毎日の家の革新はひっくり返る

Where to place the light switch for the ceiling light (s) of a room?

Yes, this is not one of those questions which keeps one up at night.

However, the correct answer to this seemingly simple question is frequently ignored.

The answer?

On the inside of the room, not on a wall outside of the room.

Why then do electricians time after time insist on placing wall switches outside of the room? Because it is easier sometimes for them to install the wall switch on the outside wall of the room.

Take our bedroom. We converted the adjacent bedroom in to part walk-in / walk-through his and hers closets and part en suite. I am the first to get up most mornings, usually before the sun comes up. My routine is to go from the bedroom through the walk-through to the en suite.

There are two ceiling lights in the walk-through closets, one on ‘his’ side and one on ‘her’ side. Where is the wall switch controlling the ceiling lights for the walk-through closets? Why in the bedroom of course.

So, if I want to be able to see clearly the clothes I select in the morning, I have to either turn on the ceiling lights in the walk-through closet using the light switch in the bedroom which will cause light to go into bedroom and wake up a certain someone from their slumber or I have to keep the lights on in the en suite which give only partial indirect light to the closet.

If the wall switch was inside the closet, I could keep the door between the bedroom and the closet closed when I turn the light on, causing no light from the closet to go into the bedroom.

Such a simple thing, but over time it can be really important.