamed like a good idea at the time".
It pretty much comes down to "it seamed like a good idea at the time".
#3
11-26-09, 01:30 PM
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A well designed electrical system can mean a LOT more work.
For example in an office building with interior offices and no windows for light... You could wire the lighting on a different circuit from the outlets. Then if an outlet trips the breaker, the lighting remains on.
Or for the office lighting, you could use two circuits. Each opposing office is on alternating circuits. If the breaker trips for one set of lights, the office across the hall would be on a different circuit and there would still be light in the area.
Or maybe you place the hallway lighting on a different circuit than the offices. If a circuit for the lights in an office went out, there would still be lighting from the hallway.
And emergency lighting... Battery operated lighting in case all the electric power went out.
So lots of thinking may be involved with the design of lighting circuits.
Or what all is on one circuit. Sometimes you might want a "dedicated" outlet for something like a window air conditioner. In this case you would not want to tap into that outlet to power something else. Might need to run a long length of wire to find another circuit.
These things would be going through an electricians mind, not how it is going to look and using the shortest run so it looks nice. That would be secondary.
For example in an office building with interior offices and no windows for light... You could wire the lighting on a different circuit from the outlets. Then if an outlet trips the breaker, the lighting remains on.
Or for the office lighting, you could use two circuits. Each opposing office is on alternating circuits. If the breaker trips for one set of lights, the office across the hall would be on a different circuit and there would still be light in the area.
Or maybe you place the hallway lighting on a different circuit than the offices. If a circuit for the lights in an office went out, there would still be lighting from the hallway.
And emergency lighting... Battery operated lighting in case all the electric power went out.
So lots of thinking may be involved with the design of lighting circuits.
Or what all is on one circuit. Sometimes you might want a "dedicated" outlet for something like a window air conditioner. In this case you would not want to tap into that outlet to power something else. Might need to run a long length of wire to find another circuit.
These things would be going through an electricians mind, not how it is going to look and using the shortest run so it looks nice. That would be secondary.
