Hi,

I would like to make a wall lamp with a reading lamp like the one below.
I currently simply have one switch and wiring in the wall (behind the plaster) to operate a regular wall lamp. Since it's next to the bed, it seems like a good idea to have a reading lamp that you can operate seperately with a switch on the panel like the one below.
Ideally, I'd like to have one switch on the panel where I can choose to either turn on:
*the indirect light
*the reading light
*both the reading and the indirect light
Does such a switch exist?

If I turn off the current switch on the wall, both lights would be off. Meaning that, depending on the 'mode' you choose on the panel, one, the other, or both lights may be switched on when you operate the currently existing switch on the wall.

Thank you for the help!

 

Welcome to AAC!

Nice question.

The elegant solution would be a single push-button with four states:

1. backlight
2. reading light
3. both
4. off

Are we allowed to use digital circuitry?
Is the lightning 120/240VAC or low voltage AC or low voltage DC?

 

The simplest solution would be to install a second switch.

 

Thank you for your answer!

I currently have a multiway switch; I can switch the bedside light on/off at the door of the room or at the bedside. I therefore think a second switch might be difficult and thought that I might be able to adjust the settings on the panel of the lamp itself.

230V arrives at the current switch and wall connection.

I was thinking about combining a spot like this

with indirect light from led strips (I'll need an adaptor for this too).

I believe there would be some room for digital circuitry behind the wall panel, if necessary. Do you have some links for a single push-button with four states and perhaps even a basic scheme of how the circuit should be installed?

 

Just so that we understand the situation correctly.

Is the backlight a part of the spotlight fixture?
Does the switch shown on the spotlight fixture control both the backlight and the spotlight at the same time?
Does the wall switch control power to the backlight and the spotlight at the same time?
When the wall switch is turned off, do both lights stay off and the fixture switch have no effect?

 

Hello again! I've been thinking about it again and hope this clarifies some things. I've never had a formal electronics education but am a motivated, eager diy-person.

This is the current situation, I can't really change the current switches because I don't want to destroy the plastering.

I would like to make a fancier wall lamp with both a backlight and a reading light (inspired by the picture shown in my first post). I found the picture of my first post online and liked the look of it. I'm not sure what the switch on the spotlight fixture does in the original setup.Both the backlight and the reading lamp/spot would be part of ONE fixture that I'll make in wood to hang on the wall.

I'd like to be able to turn lights on and of with the door and the bed-side switch. However, I'd like to choose whether I turn on only the backlight, only the reading light, or both. I think this should be feasible with some extra buttons on the larger square panel. The picture has only one switch; I can only come up with a solution that has two switches:

I realise this means that if both small switches are turned off, you cannot turn on any lights using the standard switches but I would accept that if there's no other way. I also realize that the led strips that I find online always come with an adapter to convert the 220AC to 12V or 24V but I think that should be easy to hide behind the panel. I didn't draw any adapter here since I don't know the correct symbol for it.I'd put it between the small switch and the backlight LED strips...
And indeed, when the wall switch is turned off, both lights stay off and the fixture has no effect.

My current 'to buy list' would be:
Some led-strips with an adapter (plug would be cut off to length and directly connected to the wiring that is currently on the wall)
A nice spot/reading lamp, perhaps something like this
2 small switches, like this
Some wood, screws, wiring

Would this work? Am I forgetting anything?

Thanks for the help!

 

As we like to say, a schematic diagram is the language of choice used to communicate ideas in electrical and electronic circuit design.

The diagrams you have provided makes it perfectly clear what you are attempting to do.
Since you have no choice on the two "3-way" switches, your second drawing is the simplest solution.

The problem is, "3-way" switches are designed exactly for this purpose, to be able to control a room light from two remote locations, in the interest of safety. Having two additional switches defeats this requirement.

Let's give it some thought. Another AAC member may come up with a brighter solution.

 

In order to avoid you being in the dark, I would add a reversible switch instead and do the following (sorry for the crude drawing).

 

Very clever. That will do it.

 

Thank you, rsjsouza for the suggestion. Does this mean SW2 will also determine which of the two lights would work?

ie: if SW2 is in the position it's in now, it's not possible to only have the top lamp buring; you can either light both or only the bottom one.

 

You probably did not notice that post 8 has added not one but two switches--3 and 4. Sw 3 determines which lamp is on. Sw 4 adds the other one.

 

Awesome, I get it now!

So in stead of my solution with 2 simple switches, I install a 3-way switch and a simple switch on the spotlight fixture.

This is Tha Bomb, thank you for the help!
I'll post a reply once I've got the finished product!

 

Yes, sorry; I should have drawn the entire circuit. SW1 and SW2 are left untouched as you didn't want to break the existing installation.

If you don't need to have both on at the same time, you can even get rid of SW4.