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🔌General Home Automation => Automating Your House => Topic started by: jeff on December 15, 2005, 02:33:37 PM

Title: 20A rated light switch on 15A breaker
Post by: jeff on December 15, 2005, 02:33:37 PM

Does anyone know if you can connect the
XPS3 20A wall switch to a 15A breaker. Will
this cause a problem. My light switch is
only a 15A light switch. The lights will
only draw about 75Watts total.

Title: Re: 20A rated light switch on 15A breaker
Post by: Brian H on December 15, 2005, 04:30:11 PM

Yes no problem. The switch can handle 20
amps and the breaker will trip over 15 amps.
So the switch can take a higher current than
the breaker.

Title: Re: 20A rated light switch on 15A breaker
Post by: gil shultz on June 13, 2007, 05:03:42 AM

This will not cause any problems and would be considered derating or conservative design.

Remember the breaker or fuse is designed to protect the wire, not the load.  By putting a higher rated device then the main breaker is no problem, going the other way could possibly be a problem depending on conditions at the time of the fault.

Gil Shultz