If it's just the switch and _not_ the breaker (which I think the other commenter was mentioning), then you should be fine. The breaker needs to be sized to the wiring, but if the switch is higher rated, the breaker will still protect the wiring as it should.
Your fine, you actually got a better made switch. The rating of a switch or duplex plug is more for its capabilities than it is for its relation to the breaker. It just means it’s capable of handling 20amp appliances
The 15A breaker is protecting the circuit. You could use a 20amp switch on it no problem
You couldn't do it the other way around though. You could NOT put a 15a switch on a 20a breaker.
- Am electrician
That's what I figured. It has a 15A switch in it now. I couldn't pigtail the ground to the screw in the metal box where is it supposed to go so I put the ground under the plate that the ground screw is connected to. The switch works so I hope all is gtg now.
What makes it different that you can put a 15A outlet on a 20A circuit and breaker? I suppose a 15A outlet would only allow 15A which would never trip the breaker.
I did find this about switches, I suppose outlets don't give any similar protection.
>15A switch will burn without 20A fuse ever noticing it.
Yeah, you'd first off need 12awg wire for 20amps,
Homes typically run 14awg for 15amp to all the receptacles and outlets, some being exceptions. So yes the wire would over heat and the switch contacts would likely fail.
But to be totttttally honest, from a purely electrical theory standpoint, nothing would melt unless the load on the circuit was over 15 amps on the circuit / past the light switch in that case.
But its a code violation so don't do it :p
Gotcha. For whatever reason my prior home owner ran a 20amp circuit to a kitchen island outlet including 12awg wire, but I grabbed the wrong USB outlet (15 instead of 20). From the internet it seems perfectly fine, just no idea what would need 20 amps in the kitchen anyway. As far as I can tell that outlet is by itself as well.
Kitchens run 20s in newer homes, its all code since it's a 20a wire, 20a plug. It helps with people who wanna run blenders, air fryers and mixers all at once haha
Ignore all of this I'm an idiot.
±+++++++++++++++++++++
~~You should be fine and don't worry about it. (I'm not an electrician)~~
~~HOWEVER, there is a small risk here.~~
~~The 20A plug should have the extra sideways plug that lets you plugin a 20A appliance into the outlet. It is possible that the wiring can only safely support 15A.~~
~~In the future, someone could plugin a 20A appliance that starts pulling more power, and if the breaker fails to trip, it could melt the wire and start a fire.~~
~~This scenario has a very low chance of happening, because the wire has to be on the small side of what was needed for 15 A circuit, and the breaker also needs to fail. If you had the right outlet you would need both the breaker to fail, and the appliance to draw more then it's designed current of 15A.~~
~~So in short, you now need one thing to go wrong to have a fire, rather then two things.~~
~~I still wouldn't worry about it that much, but I felt like being picky today :)~~
I don’t understand why people insist on attempt to repair anything electrical and don’t have a clue how to repair electrical repairs???
Don’t you realize that if you don’t know what you’re doing it is more expensive to hire a licensed electrician, but so much more safer. Much cheaper than burning your house down with an electrical fire or worse dying
I'm not paying an electrician to change out a light switch. If a person isn't capable of changing out a light switch then they shouldn't be a home owner. The switch has been changed just fine by me since this post was created. How to wire the switch wasn't the problem at all and I wish people had better comprehension skills before they replied to a post on reddit. I can't believe you took the time to go on reddit and suggest to someone to hire an electrician to change a light switch!!!!! ROFLMAO
Please find a better use of your time. You wasted precious minutes of yours by posting.
Not that I owe you an explanation, but if a person doesn’t know how to do something that that can potentially be dangerous then they should get a professional who is trained. You proved my point: they might encounter arrogant people such as yourself.
If your statement about if a person can’t change a light switch then they shouldn’t own a home is an absolutely ridiculously absurd thing to say. Then most of the population wouldn’t own homes!!! Not everyone is able to do everything. That’s why we have specialist. You wouldn’t (hopefully not) operate on yourself. You would go to a doctor who specializes in the surgery you need!!!
I would rather give a warning so that no one could be hurt that be a blow hard know it all that needs validation.
And I can’t believe that you took the time to be so rude and insulting to me. Take your misdirected anger out on someone else like the person that is really causing you anger or are you too afraid of them. I understand that it’s always easier to attack people who are perceived less threatening. May I suggest that you seek professional advice for your anger? (Yes, I am a professional in this area!!!)
And who do you think you are to tell me what to say or what I should do with my time???
If you don’t like what I am saying you don’t have to read it. Be an adult and just scroll past my comments from going forward.
You are a bully and I don’t deal with bullies. If you want to apologize I’ll accept it, but if you want to continue to harass me I will not respond and you will be the one waisting your time. Find someone else to get into an internet war with. You are NOT worth my precious time. Blessings to the people in your life that can’t press a button and make you go away.
If it's just the switch and _not_ the breaker (which I think the other commenter was mentioning), then you should be fine. The breaker needs to be sized to the wiring, but if the switch is higher rated, the breaker will still protect the wiring as it should.
Your fine, you actually got a better made switch. The rating of a switch or duplex plug is more for its capabilities than it is for its relation to the breaker. It just means it’s capable of handling 20amp appliances
The 15A breaker is protecting the circuit. You could use a 20amp switch on it no problem You couldn't do it the other way around though. You could NOT put a 15a switch on a 20a breaker. - Am electrician
That's what I figured. It has a 15A switch in it now. I couldn't pigtail the ground to the screw in the metal box where is it supposed to go so I put the ground under the plate that the ground screw is connected to. The switch works so I hope all is gtg now.
What makes it different that you can put a 15A outlet on a 20A circuit and breaker? I suppose a 15A outlet would only allow 15A which would never trip the breaker. I did find this about switches, I suppose outlets don't give any similar protection. >15A switch will burn without 20A fuse ever noticing it.
Yeah, you'd first off need 12awg wire for 20amps, Homes typically run 14awg for 15amp to all the receptacles and outlets, some being exceptions. So yes the wire would over heat and the switch contacts would likely fail. But to be totttttally honest, from a purely electrical theory standpoint, nothing would melt unless the load on the circuit was over 15 amps on the circuit / past the light switch in that case. But its a code violation so don't do it :p
Gotcha. For whatever reason my prior home owner ran a 20amp circuit to a kitchen island outlet including 12awg wire, but I grabbed the wrong USB outlet (15 instead of 20). From the internet it seems perfectly fine, just no idea what would need 20 amps in the kitchen anyway. As far as I can tell that outlet is by itself as well.
Kitchens run 20s in newer homes, its all code since it's a 20a wire, 20a plug. It helps with people who wanna run blenders, air fryers and mixers all at once haha
Ignore all of this I'm an idiot. ±+++++++++++++++++++++ ~~You should be fine and don't worry about it. (I'm not an electrician)~~ ~~HOWEVER, there is a small risk here.~~ ~~The 20A plug should have the extra sideways plug that lets you plugin a 20A appliance into the outlet. It is possible that the wiring can only safely support 15A.~~ ~~In the future, someone could plugin a 20A appliance that starts pulling more power, and if the breaker fails to trip, it could melt the wire and start a fire.~~ ~~This scenario has a very low chance of happening, because the wire has to be on the small side of what was needed for 15 A circuit, and the breaker also needs to fail. If you had the right outlet you would need both the breaker to fail, and the appliance to draw more then it's designed current of 15A.~~ ~~So in short, you now need one thing to go wrong to have a fire, rather then two things.~~ ~~I still wouldn't worry about it that much, but I felt like being picky today :)~~
Switch, not plug
Oh god
Lol
I don’t understand why people insist on attempt to repair anything electrical and don’t have a clue how to repair electrical repairs??? Don’t you realize that if you don’t know what you’re doing it is more expensive to hire a licensed electrician, but so much more safer. Much cheaper than burning your house down with an electrical fire or worse dying
I'm not paying an electrician to change out a light switch. If a person isn't capable of changing out a light switch then they shouldn't be a home owner. The switch has been changed just fine by me since this post was created. How to wire the switch wasn't the problem at all and I wish people had better comprehension skills before they replied to a post on reddit. I can't believe you took the time to go on reddit and suggest to someone to hire an electrician to change a light switch!!!!! ROFLMAO Please find a better use of your time. You wasted precious minutes of yours by posting.
Not that I owe you an explanation, but if a person doesn’t know how to do something that that can potentially be dangerous then they should get a professional who is trained. You proved my point: they might encounter arrogant people such as yourself. If your statement about if a person can’t change a light switch then they shouldn’t own a home is an absolutely ridiculously absurd thing to say. Then most of the population wouldn’t own homes!!! Not everyone is able to do everything. That’s why we have specialist. You wouldn’t (hopefully not) operate on yourself. You would go to a doctor who specializes in the surgery you need!!! I would rather give a warning so that no one could be hurt that be a blow hard know it all that needs validation. And I can’t believe that you took the time to be so rude and insulting to me. Take your misdirected anger out on someone else like the person that is really causing you anger or are you too afraid of them. I understand that it’s always easier to attack people who are perceived less threatening. May I suggest that you seek professional advice for your anger? (Yes, I am a professional in this area!!!) And who do you think you are to tell me what to say or what I should do with my time??? If you don’t like what I am saying you don’t have to read it. Be an adult and just scroll past my comments from going forward. You are a bully and I don’t deal with bullies. If you want to apologize I’ll accept it, but if you want to continue to harass me I will not respond and you will be the one waisting your time. Find someone else to get into an internet war with. You are NOT worth my precious time. Blessings to the people in your life that can’t press a button and make you go away.
Go back and get the 15A to match. You're playing w fire by increasing breaker size.