When you move into a home, you decide how each room will be utilized. A spare bedroom may be turned into an office, or the sunroom may be used for your kids’ homework nook. Depending on how the house was designed, you may find that you need more outlets – or that light switches are in the wrong place. If you’ve lived in the home for a while and have determined that you need to change the configuration of your switches and outlets, you should call a licensed electrician for assistance.
Can a Light Switch Be Converted?
In some cases, you may want to convert a light switch to an electrical outlet. However, outlets and light switches were configured to perform different functions, and the wiring is different as well. It is not as simple as switching out the external plates.
Many people think that if they aren’t using a light switch, they can just replace it with an outlet that would better serve their purposes. But although the existing light switch might not be in use, you may need it in the future. The good news is that you don’t have to decide between the two options – you can opt to wire the switch for both functions. A professional electrician can configure the outlet so that the switch controls it, or the outlet can be installed to work independently of the switch.
Anything project involving electrical wiring should not be considered a DIY endeavor. The potential danger of working with electricity and wiring an outlet improperly is not worth the risks. This is the basic procedure your licensed electrician will follow should you choose to convert your light switches.
- The electrician will identify which circuit the switch is on and turn off the power supply to avoid electrocution.
- They will remove the switch from the wall and label the wires. Red and black wires are live wires, and a white wire is neutral – but there is a possibility that other colors were used when the switch was installed.
- Next, they will connect the wires to the proper outlet terminals. All wires must be attached properly for the switch to work.
Potential Problems
Electricity is one of those things that we rarely think about, but we sorely miss it if we don’t have it. If wiring is done incorrectly, your service could suffer or, worse, cause a safety hazard for you and your family. While we encourage anyone to call us if they want to change out their light switches and outlets, we would be remiss if we didn’t point out any potential issues you could run into if you decide to DIY it.
- Your combination light switch/outlet won’t be on all the time: If the fixture is not properly wired, you’ll have an outlet that only turns on with the switch – which could be frustrating and defeat the original purpose of changing over to an outlet.
- The switch was incorrectly wired: If you are unfamiliar with wiring, you may think you can just replicate how the previous fixture was connected. But if the switch was incorrectly wired initially, you might just reproduce the faulty wiring.
- The hot wires and the neutral wire might be mistakenly switched: This is one of the more dangerous consequences of doing a project on your own. When you replace a light switch with an outlet and don’t connect the wires correctly, you can cause the fixture to generate shocks.
Promise Electric is one of Sarasota’s most trusted electrical services companies. Call today for assistance with any home projects.
