At first glance, this appears to be a simplistic everyday task perhaps, but there is more to switching on a light than you may realize. Depending on where you live in the world, light switches and lamp switches vary a great deal, and when you're traveling overseas, turning on a light in the hotel room or a relative's home might just flummox you completely! No need to be embarrassed by this - here are some handy hints on working your way around some of the different possibilities and bringing more light into your life.
Check out the light you are trying to turn on
This is the important part for actually locating the switch and avoiding that potentially embarrassing moment when you realize that you don't know how to turn it on!
- Is it a lamp that has a switch directly on the lamp stem; or is it a fixture that has a switch separated from the lamp itself, and either has a light switch on the wall or on a cord extending from the lamp? Or the switch may be located on the base of the lamp.
- Is it a mood light? If so, it will have a dimmer switch, which is either round or a straight slide in a groove.
- Is it an overhead light with a wall switch? There will be a light switch fixture on the wall (usually rectangular in shape) with a switch located in the center of this. More modern fixures, however, can take the shape of a switch that fills almost all of the rectangular space. These are very easy to push on lightly.
- Or maybe the switch is located on a fixture or knob located on the bedside table (this is often the case in hotels that cater to letting you turn off the lights from bed).
Turn the switch on
Having located your switch, the next hurdle is how to work the switch. Here are some possible ways:
- A lamp:
- Some lamps have a small round switch (knob) near the light bulb (up top) that needs to be turned around. Sometimes these switches take a bit of effort to move - persevere. These lamps are an older, yet still popular design and they are more common in the Northern Hemisphere (see photo above).
- More modern style lamps or lamps from different countries will often be easier to switch because they require less force (pushing instead of turning). The switch may be located on the base of the lamp, near the bulb or on a cord which contains the switch as a standalone element. In all these cases, the switch should be turned on simply by pushing the switch down or up. Sometimes switches set in the base of a lamp need to be turned rather than pushed up and down.
- Banker's lamps often have a small chain or metallic cord. You simply tug on this to turn the light on and off.
- A fixture: Very simply move the switch up or down to turn on or off. The tricky part is this: in North America the switch "on" is usually "up" and the switch "off" is usually down. In places like Australia, it is the complete opposite!
- Mood light: If the switch is a knob, turn it in a circular motion until you achieve the desired lighting; if it is a slide, simply slide up or down until you get the right effect.
Turn the switch off
In most cases, simply do the reverse of what you did. If you have one light with two switches (for example, a wall switch and a bedside table switch), sometimes the "on" and "off" will be the opposite of what you might expect because you are swapping between switches. Just let commonsense prevail.
Congratulate yourself
While this seems a simple and straightforward task, the variations in lighting switches outlined here can be frustrating. With your new know-how, your life is lit up now and you can read all evening without anyone ever needing know you were perplexed!
Tips
- When switching on a lamp, if you feel too much resistance, chances are that you are trying to turn it the wrong way. Stop and try it the other way.
- Also be aware that lighting a whole room by lamps (whether through the wall switch or directly through the lamp switch) is more common in some parts of the world than in others. For some countries, the normal practice is to have overhead lighting as the standard room lighting, with lamps only used for reading or mood creation.
- Always trust the recommended wattages for your light systems, especially with dimmer/mood lights. The act of dimming often places more strain on the bulb (you may hear a high-pitched buzzing) and you need to ensure that you have not inserted a bulb with too high a wattage for the lamp or light in question. Too high and it may simply break or worse, it may overheat and burn, which could lead to a fire.
- Consider using energy-efficient bulbs for your lighting. Even though they cost more at the outset, they last for a very long time and you will reap back the savings as well as helping to reduce your energy costs.
- If all else fails, call the hotel concierge or your relative who is least likely to be amused by your uncertainty...
- Ask anyone who has at least half a brain for help.
- When you find out how to turn it on, congratulations! You are now qualified for the special olympics
Warnings
- Do not touch a light bulb which has been on for a while it may be HOT! Only change a light bulb when it has completely cooled down.
- Never change a light bulb with wet hands; there may be electricity present and you could suffer a bad, if not deadly, shock.
- Don't become frustrated with the switch - you may break it if you press or push too hard and you'll end up with no light (or worse, a light stuck on all night when you want to sleep); worse still, it looks daft arguing with a lamp if the hotel concierge happens to walk in...
- If you get aggravated with the light because you can't turn it on, dont smash the lightbulb. This will result in painful cuts and get you no closer to getting light
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