Ways & Gangs, Panels & Switches Explained
The 1-minute explanation
Ways are how many switches control the same light
Gangs are how many lights (or groups of lights aka circuits) can be controlled from a panel
A panel is the physical surface for controlling your lights
A switch is the electronic control mechanism behind the panel
The long read
Manufacturers don&#;t really use the same naming for the way their products work which leads to a lot of confusion regarding ways, gangs, panels, and switches. We&#;re going to clear that up for you. We&#;ll also include images explaining some of these concepts that you can also find in the product description in our lighting store.
Ways
Let&#;s start with ways. A &#;way&#; is a term for how many switches are controlling the same light. The most simple switch is a standard 1-way on/off switch. Most of the lights in your house will likely be controlled by these 1-way switches. A 1-way switch can have 1, 2, or 3-gangs (we&#;ll get to gangs in a bit), or have a single dimmer switch.
Some of your lights may be controlled by 2-way switches. A 2-way switch means two separate switches control the same light. They always work in pairs (or more). Examples of 2-way switches are a light in your hallway controlled by switches at each end, or a light in your stairwell controlled by a switch at the top and bottom of the stairs. Confusingly, a 2-way switch is also sometime called a 3-way switch, multi-way switch or hotel switch.
There are two ways in the smart-switch world to have 2-way switches. One is the traditional way where both switches are wired to the light and each other. Another way has a primary and secondary switch only the primary switch is connected to the light and the secondary switch is wirelessly connected to the primary switch. I prefer the traditional way because it still functions even if your WiFi goes down but there are cases where the primary-secondary setup is useful, for example if you don&#;t have the control wire connecting the two switches.
We carry the traditional version, but if you really need the primary/secondary version reach out to us and I&#;ll special order them.
Gangs
Gangs are just an electricians way of saying &#;light or groups of lights on a single circuit&#;. Your standard ceiling lamp is a &#;gang&#; but the cluster of LED&#;s in your bathroom can also a gang. A panel can have up to 3 gangs on it, which means it will also have 3 buttons on it, each for a single gang. Some examples:
Ways & Gangs
There are a few scenarios where you may need a 2-way, 2-gang (or even 3-gang) switch. In my house I have hallway lights upstairs and downstairs. I can control both sets of hallway lights from two separate panels, one upstairs and one downstairs. Each panel has 2 buttons on it. This is a 2-way, 2-gang example.
Panels
A panel is simply put the control surface for your lights. Depending on what kind of switches you have right now, you&#;ll probably need a single or dual panel. Sometimes more. Single panels are square 86mm x 86mm, dual panels are wider 156mm x 86mm.
A panel can have up to three buttons on it. They can come in either 1, 2, or 3 gang configurations or with a dimmer switch.
If you&#;re replacing older switches, these are often 1-gang each. If you have lots lights controlled from a single panel, this means you have really wide (and ugly) panels. I personally suggest replacing these wider panels with multi-gang single panels and filling in the old gaps in. This is a really easy way to clean up and modernize your living spaces.
Switches
A switch is the control mechanism behind the panel. A switch can be 1, 2, or 3-gang. Alternatively, you can have a dimmer switch with on/off, brighter, and darker buttons. We don&#;t carry, and haven&#;t found, dimmer switches that are more than 1-way or 1-gang. The switch is also the part that you connect to your wiring. The switches we carry all require at least 3 wires, a L (Line), N (Neutral), and L1 (Load) wire.The Line wire is the wire that comes into the switch from your electrical box. It carries power to the switch. The L1 (L2, L3) wire(s) are the Load wires and carry power from the switch to the light.The Neutral wire completes the circuit and allows the switch itself to be powered. This is also why your lights have a Neutral wire but the wiring to your switch may be missing it. Older mechanical switches didn&#;t need a Neutral wire because that switch isn&#;t powered. If you need to bring a Neutral wire to your switch, this requires a bit of elbow grease and fish tape (aka wire snake).Now you know!
So now you know your stuff about ways, gangs, panels and switches! Every house is a little different in how it&#;s wired and can differ in what you want and where you want it. But it&#;s really just about understanding what you want to do and what the terms are so you can find the exact product you need.
And if you have any questions about what you need, contact me and just let me know! I&#;m Happy to help.
When working on or around the electrics you are allowed to do yourself at home such as changing switch faceplates it&#;s essential that you know exactly what type of light switch does what so that, when changing them, you change like-for-like.
With this in mind, this DIY project looks at the different types of light switch and what each should be used for.
The rules on what you can and cannot do to the electrics in your home are extremely strict, however when it comes to changing light switch faceplates and a few others, you are allowed to do this without the assistance of a qualified electrician.
Don&#;t take any chances; if you don&#;t understand the job from start to finish then don&#;t attempt it, it&#;s that simple! If you are wanting to add new lights and light switches to an existing circuit or the similar then this is not possible, this will need to be done by a registered Part P electrician.
This is because he/she will have all of the necessary skills and knowledge to test the circuit and then issue a minor works certificate covering the work that&#;s been done. Failure to do this can invalidate your home insurance!
When working on or around electricity, make sure that the power is off and the circuit that you are working has been isolated. If you have any doubts at any time then you should consult a professional.
Sager contains other products and information you need, so please check it out.
It is very important to be safe. Please have a look at our project on electrical safety before you begin any project.
When it comes to electrical sockets and switches, &#;Gang&#; describes the number of switches on the plate. They are sometimes called rockers, throws or dimmers, depending on how they operate, but still they just refer to the number of light switches on the plate. It is possible to get more, but it is very uncommon to have more that three in a domestic setting &#; this would be called a 3-gang switch.
If you have a dimmer switch they are described in the same way; a 1 gang dimmer switch will have a single dimmer on the plate, and a 2 gang dimmer switch will have 2 dimmers and so on.
1 gang light switch
2 gang light switch
1 gang dimmer switch
2 gang dimmer switch
A 1 gang switch will control a single lighting circuit, or turn 1 light on and off, with a 2 gang switch you can control two individual lighting circuits, and so on.
However, if you need two switches to control a single lighting circuit, in the same manner that you would have a switch at both the top and bottom of a staircase to control a landing/stairway light, you need to use what&#;s known as a 2 &#;way&#; switch.
It is also possible to install or fit a variation on this theme by combining dimmer and "throw" switches on the same plate. You are then able to set the light to the required ambiance and turn it on and off. The ambiance setting is remembered by the switch but can be altered just like any other dimmer.
Combined dimmer and throw or rocker light switch
There are 3 basic types of switches that are used for domestic purposes:
On the whole 2 or 3 gang switches will always be 2 way switches. If you are buying switches and don&#;t know exactly what you need then it is often a good idea to get a 2 way switch anyway.
This is because if you only need a 1 way switch you can still use it by only connecting one of the terminals (L1 or L2) and common terminal. If the switch doesn&#;t work the way you want it to, you can either turn the switch around or swap the L1 and L2 terminal.
In this project we have been talking about plate switches which are the most common types of light switch that are used in peoples homes.
A Plate Switch refers to a switch that has the switching mechanism (either a rocker or dimmer) mounted on a face plate. These switches can be flush mounted into a metal box which is sunken into the plaster of the wall. Plastic boxes are placed into plasterboard, or stud, walls. In either case these boxes are called pattress boxes. You can see more information about how to do this and how to cut chases here.
Some plate switches are mounted in plastic boxes on the surface of the wall. This might be because it is impossible to set the switch back or you don&#;t want to for styling reasons.
Surface mounted 1 gang light switch
In some cases there is not enough to have the traditional square or rectangular plate fitted and the switches need to be mounted above each other, rather than side by site. These are known as architrave switches. These can have rockers or dimmer switches, depending on what you prefer.
Architrave switch
When dealing with bathrooms or &#;special locations&#; as they are known, it is forbidden to wire a conventional switch within reach of a washbasin, bath or shower unit, so will need to use a ceiling switch in these circumstances, or put the plate switch outside the bathroom.
A ceiling switch is mounted to the roof and is switched on and off using a pull cord &#; see our project on how to fit a pull cord switch. This prevents any water or moisture coming anywhere near any electrical source.
Ceiling or pull cord switch
Knowing which switch to use if you are replacing your light switch faceplates is absolutely essential to ensure, once they&#;re swapped, that everything works as it should do. As the regulations state that you are allowed to replace switch face plates yourself, make sure you have the correct type of switch to avoid any issues.
All project content written and produced by Mike Edwards, founder of DIY Doctor and industry expert in building technology.
If you are looking for more details, kindly visit 1 gang lighting switch.