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Title is probably confusing - let me explain. In our old bonus room (now a regularly used bedroom), the light switch by the door controls the can lights for the entire room. It also turns on/off the light in a storage area at the far end of the room. So anytime our daughter is in her room with her lights on, the storage area light is on as well. Not a huge deal either way, but the storage area has a dormer on the front of the house, so the light in the storage area is visible from the street.

Can I take the wire from the storage room light and run it to a new switch and then connect the storage room light to that switch? I understand that the new switch for the storage area wouldn't work unless the main room switch is turned on, but would wiring it this way mess up the main switch controlling the room's lights in any way? The new switch would only be designed to control the storage area light, not the main room's lights. Nothing is meant to be a three way switch or anything.

In my mind, when the main room switch is turned on, power would flow to the lights int he room and then to the new storage area switch as well, but if that new switch is switched off, power would stop at the new switch and not flow to the storage area light until that switch is flipped on. Is that correct? Thanks!

Russ Henry
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Your plan will work just fine. But of course you'll need to run the wires/cables to the new switch. To make things simpler, have you thought of, or is it practical to replace the light in the storage room with one that has a pull chain to turn it off and on?

George Anderson
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    Great point about the fixture with a chain - might be the path of least resistance. It's a small area so running the wire is not a big deal, but it is a small area, so going in and pulling the chain would probably work just as well. Thanks for the thoughts. – Russ Henry Dec 10 '22 at 20:18
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    Great idea, George. – JACK Dec 10 '22 at 20:41
  • With the price of wire these days, replacing the fixture might be the least expensive, least labor intensive approach. Back in the day when I was going to college, I worked in a hardware store. If a customer asked for a pull chain switch in a fixture that didn't have one, we'd drill a hole and get a pull chain switch and install it! Something I'm SURE we couldn't do today! But you could if the shape of the housing would support it. But to be code compliant, probably best to just replace the fixture with one with a pull chain. – George Anderson Dec 10 '22 at 21:53
  • @RussHenry Assuming the light in the storage area is a normal screw-in light-bulb, there are adapters which just screw in to the existing fixture and have a pull chain that controls the light which is screwed into the adapter. Such adapters can often be found for < $5 at local stores. Admittedly, I've never been all that pleased with the sturdiness/ease of use of such adapters, given the leverage the extra length produces on the fixture, but it could provide a very quick, easy, temporary solution which might allow you to find out if a pull chain is really the solution you want to go with. – Makyen Dec 11 '22 at 20:40
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One more alternative might be "smart" lighbulbs. There are many brands. Personally I like the Ikea range.

You might want to have power on always and control by battery powered remote control. Example Ikea trådfri. Example setup

ghellquist
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    The benefit of a Tradfri setup is that without the hub, it's not connected to internet. It's "just" a light with a wireless remote. Very easy to work with, very easy to connect. – Mast Dec 11 '22 at 13:54
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You have accurately described how the switch will work and it's OK to do that. It will not mess up the bedroom lighting. However, you would be better off doing it correctly by coming out of an always hot outlet to your new switch and then to the light in the storage area after removing or disconnecting the wire between the two lights.

JACK
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    Thanks for the feedback. It's a good thought to run the power from a hot outlet instead of the other switched lights. Certainly more "normal." The only issue I have is access to those lights in the bedroom. I can't (easily) disconnect the wire from the last light that is going to the storage area light. So that wire would need to terminate somewhere in the storage area, even if in junction box. That's sort of why I thought about it going to a new switch instead of the light it's going to now. – Russ Henry Dec 10 '22 at 20:24
  • @RussHenry It will work... you thought it out thoroughly. – JACK Dec 10 '22 at 20:45