Light Switch - Two Way / Three Way

[elgreco]

Hi All

Don't know if I am missing something vital here but why is it that when I connect a second light switch to a lighting circuit it shows up as a Three Way switch. Logic suggests that if I can switch a light from one of two locations it should be marked as a two way switch.

 

Thanks for your help

 

Elgreco

Edited February 16, 2023 by elgreco
Typo

[rgardner]

3 hours ago, elgreco said:

Hi All

Don't know if I am missing something vital here but why is it that when I connect a second light switch to a lighting circuit it shows up as a Three Way switch. Logic suggests that if I can switch a light from one of two locations it should be marked as a two way switch.

 

Thanks for your help

 

Elgreco

That is the definition of a three way switched circuit.  When you have two switches either switch will turn it on or off but they will be opposite of each other every time it is switched.

[Chrisb222]

3 hours ago, elgreco said:

why is it that when I connect a second light switch to a lighting circuit it shows up as a Three Way switch

 

Because in lighting circuitry, multiple switch locations require special switch devices, and the name of the devices used in a two-switch situation is "three-way switch." If you add a third switch location, all locations will utilize a device called a "four-way switch," and adding a fourth switch location also uses a four-way switch. So does the fifth location. The software is automatically specifying these special devices for you. Ain't that neat? 

[OkcDesigner]

This is really how multiple switches wiring is done. always requires 2 "three-way" switches. 

With as many "four-way" switches as needed. 

 

[elgreco]

Thanks guys. I appreciate the quick response.

It seems this is yet another example of a variation in design practices and terminology around the world. Understandably, Chief  implemented the definition most relevant to the low hanging fruit, ie. the North American market. The UK definition of a two way switch  differs from that in the US. I think it's time Chief introduced a 'localisation module' to cater for these regional variations. 

Unless I can find a workaround, (all suggestions welcomed)  I will have to add a note in the schedule:

eg." A Three-way switch means it's a two-way and a four-way switch is in fact a three-way. Any unintentional references to a two-way switch in the schedule should be read as one-way and in no way should it be read as any other way."

That ought to clarify things perfectly ...

Joking aside, can I modify Chief's default symbol for a three way switch $3 to be $2 ?

 

Regards

George

[DBCooper]

Chief is programmed to automatically change a normal switch into a 3-way switch when you connect two of them to the same light using electrical connections.  You can turn off this behavior by unchecking "automatically change switch type when wiring" in the switch dialog.

 

Unfortunately, I don't think you can turn this behavior off in your electrical defaults.  To get around this, you can create your own library of switches and place them from the library instead of using the "switch" tool that places them from the defaults.  You can also setup your own custom toolbar button to always place your custom switch.

 

As for using custom symbols, you can modify either the 3d look of the switch or the 2d cad block used for plan views.  Just copy the switch you want into your user library and then modify it.

 

 

 

[Alaskan_Son]

26 minutes ago, elgreco said:

Unless I can find a workaround, (all suggestions welcomed)  I will have to add a note in the schedule:

 

There are a few solutions but the easiest is probably this:

Defaults Settings>Electrical>General Electrical>Switch - 3 Way>Edit>Change Name to "2-Way Switch".  Click Okay.

 

32 minutes ago, elgreco said:

Joking aside, can I modify Chief's default symbol for a three way switch $3 to be $2 ?

Again, there are a few options but most effective is probably this:

CAD>CAD Block Management>Three Way>Edit>Change the "3" to a "2".  Close the Edit Window and click Save.

[elgreco]

Thank you all.

I appreciate your help.

I'll give your suggestions a go and see which works best.

 

Regards

George

[RobUSMC]

Count how many switches you have then +1 for the wire (switch leg) going to the light or lights you're controlling.  if you have 2 switches controlling a light it is 2 (switches) + 1 (light) = 3 so you have a 3 way.       3 switches + 1 light = 4 so you have a 4 way and so on.   If the lights you are controlling with a 3 way, 4 way or whatever, and you plan on using a dimmer you need to specify where you want the dimmer so your electrician knows where he must run the 3 way traveler wire from and which end the dimmer switch will located.