I want to install a new light switch for the light in our pantry. The pantry is just off the kitchen, in an interior room (no windows), so it is always dark (probably a good thing). Anyway, the builder decided to put the light switch for the pantry light on the left side of the door. The door opens from right to left, so you open the pantry door, see that you need more light and have to close the door to turn it on. Pretty much a pain in the butt.
I’d like to replace the switch with the kind you find on refrigerators, since it would be nice to have the light turn on anytime you open the door and off when it closes. I am thinking of just drilling though the door frame at the level of the switch to access the existing wiring and put a blank wall plate where the existing switch is. But, can anyone point me to the type of switch I need? It needs to be normally on (that is, on when not depressed), but where would I find what I want?
That’s no good. If the switch was actually in the pantry, that would be great, but with that switch, the light would turn on whenever someone was in the kitchen. The existing switch is located in the kitchen, in a location that is difficult to reach with the pantry door open, so if I was to use a motion-sensor switch like that and the pantry door was open, it wouldn’t even sense anyone was in the pantry (the door would be blocking the switch from the human).
I have installed those switches in the laundry room and bathroom, where they have worked out well, but a push button switch is the best solution I can come up with.
the screwed in fixture sensing switch would work if the door was kept closed, otherwise kitchen activity will trigger the switch; if i understand the situation.
if the door was closed then the wall switch would be accessible.
The pantry is a windowless room. IOW, it will (almost?) always have insufficient light. So inculcate the habit of always turning on the light before opening the door. Yes, turning on the light every time may occasionally amount to turning it on unnecessarily. But considering how few hours per day someone is inside the pantry, this is negligible.
Or as suggested above, cap off the exterior switch, wire the socket hot & use a motion sensor screw-in light socket adapter.
if the door is mostly left open then a doorjamb switch will leave the light mostly on. a light fixture sensor will be triggered by kitchen activity leaving the light mostly on.
if the door is kept closed then a doorjamb switch or a light fixture sensor will have the light on only when needed. if the door is kept closed then the existing switch is accessible to turn the light on before entry.
if i understand the situation then it seems more of a procedural solution than an electrical one.
anywho LED lighting would be great for in the pantry.
Cheapest solution is to take the switch out wire nut the power straight through and put a pull string in the pantry. You could also use a photo cell or motion detector in the pantry.
you would like a light to be on before entering such a room. you might have hands full going in or out or both.
that’s not to say that homes didn’t have such pull switches, in a center room fixture for room light in old times though that isn’t the way in modern times.
I’m not going to do the search, but if the OP wants to follow his/her original thought:
You are looking for a momentary-contact SPST line voltage switch.
How you mount it is your business. I have some micro switches I could wire to do this.
A good switch (you don’t want cheap on a 110 line while you are sleeping) will have 3 contacts - IN, NO, and NC. Input, normally open, normally closed.
I would strongly recommend getting one with tab connectors and using real, crimped-on terminals. The wrap-the-wire-around-a-screw terminal might be a trick to find.
Doing it right is what I want to do and this is exactly what I am looking for. Thanks for telling me what I needed. If I was a bit more inventive, I think I might try using those magnetic reed switches used for burglar alarms to drive an LED light, but with the cost of the transformers, rectifiers, etc…, I think just putting a 10 Watt LED in the existing fixture with the doorjamb switch will be the best way to go. Easier to maintain, too, since if I made some homebrew device, getting someone other than me to try to fix it would probably be impossible.
The motion sensing options are not practical, since there is a water heater in the pantry and it would create too many false sensings. The existing switch is about 4 inches from the doorjamb, so I should be able to take care of installation with a drill and wood chisel. (yes, I will turn the power off before drilling in the direction of the switch).
Just for the sake of discussion - another alternative is something like a Z-Wave contact sensor and Z-Wave lightbulb. There is a little configuration that needs to be done, but the contact switch can then control the light bulb with no additional wiring.
Another option. I think it’s possible to replace the existing wall switch with one that includes a receiver and comes with a second switch that’s a wireless transmitter. Something like this.
If I were you, I’d go to Home Depot or Lowes and look around in the electrical aisle.