From This Old House.
In this video, electricians know that 3-way switches confound most homeowners, DIYers, and even other tradespeople. Heath Eastman built a diagram to show Kevin O’Connor just how these systems work.
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What’s the Easiest Setup?
While Heath admits there are several ways to do it, he likes to keep it as simple as possible:
Run 14/2 cable from the panel to the first electrical box, 14/3 between the two switches’ electrical boxes, and then 14/2 from the second electrical box to the device.
Attach the hot from the 14/2 to the black screw on the first switch, tie the neutrals from the 14/3 together with a wire nut, and attach the ground wires to the ground screw with a pigtail.
Attach the black and red wires (the travelers) from the 14/3 cable to the brass screws on both switches (no ground wire is required between the two).
Attach the hot wire from the 14/2 cable between the second switch and device to the black screw, and tie the neutrals from the 14/3 and 14/2 together with a wire nut. Wire the ground to the green screw.
This is the easiest setup and makes the current routing simpler to understand.
About Ask This Old House TV: From the makers of This Old House, America’s first and most trusted home improvement show, Ask This Old House answers the steady stream of home improvement questions asked by viewers across the United States. Covering topics from landscaping to electrical to HVAC and plumbing to painting and more. Ask This Old House features the experts from This Old House, including general contractor Tom Silva, plumbing and heating expert Richard Trethewey, landscape contractor Jenn Nawada, master carpenter Norm Abram, and host Kevin O’Connor. ASK This Old House helps you protect and preserve your greatest investment—your home.
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How 3-Way Switches Work | Ask This Old House
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