Mystery switch/control in house
May 26, 2017 5:17 AM Subscribe
What is the function of this switch? Located on the wall in the basement stairway of a house built in the 1950's in the USA if that's helpful.
http://imgur.com/a/j1vcc
Best answer: Looks like part of a Bryant low voltage wiring system.
posted by amro at 5:44 AM on May 26, 2017
posted by amro at 5:44 AM on May 26, 2017
Best answer: Specifically #18 on this page, the GE RMS-2A Lighting Controller. You would turn the dial to specify the circuit you wished to control, then push the switch.
posted by zamboni at 5:52 AM on May 26, 2017
posted by zamboni at 5:52 AM on May 26, 2017
Response by poster: Thanks amro and zamboni. So, dumb follow-up question: You select the circuit from the dial, then push the button and ... ??? What's supposed to happen? The lights dim in the selected area? Does the power to all the outlets also diminish?
posted by Ike_Arumba at 5:58 AM on May 26, 2017
posted by Ike_Arumba at 5:58 AM on May 26, 2017
Best answer: You select the circuit from the dial, then push the button and…
The selected circuit turns off or on, depending on which half of the switch you pressed. What's really happening is that the controller sends a low voltage signal to a relay, which flips a switch attached to a normal (house voltage) circuit. Think of the whole thing as a centralized control for the lights in the house.
posted by zamboni at 6:20 AM on May 26, 2017
The selected circuit turns off or on, depending on which half of the switch you pressed. What's really happening is that the controller sends a low voltage signal to a relay, which flips a switch attached to a normal (house voltage) circuit. Think of the whole thing as a centralized control for the lights in the house.
posted by zamboni at 6:20 AM on May 26, 2017
It wouldn't (well, shouldn't) affect any power outlets - anything you would plug into outlets would still need the standard 110 volts. Whereas old low-voltage light systems use transformers to drop the voltage to the lights down to 12 or 24 volts. The "button" looks more like a rocker switch to me, it kinda hinges in the middle and goes up or down, so my bet would be a dimmer system.
posted by soundguy99 at 6:24 AM on May 26, 2017
posted by soundguy99 at 6:24 AM on May 26, 2017
sg99: Are you thinking of low voltage lighting? Pretty sure this is GE's low voltage control system, which was ~24V for switching, but the lighting circuits were regular line voltage. It's not a dimmer system.
posted by zamboni at 6:43 AM on May 26, 2017
posted by zamboni at 6:43 AM on May 26, 2017
Oops, yeah, I was. My bad, ignore my above answer.
posted by soundguy99 at 6:52 AM on May 26, 2017
posted by soundguy99 at 6:52 AM on May 26, 2017
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posted by duoshao at 5:40 AM on May 26, 2017