simple light switch question

[vet26]

as I mentioned in another post, recently had my house rewired.

Most of the light switches have been set so to turn them on you have to push the top half and to turn them off you have to push the bottom half. These are 1 switch per light, (don't know the technical term), so it's not the case that another switch turned the light on, and a second switch is used to turn the light off.

I've always been used to pressing the bottom half of a switch to turn on, pressing the top half to turn off.

is there a standard? I can always learn to use the new switches"upside-down" but I have various other grievances with the electricians and am wondering if this is yet another example of their ineptitude/amateurishness....

thanks for all responses.

[Andy Wade]

One-way.

That is the usual way in the UK.

Sounds like it, but it's trivially easy to turn them round.

[Dave Plowman (News)]

That's the conventional UK way.

I doubt it's ineptitude if they're all the same. However, they've fitted them in the 'US' way. If you fit a UK made one way switch with 'top' at the top or the writing the correct way up it will operate as you are used to.

[Bill]

In message , [e-mail] writes

What nationality were the electricians? As Dave says this is an American idea, I believe it came about with larger more "manly" switches, toggle etc. where it was easy to just knock the switch down in an emergency. I wonder if this is also a standard used elsewhere, Poland perhaps?

[meow2222]

confusion over whether things are on or off when changing bulbs is a risk factor as well as an inconvenience. This points to incompetence. Turning the switches round is simple enough.

NT

[Dave Plowman (News)]

Could be a problem with two-way circuits, then?

[Lobster]

Might be stating the bleedin' obvious here, but for the OP's benefit: you'll find writing on the reverse side of the switch, ie if you unscrew the faceplate. ;-)

David

[Andy Wade]

Shouldn't be. Arrange the strapper connections such that if all switches (including any intermediates) are "up" then the light is off.

[Pete Cross]

I don't see how you could arrange that, in a two way if both switches are up or both down then it lights, if they are one up one down then it doesn't.

Pete

[Frank Erskine]

In that case simply swap the strappers, or turn one switch upside down :-)

[Dave Plowman (News)]

And push on, push off switches?

[Pete Cross]

Yup, I'll buy that....... Pete

[Lobster]

Well I'm completely lost now... ;-)

[Andy Wade]

Don't be awkward... (pull switches too, for that matter).

[Andy Wade]

Not if I've wired them up...

[David Hansen]

On Tue, 21 Nov 2006 16:15:19 +0000 someone who may be Andy Wade wrote this:-

Those with pride check such things and rectify them if they are wrong. Then they ensure the screw heads line up.

[Geo]

Ok after about five minutes on the stairs, I was eventually able to convince wife (who has a phobia about bulbs lighting as she replaces them) that with our switches in alternate positions the light is always off. I will turn one upside down in daylight - wonder why that is not a standard?

Geo

[Matt]

Don't worry, the IEE in their infinite wisdom have ensured that if when perched on the top of the stepladder you accidentally poke your fingers into the lamp socket there will be no RCD to protect you. :)

[Dave Plowman (News)]

Not here:- I ignored their ideas when fitting a split load unit. And all the lighting circuits are on the RCD side. Some couple of years later I've had two MCB trips when a bulb has failed, but the RCD didn't. Nor has it tripped for any other reason. My non protected circuits are for the cooker, freezer, central heating/immersion and alarm.

[Christian McArdle]

That is not a sensible design and would probably fail inspection.

The number of people killed or seriously injured from direct electrical shock from lighting circuits is somewhere around the zero mark. The number of people killed or seriously injured from unexpected lighting circuit failure is considerably higher. In the event of a fire, it is very likely that the RCD will activate, plunging you into darkness and reducing the chances of escape.

Christian.