However, they can also be used as a safety shut-off for a residential appliance with a heavy load, such as a refrigerator or in a wet room-one with a hot tub, for example.Ī 3-way switch controls a single light fixture, device or appliance from two separate locations. A double light switch is a type of single pole switch that has two switches for controlling two light fixtures from a single location.ĭouble pole switches, on the other hand, are much more common in industrial settings and factories. One terminal connects to the incoming power source wire while the other serves as the outgoing hot wire that connects to the fixture. Most also have a grounding screw that connects to the circuit's ground wire. Single pole light switches have two brass terminal screws and a toggle labeled ON and OFF. They control one light fixture (or one electrical outlet) from a single location and are perfect for smaller rooms that don’t require many light sources. In fact, most switches in a typical home tend to be single pole. Single pole switches are the simplest and perhaps the most common among the various types of light switches. Single pole switches control one circuit and double pole circuits control two circuits.
The pole of a switch refers to the number of separate circuits that a switch can control. But before getting into specifics, it's important to understand what a pole is. There are several types of basic switches, two of which are the single pole switch and the double pole switch. Furthermore, in some countries prone to earthquakes (like Japan), switches tend to be oriented sideways to prevent them from being turned on or off by falling objects. For example, in the UK, Ireland, Australia and New Zealand, it’s the opposite down means ON and up means OFF. Interestingly, this is not necessarily the case in other countries. It was presumably designed this way as a built-in failsafe: physical effort is required to complete (i.e., "turn on") the circuit by overcoming gravity in order to flip the switch to the up position. In the United States, current electrical codes require that ON be designated by the up position and OFF be designated by the down position in order to prevent gravity from accidentally completing the circuit. When the toggle lever is switched to the OFF position, it breaks this circuit which, in turn, interrupts the flow of electricity and shuts the light off.
When the toggle lever is switched to the ON position, it completes a circuit, allowing electricity to flow from the switch to the light fixture. A simple switch is used to control electric lights and other electrical devices and appliances that are either hardwired or plugged into an electrical outlet. However, their basic function remains the same: they work by opening and closing an electrical current running from a building or a home’s electrical panel.
Once a pretty straightforward decision, light switches have evolved into a major home improvement category and feature a wide variety of designs and functionalities.
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