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 you know I'm just trying
to make the world a better place in my
admittedly over the top frustrated way
anyway come on let's go so there's this
thing we do here in the U.S with Outlets
we sometimes put them 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 going to 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 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 okay we usually separate them these
days so that 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 15 amps of a typical circuit and
20 amp switches are plenty common too
that means that we can use them as a
switch for literally anything powered by
a 120 volt 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 Hubble in 1903. Hubble'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 movable 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 your
room as you entered it
so somebody asked porque no last dose
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 switch 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 Leaf 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 I'll hold 10 bucks we'll
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 our 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 one of 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
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 is going to 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 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 light 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 okay with Outlet
Splitters given that I made a video on
how extension cords are not great
see Splitters don't introduce those same
risks unless it's a terrible quality
splitter we should be able to handle a
full 15 amps 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 15 amps 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 gray 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 and the set
lights up with no effort there it is I
also plug anything that might be
hazardous into the gray 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 plot 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
might just learn to appreciate it
foreign
I think there's a mouse in here
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anyway
um I don't know 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
but people did really like those light
switches with like
well with the light switch by the door
can control
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thank you
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