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3-way light circuit to an outbuilding with a disconnect

Home Improvement Asked by CJC on April 21, 2021

US, Southern CA, NEC 2017

I’m hoping to run power from a house to a new backyard shed and I’d like to be able to control the lights from both the shed and the house, but I’m not sure if I’d run afoul of the circuit-limitations for an outbuilding. For this use case adding a subpanel at the shed isn’t an option, and both circuits are 120v. Hardwired solutions (no wireless switches) preferred.

Questions

  • Is there an acceptable method to control a light at an outbuilding using a 3-way circuit, with one switch inside the outbuilding, and one at the feed point?
  • Since there needs to be a disconnect means at the outbuilding, what could be used to satisfy this requirement?

One Answer

You're allowed to run a switch spur back to the main building

The good news is that you are permitted by NEC 225.30 to run a 3-way switch spur (two travelers and a hot or switched-hot) back to the main building from the outbuilding, although that takes up the single circuit the Code allows you to run back in this situation. I would run it in a separate conduit, though, to avoid hitting derates due to having more than three current-carrying conductors in a single conduit if you decide to pull a feeder through the main conduit to the outbuilding.

As to that disconnecting means

While you could use an ordinary or key-operated lightswitch as the outbuilding disconnect for a single branch circuit, I tend to prefer non-fused pullout disconnects of the type commonly used for air conditioner disconnecting service for this job. They can handle both single-circuit and multi-wire branch circuit situations, are weatherproof (NEMA 3R) by default, and quite inexpensive for what you get. They're also distinctive in that you won't mix them up for a lightswitch when you're working in the shed!

If you really want a diagram...

If you really want a diagram of this all, I edited the diagram from your deleted question to depict what I'm talking about, as shown below. Note that the travelers and switched-hot all pass through the disconnect without being switched by it, since they are powered from an always-hot feed that's already subject to that disconnect. Note also that especially with an AC disconnect, you'll need to be careful to land your equipment ground on the disconnect's bonded, while your feeder neutral does not stop at the disconnect at all; instead, it is simply spliced or pulled through.

edited diagram

Correct answer by ThreePhaseEel on April 21, 2021

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