I had 1 switch going to 1 light on my porch. I want to add a couple more decorative lights and I want to add a couple of switches on the porch itself so I don't have to keep opening the door to turn them off or on as needed. Can I use the switch in the house currently to provide power to these multiple switches on the porch?
Wiring – Powering multiple switches from one switch
wiring
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Best Answer
As usual, hate to say it, but "it depends". There are essentially 2 popular ways to connect switches for fixtures:
Provide power to the fixture and run a "switch loop" to the switch. If that's the case, no you'll have to get power for your outdoor switches elsewhere. (see last paragraph for exception).
If power is provided to the switch first and then a switched cable goes to the fixture, then yes, that can be done.
I ALWAYS run power to the switches first and NEVER use switch loops, there are just too many devices now (smart switches, timers, etc.) that need a bit of power and they don't work with an old school switch loop unless it was wired with 14/3 or 12/3, which is currently code for switch loop.