How to Install a Leviton Combination Switch & Receptacle

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Things You'll Need

  • Safety goggles

  • Wire cutter/strippers

  • 14 gauge solid THHN black wire

  • 14 gauge solid THHN white wire

  • 14 gauge solid THHN green wire

  • Orange wire nuts

  • Phillips or flat head screwdriver

  • Duplex receptacle cover plate

Leviton, a manufacturer of electrical parts, offers more than 20,000 devices, including the combination switch and receptacle. Installing a combination switch and receptacle can be a convenient way to expand the devices in your electrical wall box without having to cut into the wall to install a larger box.

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Switch Controlling the Receptacle

Step 1

Turn off the electricity to the box that will contain the Leviton combination switch and receptacle by turning off its breaker in the main electrical panel.

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Step 2

Cut a 4-inch piece of 14 gauge solid THHN black using wire cutter/strippers and strip ½ inch of insulation off of each end. This creates a jumper wire for use in a later step.

Step 3

Locate the power supply wires in the single gang wall box. The power supply wires consist of a black (hot), white (neutral) and bare copper (ground) wire. The black power supply wire carries the electricity to a device, the white power supply wire completes the circuit back to the main breaker panel and the bare copper wire grounds the circuit to protect against shorts that can damage the device and what it is powering.

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Step 4

Install the Leviton combination switch and receptacle. Orient your combination switch and receptacle so the switch is located at the top with the receptacle beneath it. Wrap the black wire to the screw directly to the left of the switch, wrap the white wire around the screw directly beneath it and to the left of the receptacle and wrap the bare copper wire around the green ground screw. Tighten all the screws to secure the wires in place. Connect the black jumper wire to the two screws on the right side of the combination switch and receptacle, connecting the two screws together via the wire, and tighten the screws.

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Step 5

Push excess wiring into the single gang wall box and install the Leviton combination switch and receptacle into the box with the screws provided with the device.

Step 6

Cover the Leviton combination switch and receptacle with a duplex receptacle plate, it attaches with a matching screw provided with the plate to the center of the device.

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Step 7

Turn on the electricity that powers the combination switch and receptacle by turning on its breaker in the main electrical panel.

Switch and Receptacle Powered Separately

Step 1

Turn off the breaker that supplies electricity to the Leviton combination switch and receptacle in the main electrical panel.

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Step 2

Cut your pigtail wires. Use wire cutter/strippers to cut two 6-inch pieces of 14 gauge solid THHN black wires, one 6-inch piece of 14 gauge solid THHN white wire and one 6-inch piece of 14 gauge solid green wire. Strip ½ inch of insulation off of each end of all four pigtail wires.

Step 3

Locate the power supply wires and the wires from the fixture inside the single gang electrical wall box. The power wires consist of a white, black and bare copper that are connected directly back to the main breaker panel. The wires from the fixture are the same colors; the difference being no power runs through these wires until connected to a switch.

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Step 4

Wire the Leviton combination switch and receptacle onto the power supply and fixture wires. Connect the black pigtails you created in step two with the black power supply wire by twisting an orange wire nut onto all three wires. Connect the white pigtail to the white power supply wire the same way and finally connect the bare copper wire to the green pigtail wire with an orange wire nut as well. With the combination switch and receptacle oriented where the switch is at the top and the receptacle is beneath it, wrap the two black pigtails around the two screws located on the right side of the device, wrap the white pigtail around the bottom screw to the left of the receptacle, wrap the green pigtail around the green ground screw and finally wrap the black wire that connects directly to the fixture around the screw to the left of the switch and tighten all five screws.

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Step 5

Install the Leviton combination switch and receptacle into the wall. Using the two screws that were provided with the device, attach the device to the top and the bottom of the single gang electrical box. Cover the combination device with a duplex receptacle cover plate and turn the breaker back on at the main breaker panel to supply electricity to the device.

Warning

Make sure the electricity is off to the area you are working to avoid electrical shock.

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