I have three recessed lights connected in series inside of a new bathroom but would like to add a 4th above the shower stall for some extra lighting. Is it ok to run from the currently last light on this circuit into a switch that would then control the new light or is that illegal by code? I understand that the light will only work if the 1st switch is on, which won't be an issue since it will be turned on whenever the room is in use.
Lighting – Adding a light switch inside another circuit
lightingswitch
Related Solutions
At the Light
- Connect the white wire that leads to the recessed lights, and the white wire from the fan/light to the white wire in the ceiling box.
- Connect the the black from the recessed lights, to the black ungrounded (hot) wire that's controlled by the dimmer.
- Connect the red wire from the fan/light, to the red ungrounded (hot) wire that is not controlled by the dimmer.
- Connect all the grounding conductors.
At the switch
- Connect the LINE wire (probably black, but depends on manufacturer) from the dimmer, in with the black wire from the feeder cable.
- Connect the black wire from the armored cable, to the switched (probably red) wire from the dimmer.
- Connect the ground wire from the dimmer, with the other grounds in the box.
This should allow the dimmer to control the recessed lights, and the remote to control the fan/light.
Of course this assumes that power comes to the switch first, and one of the wires in the cable is always hot.
Based on the info you've provided, it should look something like this.
According to the documentation for the dimmer, the black lead is LINE and the red lead is LOAD.
First of all the 4 way switches come in handy for controlling it from different spots but here are some ways you can do. you could make the recessed lights be on the 4 way switch system and replace the 3 toggles with dimmers and run an extra hot wire for the fan iself. Or you could make the neutral wire running from the switch box directly to the fan box as a hot wire tape ot black and put the fan neutral to ground and make the new hot run the fan unless it;s code voilation but i tried it myself it worked fine. and if you dont want the 4 way switch you can replace the extras with a coverplate. and the extra wires can be used for the fan and one for light. good luck.
Best Answer
The switching should be OK, as far as I know, because you are adding a light that isn't absolutely required.
However, there is a big difference between the existing lights and the new lights. Ordinary bathroom lights (and fans) do not require GFCI protection. The exception is lighting above a tub or shower. There are, I believe, some special fixtures available that would not require GFCI, but normal fixtures do. Since you can't have the GFCI itself in the ceiling (and you wouldn't want to anyway - it would get hit by steam from the shower!), you need to protect the entire lighting circuit, either at the original switch or at the breaker. The problem is that means if there is a GFCI trip then you are in the dark. But not just in the dark, in the dark while in the shower. Not a good thing.