How Do I Wire an Outlet That Has a Plug and a Light Switch?

If a room has a shortage of outlets, consider replacing a switch with a switch/receptacle combo.

Switch/receptacle combination devices improve rooms that lack enough power receptacles. Although each has a switch and a single receptacle, they take up the same amount of space as a single switch or a duplex receptacle. The combo can be wired so the switch controls the flow of electricity to the receptacle or so the receptacle is "always on" and the switch controls another fixture. Switch/receptacles must be positioned in the middle of the wiring run--the current flows from the power source through the combination device and on to a fixture or receptacle.

Things You'll Need

• Screwdriver
• Wire stripper
• Pliers
• 12-gauge wires in black, white and green/bare copper
• Electrical connectors

Instructions

1. Turn off the power to the circuit, and remove the single-pole switch.

2. Connect the hot (black) wire from the fixture or next receptacle in the circuit to the brass terminal on the switch end of the device. Connect the hot (black) wire from the power source to the terminal on the other side of the switch end.

3. Make a pigtail for the neutral wires. Connect a short piece of white wire to the silver terminal on the receptacle end of the device, then connect the white wires from the power source and the fixture or next receptacle to that short wire.

4. Ground the device by making a pigtail connected to the ground terminal on the device and connecting the ground wires to that pigtail.

5. Install the device in the switch box, and restore power to the circuit.

Tips & Warnings

• As an alternative, you can control the receptacle with the switch by connecting the hot wire from the power source to the switch end of the device and the fixture hot wire to the outlet.

References

• "Wiring, 7th ed."; Creative Homeowner; 2010.