Today, in a modern home, it is quite rare to see a simple light bulb on a wire, the availability and the widest selection of various lighting devices do their job. The choice is sometimes confusing.
There is built-in dimmable lighting with remote control, there are motion sensors, in general, for every taste and color. With all the breadth of choice, one of the most popular solutions is the same two-switch chandelier.
Content
- Choosing a lamp
- Indoor wiring options
- Chandelier Connection Tools
- Installation work
- Safety and work rules
Often people prefer enjoy the services of an electrician, however, it is possible to do it on your own. The question of how to connect a chandelier to 2 switches can be easily solved by a person who knows how to at least hold a screwdriver in his hands!
Choosing a lamp
Purchase lighting fixture is the most important step in the future work. It is important to make your choice, relying not only on visual beauty luminaire and its original design, but also on the most important characteristics in general.
Before buying, you need to take into account a few more parameters of the room itself:
- Height of ceilings
- The method of fixing the luminaire itself
- Switch type
- Number of lamps in the light fixture
Given these basic indicators, you can start choosing. Usually in any store that sells lighting fixtures, you advise by the type of connection of this or that model, but it is better to understand these issues yourself before visiting the outlet.
If you have a chandelier in front of you, from which only two wires come out, then this device is designed for one switch, despite the fact that the number of sockets for lamps may be more than one. If you wish, you can remake and this option and decide how to connect the chandelier to a double switch.
If three wires come out of the selected model, then this is the option we need. Quite often there are chandeliers with a large number of wires (usually they are designed for more, than three lamps), but this should not be confusing, it is also possible to connect them to a two-button switch. The difference between chandeliers with more than three wires is that there is an opportunity to independently choose combinations of switching on lamps. How to assemble a chandelier can usually be shown by a sales assistant, or an assembly diagram will be included in the package.
Indoor wiring options
It is worth noting that home wiring has its own nuances. Differences are also possible here. The wires that go to the attachment point can be two, three and four conductors (or they can be separate wires).
In any of these combinations, there will be a so-called "neutral" wire. In a wiring diagram with four wires, one of them is used as a ground (usually such a scheme is used in modern new buildings). It most often has a yellow-green color (by the way, grounding can also be provided in the chandelier, and the wire most often in this case has the same color).
If the model does not provide for a ground connection, then the wire in the wall just needs to be insulated and not connected anywhere. In the case of two and three wires, one of them will be neutral, two (or one) others are called "phase".
Chandelier Connection Tools
You will also need an additional set of tools to connect the lighting fixture. Professional electricians who provide such services always have all the necessary accessories with them. But in the house of an ordinary person, when installing with your own hands, such a variety can be met quite rarely.
However, the set of necessary tools is simple and can be found in many:
- Indicator screwdriver;
- Phillips screwdriver;
- Pliers or side cutters;
- Insulating tape;
- Knife.
Installation work
Typically, lighting fixtures are attached to the ceiling with a hook. Accordingly, the owner (or master) had to very reliably fix it in the ceiling, since the chandelier has a rather large weight.
Getting started, the first thing to do is familiarize yourself with the device connection diagram. Then, using an indicator screwdriver, we find the neutral wire. To do this, use a screwdriver to alternately touch the bare wires of the wiring. The phase wires will turn on the screwdriver indicator, the wire that "does not light up" and will be zero.
Before connecting the chandelier, you need to remember important information: you can only connect copper and aluminum wires with the help of connecting pads, this is due to the fact that these metals are strongly oxidized among themselves, and this leads to poor contact and ultimately can lead to a short circuit and fire.
Another important point to remember is that you need to connect the lamp without polarity reversal. This term denotes incorrect wiring to the switch. The switch must open the phase wire. In the event that the zero is turned off, the current through the phase wires will approach the chandelier, which is fraught with an electric shock, and in addition, fluorescent lighting devices and diode lamps may glow dimly or flicker even when switched off position.
Next, you need to connect the wires in the chandelier itself. The three-arm (three-lamp luminaire) option implies the parallel connection of two groups of lamps. It should be borne in mind that in our market there are a lot of lighting devices in which the lamps are not interconnected in any way. You will have to do this yourself.
If you look at the individual socket of each lamp, you will see that two wires extend from it. On all sockets, one of the wires will be the same color, most often blue. To obtain two parallel connections, we group (connect) the lamp wires. After connecting the wires, we get three wire outputs. The five-arm version (chandelier for five lamps) of chandeliers is assembled in exactly the same way.
As for connecting wires to each other, there are several ways to do this:
- Soldering;
- Twisting;
- Connecting terminals (dies).
It is most practical to use terminals. But the most common scheme is, of course, twisting. Remember, the twist must be very well insulated with electrical tape. For stripping wires from insulation, you can use both a knife and side cutters. When stripping, be careful not to damage the wire itself. It must be handled very carefully.
We figured out the chandelier and the types of wiring. Now you need to decide what to do if the wiring is old and designed for two wires, but you need to connect a chandelier with a two-button switch. Actually, there is nothing terrible in this. There are a sufficient number of switches on the market designed for such a case. They have the same type of connection at the input from home wiring as a single switch. Correctly connecting it will help the circuit, which is most often indicated on the switch itself, and can also be attached separately.
It is absolutely not difficult to understand all the circuits, that the chandeliers, that the switch. The manufacturers make them as clear as possible. So that even a person without special education and experience can easily figure out all the intricacies of the work ahead.
You can also note this option, when the connection is made to a single switch of the chandelier with the principle of connection three-arm or five-arm, in this case all lamps of the lamp are connected to two wires and a circuit may be needed here simpler.
It should be noted that if both the chandelier and the wiring of the room provide for grounding, it must be connected, this will increase the safety of using the appliance.
Safety and work rules
In conclusion, a few words on safety when connecting a chandelier with a two-button switch. After the neutral wire has been determined, it is necessary to turn off all the fuses at the entrance to the room in order to completely de-energize it. Work on the installation of the luminaire should be carried out only with the power supply disconnected. Also remember that it is important to connect the wires securely without damage using high-quality electrical tape. It is also very important to do each step carefully and deliberately, not to rush and not deviate from the above recommendations.
Subject to 3 simple rules: power outage during work, use of quality materials, caution. You will avoid accidents, and the newly installed chandelier will delight you for many years with its appearance and good work!
