We all use them, and they seem like they'd be as simple as a flick of the switch, but in reality it's not the case, is it? I've lived in my house for 16 years and there's this one panel of light switches in my dining room that still manages to get me every time, and I'm sure it's not the only one. It's a 2 x 2 light switch panel - all the light switches are identical and are symmetrically positioned, with no indication whatsoever as to which room a light switch illuminates. This results in the on and off flicking of all the light switches in the panel before finding the right one. You'd think it would make more sense if the light switch to the room directly to the right of the panel, was on the right side of the panel, but it's positioned in the most unlikely place - the bottom left.
Just when you thought this was bad enough, this particular light switch panel has light switches for rooms/places not even visible when standing at the light switch. One of the light switches illuminates a light near my front yard. There's just no logical relationship between the switches' layout and the environment.
To make this light switch worse than it already is, none of the light switches tell me whether I'm flicking in the on or off direction. This isn't so bad when were dealing with lights, but becomes a major problem if it's a power switch (like the one found in my lounge room).
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Cynthia
i know exactly what you mean, my house has plenty of these switches, we ended up just buying a lamp to put on the side table so we don't have to use them at all. also one of the lights has 2 switches (one at each end of the corridor) so some switches are on when they are up and some are on when they are down
ReplyDeleteShaun T
Ahh i can't stand that Shaun when one of the lights has 2 switches (one at each end of the corridor)! This drives my OCDness in sane that all the switches can't be in the same direction when off or on! We have a few of these in our house!
ReplyDeleteCythina may I recommend a quick and easy solution that should last quite some time. A label maker - not that you will always read it, but after time you begin to remember which one is which. My dad went cray zay with this when we first moved into our new house. despite going through as a family and ensuring that the switches were where we wanted them and there was enough of everything.
one of the best light switches that we have in our house is for the stairs. we have 3 buttons at the bottom and at the top of the stairs.
the downstairs has a circle button that can change the brightness of the light and then two other buttons that control lights we never use.
the upstairs has two buttons that are for the ones we never use and then just a switch with a little light on it to tell you that it is the light we always use.
details like this i think help. when there is a different function or look for a main button in the same panel.
if all else fails, eat more carrots or purchase night vision goggles :)
-mote
Good post Cynthia. I think the normal standard is that after you flick a switch upwards, it is off, and if you switch it downwards it is on. I know I;m used to this, and the occasional different switch always confuses me. Some power point switches have a small orange bar on the top of the switch which is only visible when the switch is on, which is a pretty good solution I think.
ReplyDeleteCynthia, what you need is a good model for what each switch does. The easiest and most intuitive is when the light closest to each switch on the panel is controlled by that switch. Lights should be arranged like this, but often aren't. Other examples of models for these 4 switch panels could be: the switch furthest from each light controls it; the top two control larger sets of lights, the bottom two smaller ones; etc. There are an infinite number of these systems and they should come from physical relationships like rotations, sizes, stuff like that, so you can get them into your physical memory and not have to use your brain to remember them after a few tries. It's hard to explain here, but it's what I try to do. Just a suggestion though. But honestly the model should be inherent in the design, not something you have to make up yourself. Bad design, electricians/architects.
Switches for lights you can't see from the switch location are really bad design, there is no good feedback. This is a huge problem. In my house there is a particular light panel with 4 switches. For one of these switches, I can't find the light it controls. There is also a light switch which is wired up to my OVEN, which is really really bad. Why would I want to turn off the electrical component of my oven, and how would I ever find the switch if my oven were off.
Sarah, I think those circle ones are called "dimmer switches".
I have a light that is controlled by three different switches spaced out down the hallway, and i don't think they have ever all been in the up = off position at once. A really big hassle.
Scott
Wow, that comment was long. Sorry guys :S
ReplyDeleteScott
Having two or more lights for the same light in a corridor is often needed. You don't want to go through the corridor from one end to the other in complete darkness just to switch on the light in the corridor you've just been through.
ReplyDeleteCynthia, you should blame the poor relationship between the switch layout and the environment on your electrician, not on the designer of the switches. However that being said, I have come across 3 x 2 switch panels and even with the best set up, confusion is unavoidable.
While we are on the topic of switches. Like what Scott has mentioned earlier, the natural convention of switches is switched up=off and switched down=on. However, when it comes to power board laying on the ground with many outlets with individual switches, it often difficult to determine when the switch is switching 'up' or 'down'. An embossed or and etched detail like the 'orange dot' could help prevent this confusion. Sorry that was really hard to explain...
-Phi Do