I have been looking for a specific type of light switch for my home inspired from an architecture tour I took many years ago in France at Villa Cavrois.
Unfortunately, it seems this is an almost impossible to find product in the US and widely and cheaply available in the UK.
My questions are the following:
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Is it possible and what would it entail to buy a UK light switch to use in the US home? I care about design but also about safety.
here is the switch in question: https://www.screwfix.com/p/lap-10ax-1-gang-2-way-toggle-switch-polished-chrome-with-colour-matched-inserts/63045 -
Is there a way to keep some of the design features and just match it up to US core parts instead with some DYI mix and match?
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Do you guys know any place that would have a US version that would not cost $125 (!!!) a piece, like this one, which is actually the exact one I wanted, with a rectangular plate:
Best Answer
You need to use switches rated for at least 15 amps. Most UK switches are rated at 10 amps. You could solve that problem by wiring the light through a relay such as a RiB or Aube type low-voltage relay.
Mechanically mounting it in the walls would be easy enough. The trick is don't try to mix-and-match. Use all-UK stuff up until an obvious point of divergence. So for instance, put the UK switch with a UK cover plate in a UK junction box with UK cable clamps. The place to transition to US style stuff is at the cable or conduit. You might have to punch a 1/2"US knockout in the side of the UK box, if you were fitting conduit. Otherwise UK twin-and-earth clamps will probably work on Romex.
No ring circuits, though.