(Q:) Switched light on load side of GFCI outlet

[Keith]

(Q:) Switched light on load side of GFCI outlet

I've wired quite a few GFCI outlet but always as a string of outlets. We recently put in a bathroom, and I ran a new 20 amp grounded circuit.

I've done a lot of research on GFCI yet I am unclear if I can add a switched light on the load side of a GFCI outlet?

I initially thought that I would have to pigtail the line side with separate wires going to the line side of the GFCI and the other set feeding the switch. Looking at the GFCI concept, the light is still a load and given this light in total is no more than 150 watts, it seems as if this should not be an issue.

Am I correct?

[Wayne Whitney]

Sure, no problem. The only thing that you need to ensure with a GFCI is that the return path (neutral) for all loads downstream of the GFCI is back through the GFCI. So if you run the circuit from GFCI load hot to a switch to a lamp to the GFCI load neutral, that will work fine. The problem would be if the neutral from the lamp were to bypass the GFCI, then you'd trip the GFCI whenever you turned the light on.

Cheers, Wayne