One of the favorite topics that people tend to enjoy a lot in this decade has to be life hacks. Being smart with certain things, living life a bit easier, and fixing matters in a not-so-usual way can also be applicable with home electrical needs.
However, if it’s for the sake of losing safety, then definitely there’s nothing to enjoy. In fact, it becomes worrying and you should avoid such routes at all cost. However, we won’t be talking about any weird or less practical stuff today.
What we will be discussing is actually very helpful when you want to have the freedom of controlling an outdoor light from the inside of your house. The switch that resides inside of your house will be fixed to light outside. And to accomplish that you need to know how to wire an outside light to an indoor switch.
Here’s the Whole Thing on How to Wire an Outside Light to an Indoor Switch Easily
Depending on the light you have outside your home, this process however may or not work. But for most cases it does. Today everyone is looking for techs that are time-saving and also life easing. One great example is the smart light switch. Or maybe you have heard about smart plugs. Now some may want to stick with LED recessed lights. Everyone has something different to ask for and so, obviously the choice of light varies. Anyway, let’s get into the whole matter below.
Gather a Few Things for The Process.
- A few wires nut.
- Cutter or strippers for cutting wire.
- A wall switches.
- 2-condutor in-wall wring.
- A screwdriver.
The Wiring Process
Start by turning the main power off. You need to work at the breaker box for this. Focus on the circuit that is responsible for powering light and switch combination you’re dealing with. Now you need to do some routing of the 2-conductor electrical wire. It should go from the outside light’s location. And this will meet the switch’s location.
If you are working in a new construction area, then this process will seem easier for unfinished stud walls situation. As with completed rooms, the routing behind walls of wire can be a bit hard to do. Here you need to be careful when trying to push wires into the wall’s opening. This is for the spot that’s going to hold a switch or maybe opening of outside light. You also want to be cautious with getting rated in-wall wires for this task.
Next, you need to work on half-inch insulation from the leads of each end. You want to strip these from electrical wire using a wire cutter. Move onto the switch end then. On each wire end, make a hoop-like shape.
On the light switch’s side, you should find a screw terminal. Loosen it up. Around the screw’s top, you want to loop one wire. This is the spot of a switch when it’s in ON position. Use a screwdriver to tighten the screw next.
Then you want to note the wires coming out of circuit breaker. Use one of these two to connect with the other screw. The leftover two wires need to twist together at this point. One of these two wires comes from a circuit breaker and the other is going towards the light. Use a wire nut and let the wires twist together in it.
The Light end’s wire needs to connect with white wiring of light. Twist them together and put them inside a wire nut for attaching. For the other wire, you want to take light’s black wire and twist them together. Use a wire nut here as well.
And there you go! The outside light now is wired to an interior switch of your house. You can turn the main power on. Test if everything is working just fine.
Wrap Up
And that was how to wire an outside light to an indoor switch. It sounds easier but if you’ve never done such electrical projects before, it’s best to extra careful. You also want to avoid working in a live electrical circuit.
Outdoor lightings can be there for so many reasons. To witness the intruder walking in dark or simply because you love decorating outside space. Whatever your reason is, the main part to focus on will be overall installation.
This project is one of the basic wiring stuffs you can ever think of. So, don’t worry about messing up. I’m sure with a little time and carefulness, you’ll be able to do this.
I’m James. The author of Electricalaffairs.com. It’s been my passion to deal with power tools and gears. This website is mainly to talk about electrical wirings, lighting, various power source tools and accessories. I want to explore tackles and help people to grow their basic knowledge about electrical things. I would also like to help people to pick the right power tool for their daily needs.