It is still November, so it is still without effort.
That sound?
The heat’s running.
I didn’t shut it off!
It’ll turn off eventually, but for now?
White noise!
Before the video starts, fair warning: snark levels are pretty high in this one.
Uh, even I think I may have gone a little far here but, um,
y’know I’m just trying to make the world a better place in my…
admittedly over-the-top frustrated way.
Anyway, c’mon let’s go.
So there’s this thing we do here in the US with outlets:
we sometimes put ‘em on a light switch.
And this annoys the crap out of some folks.
I have a simple goal today: to explain what this is for (because a good number of people seemingly haven’t figured it out)
and to encourage you to take advantage of it which will, if done properly, also alleviate your frustration and confusion.
Speaking of confusion, I don’t mean that some of our outlets have switches on them
like you might find in the UK or Australia or probably some other places.
That’s essentially never a thing here, and when it is it’s definitely a weird special case.
I was gonna go on a rant here for like the third time
about how this isn’t an issue at all and I don’t get why those of you think an outlet needs a switch,
especially when you think it adds a layer of safety because the switch is right next to the plug
which you can also just take out if there’s an emergency but I decided against it.
Except for that bit.
*clears throat* No, what I mean is that in many homes (and even hotel rooms)
you will sometimes find an outlet which is dead.
But it’s not permanently dead, instead it’s been wired to a light switch somewhere else in the room.
Why is that?
Because lamps are a thing!
And if you plug a lamp into that outlet which is controlled with the light switch,
suddenly the light switch… becomes a light switch.
As in a switch which turns on a light.
See, unlike some places, we don’t do the whole “lighting circuit” and “receptacle circuit” business.
Well OK we usually separate them these days so a breaker trip due to an overloaded outlet won’t kill the lights in the room but
what I mean is that a light switch is rated to interrupt the whole 15A of a typical circuit, and 20A switches are plenty common, too.
That means that we can use them as a switch for literally anything powered by a 120V circuit.
So we sometimes use them to interrupt power to a specific receptacle or receptacles in a room
in order to provide a remote control for a lamp or lamps.
That’s the point of it!
It’s not just to be confusing, it’s to provide a remote control for a lamp.
Trouble is, this isn’t always done in the best way.
But before we get there, some context.
When electrification was just getting started,
its killer app was the light bulb.
Snap-on electric lights meant no more kerosene, no more gas, and people were excited to have them.
Low-effort lighting was *the point* of getting electrical service,
and in fact in some places you’ll still hear people refer to their “light bill” and not their power bill.
The earliest adopters of these newfangled electric lights were getting wires run to each room for a light socket,
often hanging from the ceiling, with a switch by the door for controlling it.
And that was it.
The idea of a receptacle for powering other things just… didn’t exist yet.
The Edison screw socket predates the receptacle by a couple of decades.
But we would swiftly find other uses for this electricity business.
Perhaps the first ever dongle was an adapter for converting an Edison screw socket
into a two-pronged, flat-blade receptacle which received a matching plug - the brainchild of Harvey Hubbell in 1903.
Hubbell’s plug design would eventually be standardized
and now we had an opportunity to put these so-called outlets in wherever places in whatever rooms for whatever stuff.
And one of those stuffs... was lamp!
Yearning for the calm glow and versatility of moveable lamps once again,
well the trends shifted away from drab overhead lighting and towards floor and table lamps which you could place wherever you like.
But people did really like those light switches which let you brighten a room as you entered it.
So somebody asked
¿Por que no las dos?
and the switched outlet was born.
Instead of running power from a switch to a light fixture overhead, it went instead to an outlet somewhere in the room.
Just plug your lamp into that one and you’ll have the best of both worlds.
This was such a common thing that many homes built in the middle of the last century have rooms with no light fixtures at all,
but a light switch by the door is still there to control lamps from a distance.
But now, as trends have steadily moved back towards overhead lighting, many people seem to hate this idea with a passion.
Now, when this is implemented poorly, displeasure with the concept is understandable.
And implementation is poor with distressing frequency.
For instance, did you know that duplex receptacles can be split into two halves?
In my home, every receptacle location with a switched outlet has one side of it hot-at-all-times.
This is done by breaking this little tab on the receptacle.
Then, two hot wires are run to the box: one going through the light switch by the door, and the other coming straight from the electrical panel.
We can now wire the switched hot to one side, and the always-hot to the other side of the same outlet.
So now you can plug a lamp into the switched side and use the other half for your phone charger or whatever.
You could even use a splitter like this and still plug two things into the other side.
But you might have an outlet where both halves are switched at the same time.
Nice if you happen to want two lamps plugged in at that location, but annoying in literally all other cases.
If you’re stuck with an outlet like that in an otherwise really convenient location, I get why you would be bothered.
But when it’s done right, this is actually a very nice thing to have.
To possibly convince you, I’d like to walk you through some options at your disposal.
First of all, if you’re annoyed by an outlet like this in your home
because you keep forgetting it’s on a switch and so plug stuff into it only to find out that it’s dead,
or worse plug important things into it which you accidentally switch off,
here’s an easy way to fix that:
Go to store.
Or website!
Obtain lamp.
Plug lamp into outlet.
Now outlet has lamp in it.
Leave lamp switched on.
Now light switch does thing!
Leave lamp plugged in all the time…
confusion over.
The heat switched off.
Seriously. If you don’t truly need that outlet for anything else,
try using it for what it’s for!
A lamp!
There are tons of inexpensive floor lamps and table lamps out there, plenty of which are sleek and don’t take up much space at all.
Next time you need meatballs swing by the lighting department and a whole $10 will get you this thing.
Or check out your local thrift store for some cheap and often groovy fare.
I think you will be surprised at how drastically different your living spaces will feel
when lit by a floor lamp in the corner instead of a boob light on the ceiling.
It’s a much calmer atmosphere.
More and more folks are seeing the benefits of not-overhead lighting, and you can count me among the enlightened.
Bottom line, if you keep the switched outlet occupied by a lamp,
not only will you maybe get to use that light switch as intended,
but you’ll keep yourself from plugging something else into it.
Win win.
Now, if you can’t be bothered to get a lamp,
you can mark that outlet somehow so you know that one is switched.
And actually, a somewhat common convention is to install outlets that are switched upside-down so they can be identified at a glance.
It doesn’t work quite as well where we like to install outlets sideways for some reason,
but anyway you can also get a sharpie and put a dot over the switched outlet,
or you can cover it with tape,
or you can get those little covers for babies,
or you could put tape over the switch,
or you could get one of those anti-tamper covers and put it over the switch,
or you could even go so far as to permanently bypass the switch,
really there are just so many things you could do besides get frustrated over and over again.
It’s not the switch’s fault you haven’t done that.
*clears throat* Uh, but what about when things are a bit weird?
For instance, all too frequently you find that the outlet on a switch just happens to be the one closest to the switch.
When you see that, you know someone was doing the bare minimum to meet code.
See, it’s required that every room have a light switch as you enter it.
That can either control an overhead light or it can go to an outlet to power a lamp.
But there’s no rule on where that outlet needs to go,
and when five feet of wire is cheaper than 25 feet,
well you know which option's gonna get taken.
This can feel particularly silly since pretty much any lamp will have its own switch,
and if it’s right there as you enter the room, the switch on the wall doesn’t add much.
My previous home was like this in the living room and bedrooms, and while the silliness factor didn’t bother me it was fairly limiting.
I would have much preferred the lamp be in the opposite corner of the room,
and while extension cords *could* get me there,
it would be pretty silly to run such a long one along two entire walls along.
However, even though a situation like that isn’t ideal,
I would still argue the light switch is much easier to use.
No fumbling in the dark with the lamp or reaching for its cord.
But what about when you put a lamp on a switched outlet that you also want to control with its own switch?
Well, I won’t lie - there is the potential for conflict here.
But how frustrating this is will be in the eye of the beholder.
For instance, [phone dings] in this bedroom
don't worry about that
there is an outlet behind each nightstand.
Both of them, actually, are split in half so the light switch by the door can control a lamp on both sides.
So, the bedside lamps can be turned on as you enter the room.
That’s nice - you don’t have to cross a dark room to turn them on.
Again -
that’s the point!
A remote control for lamps!
But suppose after you’ve turned them on, you want to settle into bed and then turn them off from there?
Well, and this might shock you,
you can still do that!
However, if in the morning you don’t turn the lamps back on before you get out of bed,
you might end up in a situation in which the switch by the wall doesn’t work anymore.
But here’s the thing, and I hate to be the one to break this to you,
if that happens...
you did it to yourself.
I’m not saying this can’t be confusing.
I myself have been befuddled by a light switch that isn’t doing anything because the lamp it’s controlling is switched off.
But depending on your circumstances, this might be really useful.
Take the bedroom example.
Turn the lights on as you enter, turn them off when you’re in bed.
When you wake up, turn them back on from bed and now you can switch them off when you leave the room!
Then, throughout the day the light switch will serve to illuminate the room as you come and go.
I find this really useful!
But it does require thinking ahead and turning at least one of the lamps back on.
Which, depending on how early you wake up, you might need to do anyway!
Personally, I really like the flexibility that switched outlets provide.
I can rearrange a room and change the lighting to my tastes without tearing walls apart and redoing the electrical work.
And with properly split outlets, I’m not even losing any utility thanks to splitters like these.
Now I should address - some of you might find it funny that I’m OK with outlet splitters
given that I made a video on how our extension cords are… not great.
See, splitters don’t introduce those same risks.
Unless it’s a terrible-quality splitter, it should be able to handle a full 15A just fine.
Often they’ve got thick brass links in there so they don’t concern me.
My beef with extension cords is that many are sold which cannot handle 15A
and without a built-in fuse to limit them to their rated rating, it’s possible (if unlikely in the grand scheme)
for the cord to become a problem as the circuit breaker protecting that circuit won’t intervene.
But I digress.
I was saying that I really like the flexibility that switched outlets provide.
When I built-out this room for filming, I ran a separate switched feed throughout.
I used two-gang boxes for four plugs at each location, and I bought grey receptacles for the switched side.
The set is powered through the switched leg and so when I come down here to film I just go *foop* and the set lights up with NO EFFORT.
There it is.
I also plug anything that might be hazardous into the grey outlets
so that I have an extra layer of assurance I didn’t leave something on that I shouldn’t have.
I’ve even used dimmer switches on switched outlets - which I’m sure is a terrifying thought to some of you,
but see, you plug the lamp into it and then you don’t touch it again.
That’s actually, like...
it's a big part of my confusion towards the confusion here.
Yeah, when you move into a new place it takes a while to figure this stuff out.
But once you do - well now you know!
When you’re traveling, I get it.
Especially in a hotel room - it might be really frustrating to plug something in and not have it work.
It might even get you into a jam if you needed something to charge overnight.
But now that you know this is a thing, just make sure whatever you’re using is working before you go to bed.
If it’s not, try another outlet or see if there’s a light switch that’s turned off.
Now there are old setups out there which are just flat out bad.
More than one person has told me their home has a bathroom where the outlets only have power when the lights are on.
In other words, the switch interrupts all power to the room.
I can sort-of see the logic there -
one might ask what could you do in a bathroom with the lights out that needed power,
and it provides a bit of reassurance against leaving a curling iron or something turned on.
But now with rechargeable toothbrushes, razors, and whatnot,
that scheme is all sorts of inconvenient.
But the idea of using a light switch to control an outlet so that you can turn on a lamp as you enter a room
(and indeed turn it off as you leave)
is pretty good.
And you, like me, might imagine uses for this outside of simple lamps!
So yeah, next time you get mad at one of these switched outlets - give some thought to what you could do with it.
You might just learn to appreciate it.
♫ confoundingly smooth jazz ♫
I think there’s a mouse in here.
Anyway, um, I dunno if there’s gonna be bloopers because there weren’t that many screw-ups.
I didn’t… the camera didn’t stop did it?
Are you kidding? I did this in 20 minutes?
Well, you thought this wasn’t No Effort November.
Guffaw!
But people did really like those light switches wit let you [mouth stumbles]
…the light switch by the door can control a lullabehdehbedehbuh
doobedoobedoobedoobe
ba dah ba baaaaaaaaa baaaaaaah
ba de baaa da ba de baaaa
boo DAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA