A lighting plan usually starts with choosing luminaires and ends there. Yet what decides daily use is often not the luminaire but the control around it: which side of the door the switch is on, whether it has to be found by hand in the dark, whether the corridor light comes on by itself. This guide covers that layer of the installation.
Two-way switching: one lamp from two points
A single switch controls a lamp from one point. A two-way switch lets the same lamp be turned on and off from two separate points — switching on at the bottom of the stairs and off at the top is the classic example.
In long corridors, in rooms with two doors and in the bedroom (at the door and at the bedside), two-way switching is standard. Adding it later means opening the wall, so it has to be decided at the design stage.
If control is needed from three or more points, an intermediate switch comes in; the wiring is then different and should be discussed with the electrician in advance.
Number of sockets: planned around the furniture
Socket planning follows the furniture, not the walls. Behind the television unit, beside the desk, on both sides of the bed — if these points are not identified in advance they end up solved with an extension lead, and both the look and the safety suffer.
A general starting rule is at least one socket group per wall in each room, and double or triple groups at points of heavy use. In the kitchen, worktop sockets are counted separately: small appliances are used at the same time.
Mounting height follows use. For general sockets 30–40 cm from the floor is common practice, and for worktop sockets 15–20 cm above the worktop.
Sensors: tying the light to a condition
A motion sensor switches the lamp on when somebody is present and switches it off after a set time. In corridors, stairs, storerooms and garages — places passed through briefly — it gives both convenience and energy saving; a lamp waiting to be switched off by hand can burn for hours.
A dusk sensor looks not at movement but at the ambient light level: it switches on when darkness falls and off when it gets light. In garden and façade lighting it saves adjusting by hand for a sunset time that shifts with the season.
Detection distance and angle depend on mounting height. A sensor mounted too high can miss movement close by; one mounted too low triggers needlessly.
Flush or surface mounting?
Flush mounting needs a back box inside the wall and only the front plate of the switch shows; it is standard practice in new build and refurbishment.
Surface-mounted models fit directly onto the existing wall and need no chasing. They are preferred for a socket or switch added later, on timber and stone walls, and for temporary use.
Switch position: not somewhere you grope for in the dark
The height of the switch and its distance from the door decide a movement repeated dozens of times a day. Common practice is 105–115 cm from the floor and 10–15 cm from the door frame — that is where the hand opening the door naturally falls.
The direction the door opens counts too: if the switch is on the side the door swings to, an open door blocks it. If that detail is missed at the design stage, correcting it later means opening the wall.
For accessibility, a lower height (90–100 cm) makes wheelchair use easier. In a home this is a preference; in public buildings it is a requirement.
Splitting the circuit: not everything on one switch
Putting all the lighting in a room on one switch is the easiest solution but the one that most restricts daily use: the same light burns while watching a film and while cleaning.
When general lighting, accent lighting and decorative lighting go on separate circuits, a room supports more than one way of being used. With the ceiling fitting, the wall lights and the cove lighting on three separate switches, a living room offers three different atmospheres.
Circuit separation cannot be done afterwards — it is decided during wiring. The lighting plan therefore has to establish which groups will come on together before any luminaire is chosen.
Related guides: IP Ratings for LED Fixtures: Bathroom, Kitchen and Outdoors, Choosing an LED Panel: Watts, Lumens and How Many You Need, Ceiling Lighting Types: Spot, Linear, Cove Lighting, and Chandelier. For product options for your project, see our Switches & Sockets page.
