Do you have a light switch that you don’t use, or it doesn’t operate anything, and you want to change it into an outlet? If so, the good news is this is simple for any qualified electrician. Even if you’re going to keep the light switch, you can add an outlet to have both. All you’ll need to do is buy a switch outlet combo.
How do I change a light switch into an outlet?
To do this, you’ll need some tools, including a tester, a small electric drill, and a screwdriver. Once you gather your tools, you’ll want to do a few things, the most critical being shutting off the power supply.
Now that you know you can do this; you may be curious about how it’s done. Below are the steps that professional electricians take when changing a regular light switch over to an outlet.
1. Turn off the power supply.
This is the most critical step. Electricity is strong and can be highly dangerous, especially if you don’t know what you’re doing. Just a small shock can cause severe injuries. You must disconnect the main power before starting the task. Turning off the electricity from the main panel is the best way to do it.
Once you’ve turned off the electricity, they’ll use their tester on the port to make sure no electricity is still passing. They will not start working until they know it is safe.
2. Disconnect the switch plate from the wall
This is done simply by removing the screws. Once this is off, you’ll see three main wires, the live wire, the ground wire, and the neutral wire. Knowing which is which is extremely important when doing this type of work.
3. Identify the live wire
You should see a total of three wires; the bare copper wire is the ground, the two white ones that are tied together are the neutral wires, and the two black ones are the live wires. The electricity flows through the black wires to the switch and into the light fixture when the switch is turned on.
4. Disconnect all of the cables from the switch
Carefully remove all the wires and cables from the switch, so they are not damaged. Cap the unused ones and push them away. If there are extended heads of the wire, cut them. These heads will now be connected with the outlet input points. After doing all the steps, you will have one uncapped white, one uncapped black, and the copper wire, which you’ll reconnect to the green screw.
5. Connect the wires to the outlet
Now it’s time to connect the wires to the outlet. The black wire is to be connected to the outlet’s brass terminals, and the white wire will go with the corresponding chrome terminals. There are upper and lower sets of terminals in the outlet; you can use any one of them. But if you are using a GFCI outlet, connect the wires with terminals marked as LINE.
6. Put the outlet back on the wall.
Now that you’re all finished, put the plate back on the wall, turn on the electricity, and give it a try. If it works, you’ll have an outlet that will work for years to come. If it doesn’t work, go through the steps again to make sure you did them all correctly.
Hire and Electrician to be Safe
Electricity is hazardous and should only be worked with by a professional electrician. If you attempt to do this yourself, it can cause severe injury or even death. Having a professional do the work may cost a bit more, but in the end, it’ll be worth it because you can rest assured knowing They did the job right.
Bratcher Electric in Wayne puts electrical safety at the top of the list when it comes to providing electrical services. For more than 50 years, we have been keeping homes and businesses up to code, safe and efficient with complete customer satisfaction backed by our continuous referrals.
DIY projects can be tricky and dangerous, so unless you have experience, leave it to the electrical experts. Our services include back up power installation and maintenance, code upgrades, new wiring, surge protection and so much more. Call us for a Free Estimate, we are happy to help!