![]() Find where to buy Switch Plates & Outlet Covers and get inspired with our curated ideas for Switch Plates & Outlet Covers to find the perfect item for every room in your home. With that in mind, painted ceramic or hammered tin could just as perfectly suit your walls as plain nickel, chrome, or bronze. Functionally, they serve as decorative frames to light switches and plugs. Unlike pulls, knobs, and other hardware pieces, switch plates and outlet covers are nearly wall decor items in themselves. It’s not necessary to perfectly match your switch plates with your frames and light fixtures, but make sure to take them into consideration when selecting the finish and style. Consistency and care are important, but so is personal expression. Why not choose something to cover your outlets worth looking at? Do my outlet covers need to match the finishes in my room? When choosing your switch plates and outlet covers, don’t feel like you need to limit yourself only to the finishes that you have used throughout your house already. Every time you walk in or out of a room or need to plug something in, your hand and eyes are drawn closer to these wall plates than many other features in the room. It’s the switch plates and outlet covers that tend to receive the most personal contact while in a space, whether you notice them or not. Plus, there are specialty switches that can control the speed of fans, along with their light components if they have them.The finishing touches to any room are like the cherry on top of a sundae - small in size compared to the rest of the space, but dramatic in effect and impact. Moreover, besides toggles and knobs, there are also touch switches that involve a flat touchpad that you push to control the electric current.įurthermore, some speciality switches are meant specifically for LED and CFL bulbs and often must be used if your fixture has dimmable energy-saving bulbs. Other switches also include an outlet to allow you an additional place to plug in electronics. Similarly, there are time-delay switches that will leave a light or appliance on for a preset amount of time after it’s turned on and then shut it off automatically. This is a good option for outside lights, allowing you to turn them on after dark even if you’re not home and turn them off right after sunrise to avoid wasting energy. For instance, some switches have timers that will turn on and off the light or appliance at the same time every day. There are several types of specialty switches that go beyond simply turning on and off a light or appliance. ![]() Best for: Meeting specific needs of a light or appliance. ![]() Be sure to buy a smart switch that's compatible with your hub or voice-automation system and the lights you need to control. Other smart switches do not require a neutral connection and instead connect to the internet wirelessly through a hub. Thus, it's possible that you will require a circuit upgrade to use these switches. While smart switches are usually simply swapped into the same location where a standard wall switch is located, most require a neutral wire connection because a small amount of current flow is necessary for their operation. Or they can be programmed to automatically turn lights or appliances on or off when you choose. Many modern smart switches, for example, can allow you to check on lights and turn them on or off with a smartphone app from anywhere you have an internet connection. The term smart switch refers to a new type of wall switch with internal circuitry that allows light fixtures or appliances to be controlled through one of several non-traditional means-such as by a voice assistant (such as Alexa) or by an internet app. Best for: Controlling a light fixture or appliance automatically or remotely.These switches are usually rated for 30 or 40 amps, rather than the 15 or 20 amps for standard single-pole wall switches.ĭouble-pole switches also have a green grounding screw for connecting the circuit's grounding wire. Compared to single-pole switches, double-pole switches are much less common in the home-it's possible you will have none at all if you don't have appliances that require one.īecause 240-volt circuits operate with two individual "hot" wires, these switches have four brass-colored screw terminals to allow control of both hot wires in the circuit-the incoming wires are attached to one set of screws, and the outgoing hot wires are attached to the other set of screws. ![]() But it can be found in some home wiring systems, where it is normally used to control 240-volt appliances, such as an electric furnace or air conditioner, an electric water heater, or a hot tub heater. The double-pole switch is commonly used in industrial applications. ![]() Best for: Controlling a 240-volt appliance or fixture from a single wall location.The Spruce Home Improvement Review Board. ![]()
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