Light switch position

[SUNRAY]

Simple answer. Put 2 switches in on a two way circuit!

or a pull switch central to the door

 

[SUNRAY]

I've tried, and it seems to confirm what I suggested - i.e. that one "cannot please all of the people for all of the time".

I would imagine we would agree than when one is going through a doorway in the direction such that the door opens away from one, then any switch 'on the other side' must be on the 'lock side', since one would have to go on a 'trek' around the opening door before one could even see, let alone operate, a switch on the hinge side.

The question therefore only arises in relation to going through a doorway in the direction such as the door is open towards one. In that situation, experimentation seems to confirm what I said before - that it depends upon 'which way one is going to go' after walking through the doorway. If the answer is 'straight on' (e.g. if it is a door between two rooms, fairly central in the rooms' walls), then what one naturally does is opens the door wide (to something like 90°), so that one can 'walk straight in', facing forward, in which case, I don't think it makes much difference what side a switch (on the other side of the door) is - one will have to twist one's body/hands the same amount in either case.

However, taking my house as an example (and a hotel or suchlike would be an even better one!), many of my rooms have doors opening onto corridors, with the doors opening 'into' the rooms in question - i.e. the doors open towards one when one is walking from room into corridor. It that case, as I previously suggested, it really seems to depend upon which way one is going to walk once one gets into the corridor. If one is going to walk in the direction of the door's hinge, then you are probably right in saying that it would be more convenient/natural to have a switch outside that door on the hinge side However, if one is going to walk down the corridor in the direction of the door's lock, then it is probably preferable (more 'natural') for the switch outside the door to be on the lock side.

I think the point is that if one opens a door (towards one) with the intent of turning right or left immediately after going through the doorway, then one will already have 'pointed one's body' somewhat to the left or right (towards the hinge or lock) as one opens and steps through the doorway - so which side is the more convenient/natural to have a switch will be totally dependent on which way one is going to turn (hence which way ones body will be pointing as one goes through the doorway.

That's how it seems to me - both in theory and after some experiments, anyway!


I'm not sure that I had particularly consciously, either.

Kind Regards, John

Do you realistically open the door to 90°, I would say that I'd only open as far as needed as indicated by my first sketch and of course that may depend on which side one approaches from.

 

[EFLImpudence]

What about when you are returning from the extension and turning off the light; would you really want the switch on the other side from the door handle?

On which side do you fit bathroom light switches when outside the room?

 

[pcaouolte]

Despite voting for the lock side I have had a look around my own home and there are three places where the switch is on the hinge side after pulling the door towards me. This arrangement has always seemed fine to me, I had not noticed until now that the switches were on the hinge side. Perhaps your builder is correct.

 

[JohnW2]

Do you realistically open the door to 90°, I would say that I'd only open as far as needed as indicated by my first sketch and of course that may depend on which side one approaches from.

As I said, it depends upon one's intended direction of travel after going through the doorway.

If, as I suggested one wants to walk through the door and then carry on walking 'straight' (perpendicular to the wall), say to go into the middle of an adjoining room), then one has to open the door by something approaching 90° (maybe 70° or so), otherwise one will 'walk into' a bit of the door - unless one takes a 'detour' by turning a bit to the lock side, rather than continuing 'straight' as one wants.

However, as I said, the main issue is if, having gone through the doorway, one intends to turn (by about 90°) in the direction of the lock side of the door, in which case a switch on the lock side is seemingly 'better'.

I've just had a look at the first floor of my house. There is a corridor leading to a landing (and stairs), with bedroom doors along one side. All have doors opening into the bedrooms, and all have (corridor/landing) light switches just outside of the door, in all cases on the lock side (i.e. on the side nearest to the stairs). Given that people coming out of one of those bedrooms almost invariably turn towards the landing/stairs (rather than go the other way, to other bedrooms), having the light switch on the lock side is seemingly natural and convenient in that situation.

Kind Regards, John

 

[JohnW2]

Despite voting for the lock side I have had a look around my own home and there are three places where the switch is on the hinge side after pulling the door towards me. This arrangement has always seemed fine to me, I had not noticed until now that the switches were on the hinge side.

As I've said, I think it depends on what direction (if any) one is going to turn immediately after going through the doorway. As I've just explained in relation to my house, if it's very likely that people will turn in the direction of the lock side of the door after they have gone through it, then it is seemingly (slightly) more convenient to have the switch on the lock side.

Kind Regards, John

 

[JohnW2]

I've just had a look at the first floor of my house. There is a corridor leading to a landing (and stairs), with bedroom doors along one side. All have doors opening into the bedrooms, and all have (corridor/landing) light switches just outside of the door, in all cases on the lock side (i.e. on the side nearest to the stairs). Given that people coming out of one of those bedrooms almost invariably turn towards the landing/stairs (rather than go the other way, to other bedrooms), having the light switch on the lock side is seemingly natural and convenient in that situation.

To illustrate the above (apologies for grotty photo - the wall and woodwork are not actually pink ) ...

Kind Regards, John

 

[SUNRAY]

What about when you are returning from the extension and turning off the light; would you really want the switch on the other side from the door handle?

On which side do you fit bathroom light switches when outside the room?

Thanks for the question I'd not thought about the situation. In the properties I've lived in there have been 5 such situations; 3 bathrooms & 2 WC's. 2 bathrooms & 1 WC were lock side, others being hinge side. My daughter had a property with bathroom and switch on lock side edit; on inward opening door but the shower room/WC downstairs the door opened outwards and switch on hinge side, initially it seemed strange but I can't say I recall it being an issue. However as John has pointed out it is on the approach side. There was evidence the door had opened inwards against the basin edit; marks on door but still on hinge side. The shower room was an addition by adding a partition under a RSJ, the cable route was horizontal to the adjacent garage to the CU, so I imagine they took the easy way out for cable.

 

[Old Salt]

All mine are on the lock side and it seems the most logical regardless of the direction of travel and whether you are entering or leaving, opening or closing the door.

 

[JohnW2]

All mine are on the lock side and it seems the most logical regardless of the direction of travel and whether you are entering or leaving, opening or closing the door.

As I've said, although it's a relatively trivial difference, I think that it does 'depend' on the likely direction of travel after going through the door. If the layout/situation is such that most people are likely to turn directly towards the hinge side (e.g. to go along a corridor) after passing through the door, then I think it's marginally more logical to have a switch which is outside of the door on the hinge side.

However, that doesn't only apply to the positioning of switches, it also applies to hanging of the door. Looking at my house, as recently illustrated, the bedroom doors on the two sides of the corridor are hung in different ways, such ('lock side' towards stairs) as to make the door opening most 'convenient' for them turning towards the stairs in both cases. As a consequence of that, the most convenient/logical position for the light switch is always on the lock side, even those that is 'left' in some cases and 'right' in others.

Kind Regards, John

 

[SUNRAY]

Well this all started with me thinking it should be on lock side but builder reckoned hinge. My conclusion from this thread is it doesn't seem to much of an issue, however the room which seems to have caused problems to people is our downstairs WC shown very roughly to scale about 7.5 x 3ftwhere the switch was lockside and they never seemed to find it. However we have rehung the door and moved switch shown blue.

 

[JohnW2]

Well this all started with me thinking it should be on lock side but builder reckoned hinge. My conclusion from this thread is it doesn't seem to much of an issue,

Well there are some potential big 'issues', but maybe they're so obvious that we're not bothering to discuss them.

For example, once you had re-hung the door so that it opened into the room containing the switch, it would have been ridiculous to have the switch on the hinge side - since it would then have been necessary to go into the room, almost completely close the door, and then grovel are in near-darkness to try to find the switch!

As I said above, whilst it's not much of an issue in relation to a switch on the side of the wall 'away' from which the door opens, in the case of a switch which is on the side of the wall 'towards which' the door opens (and we your re-hung loo door), it is more-or-less essential that the switch is on the lock side.

Kind Regards, John

 

[Harry Bloomfield]

All mine are on the lock side and it seems the most logical regardless of the direction of travel and whether you are entering or leaving, opening or closing the door.

With two available hands - one hand for door handle, the other for reaching for switch, so lock side generally for me, which is how all of my room switches are and seems natural. One exception is the upstairs bathroom, where the switch is outside the door, combined with the 2w stairs, but that again is lock side - one hand reaches for door handle, the other to the switch - seems natural. Another example is the under-stairs cupboard, that is actually on the hinge side, but the hinge side is at right angles to the closed door and is the only solid wall and shares the wall with an angle batten lamp holder. The door had to be hinged on that side.

 

[SUNRAY]

With two available hands - one hand for door handle, the other for reaching for switch, so lock side generally for me, which is how all of my room switches are and seems natural.

So are you saying black arm to open door and reach round with red arm?

 

[Harry Bloomfield]

So are you saying black arm to open door and reach round with red arm?
View attachment 281083

No, the doors all open into my rooms. That door opens out, so the switch would be perhaps on the same wall, but outside the door if that would work?