Low Voltage Wiring

During your buyer’s home inspection you find out the home is wired with low voltage switches that look like this. A push button style. Maybe instead of 4 buttons there are 6 or 8 or even more on one cover plate. It’s called low voltage WIRING not to be confused with modern day low voltage LIGHTING. Light switches like these are most often seen in mid century homes and were considered state of art in the 1950s and 60s. It was typically a 24 volt system that used small gauge wire run from the switch to a relay box usually found in the attic. That activated a relay that would then direct a full 120 volts to the fixture. It was considered to be the safest way to wire at the time, especially around kitchens and bathrooms. 

The system also made it easy to control multiple zones from a single area. For instance, it could be set up to turn on multiple lights throughout the house or exterior, say, from the owner’s suite. A pretty cool system for the era. However, it wasn’t long before the ground fault interrupt (GFCI) gained popularity which helped lead to the demise of  low voltage wiring.  By the 1970’s you didn’t see many new installs. I still run into them today when showing homes around Dayton, Ohio, especially in Oakwood and older neighborhoods. Parts are still made today so if you have this system and like it you can continue to maintain it. More often than not, once it starts having problems homeowners have them pulled out and replaced with modern wiring.