From this article you will learn what cross-section of wires is needed to connect to a chandelier, how to ring and determine the phases on the ceiling: we are looking for a ground wire, we are looking for phases and zero, the designation of the chandelier wires.

How to connect a chandelier in a simple way, rules for connecting wires, connecting a chandelier for 2,3,4,5, 6 to a single and double switch and many other questions.

Design features of the chandelier

As lighting fixtures In residential premises, chandeliers are most often used - multi-lamp lamps designed for installation on the ceiling.

A chandelier is a structure that connects several lighting elements - light bulbs - to provide good lighting in the room.

If you use a regular light bulb in a room, then to ensure proper lighting you will need to install a powerful lighting element, and even then, if the room is large, it will not be enough.

But such light is not always needed, so more the best option is the use of several lamps.

But in the case of using ordinary light bulbs, each of them will have to run its own wire or branch from the junction box.

But if you install a chandelier, the design of which involves installing several light bulbs, then the complexity of the connection will be the same as for one or more light bulbs.

But at the same time, all lighting elements included in the design will be powered, and from one wire.

And all because the wiring branching occurs at the entrance to the chandelier, and not in distribution box.

Well, don't discount it aesthetic side question. A lonely light bulb hanging on the ceiling looks dull, or maybe a beautiful chandelier.

To get good lighting in a room with an excellent combination of lighting fixtures with the interior, it is not enough just to purchase matching chandelier, it still needs to be hung and connected correctly.

What is taken into account before carrying out work?

Let's immediately define several key points that should definitely be taken into account:

And one more thing - it’s one thing to simply remove the old lighting fixture and connect a new one in its place, and quite another thing to completely create a lighting power line, including from switchboard, installation of switches, junction boxes and lighting fixtures with their subsequent connection into one network.

Go deeper into the specifics self-installation We will not discuss the power supply branches of the chandelier, since we are more interested only in how to connect the lighting elements, although some points regarding wiring will be touched upon.

Helpful information

Let us immediately point out some features that can help:

• Breaking the circuit with a switch is carried out only through the phase line, and the neutral conductor and grounding conductor (if any) go directly to the consumer;
• For each branch, its own phase wire is laid at the output of their switch (It is separated in the switch itself. single-key switch there is one phase conductor at the output, a two-key one has two, and a three-key one has three). This affects the wire used leading from the switch;
• On the terminal blocks of the chandeliers you can find the designation of the terminals, which makes the connection easier (the marking “L” indicates that the terminal is phase, “N” is neutral, “PE” is grounding).

Now directly, how to connect the chandelier to the switch.

Let's assume that the line is made in advance, the switch is in place, and 2 or 3 wires stick out from the ceiling (with the third wire being “ground”).

In general, the connection diagram is the simplest - “one rocker switch– 1 lighting fixture.”

If the chandelier is armless (with 1 lamp), then the connection method does not differ at all from powering a simple light bulb.

It also greatly simplifies connecting a chandelier to one or more light bulbs.

Single-key switch – 1 chandelier

Before starting work, you should determine which wire is which. It would be good if modern wiring with color differences between the cores was used. On initial stage I'm only interested in the "ground".

If the electricians did not mess anything up, the ground wire will have a yellow-green braid.

But you will have to figure out the phase and zero yourself and for this you will only need an indicator screwdriver, but all precautions should be taken, since the test is done in live wiring.

Therefore, before applying voltage, you should make sure that the ends of the wires are separated in different sides and do not touch each other.

And only after this can voltage be applied (you also need to turn the switch to the “on” position).

After we touch the ends of the wiring with the tip of the indicator screwdriver, the indicator light that comes on when touched will indicate that the core is phase, which means the second one is zero.

If there are three wires at the output, and it is not clear which of them is zero and ground, you can use a test light to determine it (we connect a two-core wire to a regular 220 lamp through a socket). Then we identify the phase with an indicator screwdriver.

If the lamp lights up after applying voltage, then the second wire will be zero (if it doesn’t light up, the “ground” is connected to the control). For reliability, the wires should be swapped.

After determining where each wire is, all that remains is to connect them to the corresponding terminals of the chandelier terminal block, and then secure it to the ceiling hook. In general, everything is as simple as shelling pears.

The diagram for connecting the chandelier to two terminals is as follows:

If the circuit is three-wire, then the connection is made like this:

Now let’s assume that the chandelier is a two-arm chandelier and you need to connect it to a single-key switch.

Each horn is a branch and two wires must come from it (phase and zero), but the “ground” is connected to the body, so it does not go to the branches.

Let's assume that there are blue and brown wires coming from each horn.

To connect the chandelier, you need to separate the wires of the horns by color and twist them together (the blue ones are separate from the brown ones).

Then we connect them to the power line, and it does not matter what color the wires will be phase and neutral.

For example, we connect the brown wires through the block to the phase conductor, and the blue wire to the zero.

Then we isolate everything and check its functionality. Here we note that with such a connection, no matter how many bulbs there are in the chandelier, they will all light up when turned on.

It happens that the third wire in a chandelier or wiring is superfluous (ground is not provided in the lighting fixture or power line).

In the case of a chandelier, we simply ignore this output (this will not affect the performance in any way), but the grounding conductor of the wiring will need to be insulated.

Overall this is general scheme connecting the chandelier and it is identical for everyone, but there are some nuances that will be indicated below.

A little about wiring connections. To do this, you can use either terminal blocks or conventional twisting followed by insulation with protective caps.

Each connection method has its own advantages and disadvantages.

Terminals are more convenient for installation, but it is not always possible to install it.

The twist is more compact in size, but it is not always possible to twist the wires well.

Two-button switch - chandelier

Now let's talk about how to connect a chandelier to a two-key switch.

Since the number of lamps and their division into groups can be very different, we will consider several options:

One switch – several chandeliers

Now let's look at how to connect several chandeliers to one switch. Here you will also have to consider the features of the power line.

For example, let’s take a single-key switch that will power three chandeliers at once.

The lighting line diagram with this switch is as follows: phase and zero go from the switchboard to the distribution box.

A wire goes into it from the phase conductor to the switch, and returns to it again.

As a result, in the box we have a zero and a phase (with a switch included in the circuit), to which we can connect the wiring leading to the consumer.

Therefore, in order to connect three chandeliers to this switch at once, it is enough to throw one common line and insert the phase and neutral wires of the lighting devices into it.

Moreover, it is better to connect each chandelier to a common line in distribution boxes (they additionally need to be installed). And then in the chandelier itself, divide it into horns (branches).

Connecting a chandelier with additional equipment

Now about connecting the chandelier in which the fan is mounted. This lighting device does not require anything special to connect, since the fan is the same consumer as a regular light bulb (that is, the circuit is the same as that of a two-arm chandelier).

It should be connected to a two-key switch so that you can turn off the light or fan if necessary.

Also, when connecting such a chandelier, you should read the instructions, which should indicate which of the wires going to power the fan is phase and which is neutral, and use this information when connecting.

The same applies to chandeliers that have remote control using the remote control.

Inside such a device there will be a special executive unit with a controller that receives signals from the remote control.

So, this unit requires power, and it works on the same principle as a light bulb.

But in the chandeliers with LED lamps, lighting elements operate from a 12V network with direct current. And for this purpose, the design of the lighting device contains a step-down transformer, which has phase and neutral terminals.

Connecting this chandelier is as easy as connecting a regular light bulb.

Sometimes there is a need to install a combination switch to power the chandelier, combined with an outlet.

And here the whole peculiarity lies precisely in connecting the switch itself, and not the lighting device.

Since there is an outlet, in order for it to function, both phase and zero must be supplied to it.

And if only a phase conductor was routed to a conventional switch, then a neutral conductor will also have to be routed to the combined one. The connection diagram for such a switch is presented below.

There are times when the part of the supply wiring protruding from the ceiling is not enough to connect the chandelier. In this case, you can simply increase them.

To do this, you can take two segments copper wire cross section of at least 1.5 mm. sq. and connect them to the line terminals using twisting. Then the connection points should be properly insulated.

Popular with readers: disadvantages and advantages of the device.

Safety precautions

When connecting a chandelier, do not forget about safety precautions. All work should be carried out only with de-energized wiring. Moreover, simply disconnecting the line at the switch is not enough; it must be de-energized at the distribution board.

You need to be very careful about the distribution of wiring before connecting.

5 / 5 ( 1 voice )

If you need to organize separate switching of several lamps or lamps on a multi-candle chandelier, the equipment is connected to switches with two and three keys. For many home craftsmen, it remains a mystery why there are two keys, but more wires, which naturally causes difficulties when connecting - all the lamps can light up only if both keys are in the on position. Today we will look at how the chandelier connection diagram works two-gang switch. After reading the material, you can easily do all the work correctly yourself.

How does separate power supply for a chandelier work?

To understand in what order to connect the wires in the switch, you need to understand how electricity flows through the chandelier, powering the lamps. In this chapter we will deal with this issue.

No matter how difficult it may be electrical part device, it will always end with leads of two, three or four wires. The simplest ones can be connected with only 2 wires. The number of terminals does not tell us anything about their purpose. Let's look at this topic in detail.

In the photo above you can see a classic terminal block with two colored wires coming out of it.

Advice! Color coding of conductors provides additional guidance when organizing connections. electrical appliances. You should not trust it completely, since you cannot know how the connections are made in the junction box without looking into it.

So, one wire is working phase, designated by the Latin letter L(black wire, although it could be any other), and the second is zero - the letter N(in all circuits, blue wires are used for it). In fact, the lamp does not care which contact it supplies the phase to; what is much more important is which wire goes to the switch

Carefully study the presented diagram - we are interested in gray lines indicating phase. It immediately becomes clear that they are the ones reaching for the two-key switch. This is very important point, since some electricians do not follow this rule and leave zero there.

What can happen with such a connection? If you have incandescent lamps and the like in your chandelier, then there will be no difference, but if LED and fluorescent lamps with their built-in electrical part, they begin to flicker when turned off, since they are constantly energized. This moment is terribly annoying, but that's not so bad. More importantly, the lamp life, depending on a limited number of on-off switches, begins to be intensively used up.

Let's return again to our chandelier with two wires. To connect it, you need a single-key switch that will break the phase wire coming from the distribution box. The zero will go straight into the box - it does not require a switch, where it will connect to the common zero of the house network. Everything is extremely simple and clear.

Distribution boxes perform very important function. They are the ones who provide the distribution electrical wires between points of consumption, i.e. switches, lighting fixtures and sockets. Have you decided to install the devices listed above yourself? Then you need to thoroughly understand the features and order of connecting cables, as well as the basic methods of connecting them. You will learn about the basic methods of connecting cables and the features of connecting the box.

The photo shows the base of the sconce, but this does not matter, the principle of operation and connection for other lamps with chandeliers is the same. Here we see that three wires come out of the device body. We already know that blue is zero, everything is clear with black, but yellow-green didn’t exist before.

note that it does not come out of the inner tube, but is screwed to the metal body of the lamp. Before you is real grounding. This is required to avoid defeat. electric shock in case of breakdowns on the housing, the current will always flow along the path of least resistance.

We can connect grounding only if it is provided for in the house electrical network. The distribution box will contain a common ground, to which the yellow-green wires from all electrical points of the house will converge.

In fact, the connection diagram for such a chandelier is no different from that described earlier, and it requires a single-key switch.

The photo shows a chandelier with several candles. Since from everyone the base is coming two wires each, all their leads will go to the base of the device, although in good chandeliers The manufacturer makes the entire power supply circuit himself and often hides it in a hidden part of the case.

Now look at how the wires are twisted together - they are connected together by color. In fact, they form the same two wires that we wrote about above. That is, with such a connection, you will also only need a single-key switch.

Interesting to know! Buying cheap electrics made in China, you come across models in which the wires have single-color insulation. There we either show all our attentiveness, or we label everything ourselves. We especially recommend the latter if the device will be connected to a two-key switch.

The last option is when three wires come out of the chandelier, not counting the grounding, or you make such a twist yourself - an example of it is shown in the photo above. Let's take a closer look at it. We see that all neutral wires are connected together and connected to one Vago terminal. Here is a vivid example of how the color coding. The phase wires are separated in a certain order, most likely through one, and connected to two terminals. This diagram tells us that in order to light all the candles, two separate phases need to be connected to the chandelier. This is exactly what can be achieved using a two-key switch.

Interesting to know! You can split the light switching on at least one light bulb at a time. For all this, what is needed is that required quantity wires and switch keys.

Structure of a two-key switch

Let's move on to the second important component of our circuit - a two-key switch. In this chapter we will look at how it works, which will allow you to accurately connect it to the chandelier. They are usually installed in fairly large rooms, where the lighting must be controlled separately, for example, during an evening vigil in front of the TV, the user only needs 3 lamps, and for some work he lights 6. Not only chandeliers are connected to them, but also separately installed lamps and even groups of them - it all depends on the intended light circuit.

Let's compare two-key and one-key switches to understand their fundamental differences. The photo below shows the second option. We see that two wires are connected to it. Don't think that this is a plus and a minus. In fact, it is one wire, it’s just that the switch can “break” and “connect” it. These wires are connected to terminals that are not connected to each other. A pendulum switch made of dielectric (plastic) is installed in the middle, which, when pressed, pushes a movable spring contact connecting the contact pads in this position. As a result, the circuit closes and current begins to flow.

When connecting this device, the phase wire from the chandelier is connected to one contact, and from the second, the wire is pulled to the common phase in the junction box.

A two-key switch works on a similar principle. The phase wire from the distribution box is inserted into it. It needs to be connected to a fixed contact, which will be common to two keys. For each key you need to connect another wire, which will go to the chandelier and connect there with those separate twists that we wrote about earlier. That is, we have three wires and they are all phase, just one is the input, and the rest are outputs.

The moving contacts of the device are not connected to each other in any way. This will only happen if both keys are set to the on position. When pressed, they will connect the circuit separately along the circuits, allowing the lamps to be controlled independently.

What happens if you don’t know which wire is the common phase wire and connect it to one of the moving contacts? If we do this, then a wire from one of the twists in the chandelier will come to the fixed contact, which means that if we press this key, the lamps in it will light up. If you press the second key at the same time, all the lamps will light up, but if the first key is then turned off, everything will go out, since the common phase is cut off from the fixed contact, which should be common.

To prevent this from happening, you need to know exactly which wire goes where - that's why color coding is needed. But what to do if the electrician mixed up the wires when connecting in the junction box? They need to be called, we will tell you how to do this a little later.

Correct connection of the chandelier and switch

All this sounded beautiful in words, but in fact, many readers probably still had questions, in particular, how to make such a connection in practice. Let's look at two methods, one when we see only the leads, and the second when we do the wiring ourselves. Let's start with the second one, as it is more difficult to implement.

Let's imagine that you are building own house, and it came to laying the wires. How to do this correctly?

First, let's prepare the right tool. You will need:

• wire cutters for shortening wires;
• a stationery knife or special pliers for cleaning wires from insulation;
• terminals of any convenient type;
• pliers;
• indicator screwdriver;
• tester;
• perforator;
• crosshead screwdriver;
• insulating tape;
• wall chaser for organization hidden wiring and some other devices which we will mention as necessary along the way.

Table 1. How to route the wiring correctly?

Steps, photo	Description
	At hidden installation wiring, you also need to hide the base of the switches. They are installed in round plastic boxes that must be mounted into the wall. The installation of the element differs depending on the wall material. If they are made of concrete or other hard materials, we use a hammer drill with a diamond core drill. We need to drill a hole with a diameter of 73 mm. If in front of you frame wall, then the installation of the boxes is carried out simultaneously with their assembly - the cable is passed through reverse side and is brought out into the cut hole (here a wood crown is used). Then the box is placed, which is held in place by screw tightening. IN concrete wall The boxes are held in place by gypsum mortar.
	Next, you need to cut out the channels that will lead to the junction box. For these purposes, it is best to use a wall chaser - with it the groove will be the same depth and even - it will be much easier to cover it up later. The groove is first made vertically until it reaches the level of the junction box, and then horizontally, straight to it. Advice! If you have a suspended ceiling, then instead of a horizontal groove, you can run the wires directly along the ceiling. As an option, you can use a grinder or a hammer drill. The last option is the worst, as there is a risk of chipping the plaster. If your wall is of a frame type, then, again, we do the broaching during its assembly.
	Then the wiring is laid. We need a three-core wire with a cross-section sufficient for the loads from the chandelier. The wires in the groove need to be secured somehow. For this, special dowels with clamps, homemade fasteners made from pieces of wire, or a plaster solution, which hardens very quickly, are used. The ends of the wires are brought out into boxes, where we will connect them.
	We strip the wires first from the general insulation, and then from the internal insulation, exposing the ends by 1-1.5 cm. The length of the leads should be enough to reach the required terminals in the switch. You also can’t leave too much, otherwise you won’t be able to install the device. The contacts on the switch will be labeled L, L1 and L2. The first is the common phase; we connect any of the three wires here and remember it (alternatively, you can attach a tag to the other end). We connect the remaining wires with movable contacts - also mark everything so that it is easier to navigate later. After connection, the switch is attached to its box. It is held in place by expanding tendrils, which, when the screw is tightened, wedge between the walls of the box, or by self-tapping screws. At the end there is a facial decorative panel, and we won't come back here anymore.
	Let's move on to the distribution box. In it we need to find the common zero and phase. This can be done using dialing, which we will discuss below. We remove the insulation from them if they are used to connect the twists, having first de-energized everything in the shield. The wire that we previously connected to the fixed terminal (let it be blue) is connected to the common phase.
	We take the same three-core wire and stretch it to the point where the chandelier will be installed. The easiest way is to perform surface mounting, as shown in the photo. The conductors are placed in a plastic corrugation and attached to the base using special clips. It also happens internal wiring when wires are laid in the voids of floor slabs - such a scheme is extremely inconvenient if it is necessary to replace the wiring. When installing a wire inside a frame, for example, plasterboard, it is very important not to connect it to it, since in the event of a short circuit, the corrugated walls may not withstand and the entire structure will be energized, which is fraught with accidents and electric shock. Laying is always carried out on fireproof and non-electrically conductive surfaces. If the ceiling is made of wood, the corrugation is made of stainless steel.
	We will connect three wires from the chandelier to the laid cable. We throw a zero twist on the blue wire. Phase - for the remaining ones. Connections are best made through terminal blocks. If they are not there, you can twist them, just insulate everything well. Attention! If the chandelier has a ground connection, then you must run a four-wire wire to it to connect the desired terminal to the common ground.
	We return to the junction box. Here we will have 4 free wires - 2 from the chandelier, 2 from the switch. They will be color coded in pairs. They are all phase. We combine them by color and carefully arrange them.

This completes the connection, close the junction box, screw in the light bulbs, apply voltage through the panel and perform a test run. If you did everything correctly, then everything will work great.

But what if the wires are already walled up in the wall, and even worse, do not have colored insulation? We need to ring everything, for which we use a tester and an indicator screwdriver. We act like this (we analyze the situation using the example of a stand).

Table 2. How to ring wires?

Steps, photo	Description
	First of all, we need to find the phase of the main wire coming from the panel. We can approximate the direction in which the wires go into the wall, but there is no guarantee that we will guess. Therefore, we turn off the switch in the panel, disconnect all the wires from each other and move them to the sides so that they do not touch each other.
	We take an indicator screwdriver and touch the wires with it one by one, having previously applied voltage to them. Upon contact with the phase, the lamp on the device will light up. We remember the wire and turn off the general switch again. Mark the phase with a marker. The second core will most likely be zero. If you want to check, then use the tester before turning off the lights.
	Now we need to figure out where the rest of the wires come from. We go, say, to the switch, and connect all three wires in its box with one twist.
	We take the tester and begin, sorting through, looking for the ends the necessary wires. As soon as you find the first pair, the light on the device will light up. Label these wires. Then leave one probe on any of the wires you find and continue searching until you find the third wire. It's simple.

We will do this type of testing for each electrical point that goes into the box, including the chandelier. Having marked all the wires, we can freely connect the chandelier to the two-key switch according to the diagram described earlier.

That's all, we have analyzed the material in more detail. If you still don’t understand something, we advise you not to get involved with an electrician at all, but we think that if everything is read carefully, there shouldn’t be such people left. Take care of yourself, all the best!

Video - How to understand the wires in the junction box

Video - Connecting a chandelier to a double switch

Connecting lighting fixtures seems like an easy task. It would seem that what’s so complicated here is to connect two wires coming from the ceiling? However, sometimes a home craftsman is faced with an unexpected problem: what to do if the chandelier has not two, but three wires? How and where to connect them? Let's try to understand this issue.

Necessary tool

For correct connection chandeliers you will need:

• Indicator screwdriver or voltage indicator;
• Multimeter;
• Pliers;
• Terminal block with three terminals;
• Insulating tape.

You will also need a stepladder or a stable stand, a marker, a sheet of paper and a passport for the lighting device.

Determining the purpose of wires in a chandelier

The simplest thing is to use the electrical diagram, which can be found in the passport for the lighting device. It usually indicates the purpose of all the wires and the order in which they are connected. According to accepted standards, color marking of wires should be done as follows:

• White or brown wire – phase;
• Blue wire – zero;
• The yellow-green wire is a protective ground wire.

If there is no documentation for the chandelier, and the color marking of the wires does not clearly indicate their identity, you need to determine their purpose using a multimeter.

Connecting a double-circuit chandelier to the electrical network

To correctly connect a chandelier with three wires, two of which are phase, you need to inspect the switch and the wires coming out of the ceiling. The simplest case is when the switch is two-key, and three wires come out of the ceiling. The purpose of these wires can be determined as follows:

1. Take an indicator screwdriver or voltage indicator.
2. Turn on both switch keys.
3. Touch the voltage indicator to the stripped ends of all three wires one by one. When contacting phase wires, the light on the voltage indicator will light up.
4. Mark the phase wires with a marker.
5. Turn off the breaker. Check all three wires again. The light should not light up!
6. Connect the phase wires of the chandelier one by one to the marked phase wires of the electrical wiring, and also connect the neutral wires. The connection is made using a terminal block or twisted using insulating caps or electrical tape.
7. Check the operation of the chandelier by turning on both keys in turn.

If the switch is single-key and only two wires come out of the ceiling, then you need to check them with the switch on with a voltage indicator and find the phase and neutral wires. The phase wires of the chandelier are connected to each other and to the phase wire of the electrical wiring, and the neutral wires are also connected. Check whether the chandelier is turned on and off.

If the switch is installed as a single-key switch, and there are three wires in the electrical wiring, you need to find out the purpose of the third wire. To do this, turn on the switch and check for voltage on all wires. If the phase is detected on two wires, then the two-key switch needs to be replaced, and the chandelier can be connected using a three-wire circuit. If the phase is on only one wire, and the third wire has yellow-green insulation, then the connection is made as in the previous case: both phase wires of the chandelier are connected to the phase wire of the electrical wiring, and the grounding conductor is insulated and removed.

Connecting a chandelier with a ground wire

If the lighting fixture has a metal casing, it must be grounded. In new apartments, all electrical networks, including lighting, according to standards, must have a yellow-green grounding conductor. If your network meets this requirement, then to connect the chandelier it is enough to connect the wires with the corresponding color markings using a terminal block or twist.

If the networks are old, and the insulation of all wires is the same color, then you should proceed in the following sequence:

1. Determine the number and purpose of wires coming out of the ceiling. If there are two wires, then turn on the switch and use a voltage indicator to find phase and zero. The switch is turned off and the wires are connected to the corresponding wires of the chandelier, and the grounding wire at the chandelier is insulated.
2. If there are three wires, then proceed in the same way. If there are two separate circuits and a two-key switch in the network, then the phase wires of the wiring are combined and connected to the phase wire of the chandelier, the neutral wires of the wiring and chandelier are also connected, and the grounding wire is isolated.

Safety precautions

Be careful when connecting any electrical appliances. All connections and connections must be made only with the switch turned off after checking that there is no voltage on the wires. Places of twists are isolated using special caps or electrical tape. If you doubt that you can connect a chandelier with three wires correctly, it is better to entrust this matter to professionals.

Before starting work on connecting the chandelier, I recommend that you familiarize yourself with its structure.

Designation of chandelier wires

Contacts for connecting to the electrical wiring wires on the chandelier are indicated by the following Latin letters:

• L– phase,
• N– neutral wire,
• RE– grounding conductor yellow-green colors.

Markings on chandeliers have only recently begun, and chandeliers produced a long time ago may not have markings. In this case, you will have to figure it out yourself.

About connecting the ground wire in the chandelier

In modern chandeliers with metal fittings ground wire is installed yellow-green colors. The ground wire is designated in Latin letters RE. If the apartment's electrical wiring is made with a grounding wire (it must be yellow-green, but can be of any color), then it also needs to be connected to the terminal to which it is connected yellow-green chandelier wire.

In houses old building Apartment electrical wiring is usually made without a grounding conductor. Old chandeliers or those with plastic fittings also do not have a grounding conductor. In such cases, the grounding conductor is not connected; it will not affect the performance of the chandelier, since it only performs a protective function.

In the photographs, the wires coming out of the ceiling and chandelier are shown in white, and this is no coincidence. There is no single international standard on the color marking of wires in the electrical network, and even more so in chandeliers. And in Russia, the color marking of electrical wires has changed since January 1, 2011. Only the PE ground wire is marked yellow-green in the specifications of all countries color.

Attention! Before connecting the chandelier, to prevent electric shock, it is necessary to de-energize the electrical wiring. To do this, turn off the corresponding circuit breaker in the distribution panel and check the reliability of the shutdown using the phase indicator.

Chandelier connection diagrams

Despite the variety of models, all chandeliers, including LED chandeliers with remote control, are connected according to one of the schemes discussed below. To connect, it is enough to connect the wires coming out of the ceiling correctly to the terminals of the terminal installed on the chandelier body. The work is simple and anyone can do it home handyman, even without electrical experience.

If there are 2 wires coming out of the ceiling and the chandelier

Connecting a single-arm chandelier, consisting of one light bulb, and a single-key switch in the electrical wiring usually does not cause difficulties. It is enough to connect two wires coming out of the ceiling using any type of terminal block with the wires coming out of the base of the chandelier.

Although, according to the requirements of the PUE, twisting of electrical wires is currently prohibited, but in hopeless situation, taking into account the fact that the chandelier consumes low current, you can temporarily connect the chandelier using the twisting method, followed by isolating the connection.

According to the requirements of the PUE, to increase operational safety, the phase wire in the electrical cartridge must be connected to the central contact, and the switch must open the phase wire. It is advisable to follow this rule. But in practice, no one thinks about this; they usually connect the switch and chandelier as needed.

If there are 2 wires coming out of the ceiling and a multi-arm chandelier

If a chandelier has several arms, but only two wires come out of it, it means that all the light bulbs inside the chandelier are connected in parallel, and such a chandelier is connected according to the above diagram.

If there are 2 wires coming out of the ceiling, 3 or more from the chandelier

Let's consider more difficult option connecting the chandelier, the wires in it are connected to enable each bulb to be turned on separately. For our case, all pairs of wires from the cartridges, regardless of their number, must be connected in parallel. One option is to install an additional jumper made of wire (pictured Pink colour).

You can do without installing a jumper. It is enough to unscrew the screws at the first and third terminals, remove the wire coming from the left socket from the first terminal, and insert it into the third, together with the right wire coming from the right socket.

If there are 3 wires coming out of the ceiling and 2 from the chandelier

Typically three wires come out of the ceiling if a two-gang switch is installed. First of all, you need to deal with the wires coming out of the ceiling - find the common wire. This is easy to do if you have a phase indicator.

To search for a common wire, you need to turn on both keys on the switch and sequentially touch each wire with an indicator probe. Depending on which wire opens the switch, phase or neutral, two options for the indicator’s behavior are possible.

• When you touch two wires there is a glow, but not the third. In this case, the wire on which there is no glow is common.
• When you touch one of the wires there is a glow, but not the other two. Then the wire on which there is a glow is common.

Without a phase indicator, it’s also easy to figure out the connection. You need to connect any two wires from the ceiling to the chandelier and turn on both switch keys. If the light comes on, it means that the connection has been made with the common wire and one of the wires coming from the switch. You can leave it like that. If you want to understand the wires completely, you need to brute-force the connection so that when both keys on the switch are turned on, the light does not come on. This way you can find the wires coming from the switch.

All that remains is to clamp the common wire and any other wire coming from the ceiling with a pair of chandelier wires into the terminal. If you need to connect a chandelier so that the light is turned on by any of the two switch keys, then place a jumper (pink in the photo) or clamp the wires, which are connected by a jumper in the photo, in one terminal. The jumper can be installed not in the terminal block, but in the switch.

If there are 3 wires coming out of the ceiling, several from the chandelier

If you want not all the bulbs of a multi-light chandelier to turn on at the same time, but in groups, then the chandelier must be connected according to the diagram below. Required condition is the presence of a two-key switch. You need to connect a two- or three-arm chandelier according to the method described above. A common wire is determined from three coming out of the ceiling. One wire from pairs coming from each chandelier socket is connected to it.

The remaining two wires are connected to the remaining free conductors from the pairs coming from the chandelier sockets. It will be much easier to cope with connecting a multi-arm chandelier if you become familiar with its structure.

Connection diagram for 2-3 chandeliers
from a single-key switch

In a large room, or if a suspended ceiling is installed, for good lighting you have to install several chandeliers or spotlights mounted in the ceiling, which must be turned on simultaneously with one single-key switch.

Sometimes it is necessary to connect the switch in such a way that it can turn on the lights in two, three or more rooms at the same time. In this case, chandeliers or lamps are connected in parallel, like several sockets in one chandelier, according to the following diagram.

Each chandelier in the diagram is connected to the switch through a separate junction box, but all connections can be made in one junction box, it all depends on the wiring diagram in the room. If each chandelier has many horns, then they are connected in parallel, as for the connection case discussed above, when two wires come out of the ceiling, and three or more from the chandelier.

Connection diagram for three chandeliers
from one three-key switch

If in one or more rooms you need to turn on each chandelier separately from one three-key switch, then you should connect the chandeliers according to the diagram below.

This option for connecting lamps is often used to control lamps installed in the bathroom, toilet and kitchen. One three-key switch is installed in the corridor, and the corresponding chandelier is turned on before entering the room.

Connecting a chandelier
to the Viko switch block (Viko) with socket

Sometimes it is necessary to install an additional socket next to the switch. If necessary, it is advisable to replace the installed switch with a block consisting of switches and a socket, for example Viko (Viko), shown in the photo. There are from one key to four switches for a chandelier in a block. So there is an opportunity to choose the right one. The photo shows a two-key unit with LED backlighting and one socket.

You need to connect the switch block with a socket to the chandelier according to the diagram below. As you can see, the circuit is not much different from connecting a chandelier to an ordinary switch, with the exception of an additional wire running from the neutral wire to the left terminal of the socket.

In the diagram, the connection of wires is shown in accordance with the requirements of the PUE; in real wiring, zero and phase can be connected in reverse. If, for example, there was a two-key switch, but you need a single-key switch with a socket, then you can not lay an additional wire, but use a free one, switching it in the distribution box to zero or phase, depending on which wire goes to the switch.

Building or extending wires
when connecting a chandelier

Now, when renovating an apartment, they began to install suspended ceilings. Tension ones are especially popular. They have a magnificent appearance, practically do not wear out, come in any color with a glossy or matte surface, and are not afraid of water. Stretch ceiling are installed at a distance of 5-10 cm below the existing ceiling plane, so the length of the conductors for connecting the lamps becomes insufficient. It is necessary to increase their length.

The complexity of the task lies in the fact that it will be impossible to get to the place where the wires are spliced ​​to connect a chandelier or other lamps after installing the ceiling without dismantling it. This means that the connection must be made in the most reliable way. Connecting wires in hard to reach places using a terminal block is not a reliable type of connection. The screws in the terminal block may become loose over time and will need to be tightened.

The website article “Connection of broken wires in the wall” discusses in detail in photographs the methods of connecting aluminum and copper wires each other, just suitable for extending wires to connect a chandelier or other lamps. For a secure connection when extending aluminum wires copper, I recommend reading the article “How to connect aluminum wires”. To extend the wires to connect the chandelier to suspended ceiling One of the methods described in the article, threaded or permanently rivet, will do.

Wire cross-section for connecting the chandelier

If the chandelier is equipped with six hundred-watt incandescent light bulbs designed for a supply voltage of 220 V, then the current consumption will not exceed 3 A. A copper conductor with a cross-section of 0.5 mm 2 can withstand such current, and standard apartment wiring is usually made with wires with a cross-section of at least 2.5 mm 2. So, when connecting a chandelier with 220 V light bulbs, you don’t have to worry about the wire cross-section. When connecting a chandelier with LED lamps, you also don’t have to worry about the wire cross-section.

When connecting a chandelier or lamps with halogen bulbs to a voltage of 12 V, the current consumption becomes much greater, and the cross-section of the wire in the wiring section from the step-down transformer or adapter to the chandelier lamps must be calculated using the online calculator below and check its compliance.

The current consumption of which is tens of times less than that of incandescent lamps.

At first glance, connecting a chandelier at home seems like something that even a beginner can do. In reality, this is a completely complex electrical engineering operation that requires knowledge electrical diagrams and ability to use tools. Installation of an indoor lighting fixture becomes noticeably more complicated in cases where several light bulbs are connected through a two-key switch.

The need for wire testing

In order to correctly connect the chandelier, the first step is to determine the phase and neutral conductors coming out of the ceiling. To do this, be sure to test the wires with a voltage indicator or voltmeter.

First of all, you need to check that the switch is connected correctly. In the on position of the two switch keys, the indicator screwdriver should show the presence of phase on the two wires coming out of the ceiling.

There should be no voltage on one of the wires. By turning off the light switch keys one by one, you can determine which wire corresponds to a particular key.

Connecting a chandelier with 2 bulbs to a double switch

The simplest of possible options– connecting the chandelier to a double switch with two arms.

According to the diagram, in this case, 3 conductors are connected to the switch, one of which comes from the distribution box (phase input), and two outputs return to the box and, together with the neutral wire, enter the chandelier.

Additional Information: If only one phase wire (in red or red insulation) is laid from the ceiling to the place where the chandelier is attached from the switch white) – the second one will have to be laid independently.

This connection allows you to select the following lighting states:

1. Only one light is on when the second one is extinguished (the first of the keys is in the on position, and the second is in the off position).
2. All lights are on (both keys are on).
3. All lamps are extinguished (the device is completely turned off).

Wherein total parallel connected lamps in each of the two switched groups can be arbitrary.

How to connect a 3-light chandelier to a double switch

If you need to switch three lamps at once through the same double switch, you will need to do the following:

1. Make connections to the double switch in the same way as the previous case.
2. Then connect one of the phase wires coming from it to one lamp.
3. The second conductor must be connected to two parallel-connected light bulbs.

With this method of organizing switching, the range of possible options for illumination generation expands. At the same time, the possibility of saving energy remains.

Wiring diagram for a chandelier with a double switch for 4 bulbs

With four lamps, the situation with switching through a two-key device becomes noticeably more complicated, since in this case the number of possible combinations of connecting illuminators increases to two.

The first option involves dividing 4 lamps into two groups of two illuminators each. Similar to all previous cases, the corresponding wire from the switch is supplied to them. When you turn on one key, only two lights light up, and when you press two at once, all four horns light up.

In the second case, the lamps are divided as follows: 3 pieces are combined into a separate group, and the fourth remains as is. With this switching on, one key switches three light bulbs at once, and the second only one.

According to the scheme, you can select a set of lamps in each of the switched groups arbitrarily, which depends on the preferences of the apartment owner. Since the number of wires in this case increases significantly, you will need to describe the procedure for their installation, which is done as follows:

• First of all, in the bundle of wires connected to the chandelier, a common or neutral wire is found, which must have blue insulation.
• There you should also find two wires in red insulation, which are phase wires (they are routed from the two output contacts of the two-key switch).
• The first of them is connected to one group of light bulbs, and the second to another.

If one phase wire in red insulation is connected from the ceiling to the place where the chandelier is attached, another one, intended for the second group, is laid independently

When you press one key in this case, two or three lamps initially light up, and after switching the second, the remaining horns are added to them. In cases where strong lighting is not required, it is enough to keep one key on.

Important! If you want to save on electricity, you should use the second inclusion option (4+1).

In this case, you can turn on one lamp, leaving the other four off. The considered scheme allows you to control the lighting in the room in the entire range of possible options.

Connecting a chandelier to a double switch for 6 bulbs

Connecting a chandelier via a 2-key switch with a large number of horns is possible in a situation where the apartment has suitable electrical wiring for this. If this condition is met, it will be possible to use various options lighting modes.

Additional Information: You can get by with old eyeliner only if you have previously used a light of a similar design (with several horns).

As in the previous version, this requires that at the point where the cable exits from the ceiling hole, two phase wires and one neutral wire come out.

The light bulbs included in the lighting fixture can be divided as follows:

• One group consists of two lamps, and the 2nd group consists of 4 lamps.
• Each of these groups contains 3 lighting units (photo on the right).

Breaking the horns in a ratio of 5 to one in this situation does not make sense, since the difference when 6 or only 5 lamps are on is practically unnoticeable.

As in previous cases, the wiring of neutral and phase conductors along the horns must be organized in the chandelier body (usually this is done in production during its manufacture).

The user just needs to connect wires in insulation of the same color through a special connector, observing the selected switching order. If the colors of the wires on the chandelier are not indicated, you will have to ring them with a multimeter and identify where the ground conductor is, going to the sockets, and where the phase conductor is, connected to the central spots of the lamps.

Connection diagram for an 8-arm chandelier via a double switch

To connect a lighting fixture with eight horns, you will need to proceed in the same way as was done in all previous cases. In this situation you will have to use the following options breakdown of light bulbs into groups:

Note: The 7+1 option does not make sense, just like the 5+1 breakdown scheme in the previous case.

Selection of possible options luminous flux in this situation increases significantly, which guarantees the possibility of economical consumption of electricity. Economy mode is usually selected in situations where maximum illumination is not necessary.

Video on the topic

We have selected a video with which you can correctly connect a chandelier to a double switch for 5 bulbs.

In the final part of the review, we note that each of the considered methods of turning on lighting devices on different quantities lamps assumes a specific one for a given room. The number of simultaneously switched on light sources depends on usable area and volume.