Modern equivilent to incandescent bulb behind light switch panel?

[jb3]

I have several of the below light switch situations and I'm curious if anyone has any suggestions for how to eliminate the old incandescent bulbs but with something new, that occupies the position of a single light switch.

I think I'm having a search function issue not knowing exactly what to look for. There are a million lighted switches these days but I can only find a few examples of something that is just a light only that wires to another light switch. I'm hoping to avoid wall repair and rewiring if I can, but also want to get rid of the incandescents which are melting the switch covers.

 

[mike93lx]

Wow, never seen one of those

https://www.lowes.com/pd/Eaton-Whit...tlet-Residential-Commercial-Outlet/1002944556

I put one in a bathroom that had a click to dim feature. Can't find a link right now though

 

[Innovate1]

There may be other options but you should be able to find LED bulbs that have the same screw base and just replace the bulbs.

 

[Stuff]

Red, green, or white: https://www.legrand.us/c/neon-pilot-lights-white/p/2151w

 

[CoogarXR]

If you google "decora night light" there's a bunch, if it's just a big rectangle light you are after.

 

[kbuhagiar]

There may be other options but you should be able to find LED bulbs that have the same screw base and just replace the bulbs.

^^^This.
I have several C7 1/2 night lights throughout the house, I've replaced all of the bulbs with LEDs.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08PP8969H/?tag=atomicindus08-20

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07QW4TLBZ/?tag=atomicindus08-20

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09YCPXBWH/?tag=atomicindus08-20

 

[rlitman]

If you google "decora night light" there's a bunch, if it's just a big rectangle light you are after.

If you can use a decora plate, I recommend this, because it gives decent light, plus you get an outlet out of it.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B076C5TBDG/?tag=atomicindus08-20

As for that bulb inside a box, I've never seen it before, and after mulling it over, it seems to me like a terrible idea. The last thing I'd want is an additional heat source inside a wiring box.

 

[Snip's]

I have one of those lights in my house and replaced the candelabra incandescent bulb with a GE led...


Got it from Lowe's...

 

[MOS3522]

Wow. Disconnect that permanently and terminate the wire. What a fabulous fire hazard, even in an LED.

 

[skeer]

Could always hard wire a 12v wall wart and run low voltage lighting.........

 

[The Cobbler]

an LEd candelabra base bulb will fit there. or something like this https://www.ktool.net/eaton-wiring-...u1JN584qW7T97eLOJU_KEaCwKsTZRMTBoCKJcQAvD_BwE

 

[jb3]

Awesome ideas everyone thank you!

I agree this is just a crazy fire hazard and needs to go away, but I do want to retain the function.

I like the night light idea and the candelabra bulbs.

Even if I just get rid of everything and put in a lighted switch and make a replacement panel for a smaller box

 

[jb3]

Red, green, or white: https://www.legrand.us/c/neon-pilot-lights-white/p/2151w

Ooo
This might be what I need to do

These incandescent bulbs come with a little red plastic Lenz that goes into a light switch hole. The pilot light would still look the same

 

[The Cobbler]

Ooo
This might be what I need to do

These incandescent bulbs come with a little red plastic Lenz that goes into a light switch hole. The pilot light would still look the same

some for sale on Ebay here https://www.ebay.com/itm/1659601160...OYaoMJCLEw3c9PQp+l8S+vwg==|tkp:Bk9SR-LQgOKhYg

 

[nadogail]

I like those GFCI Receptacles with night lights.

 

[Bert_]

Could you explain a little more? Are they a pilot light that lights when the switch is on, or like a regular lighted switch that lights up when the switch is off?

I've seen something similar before but only used as a pilot light.

 

[scooby074]

wire in nite light. decora style. available as a plug or just lite. Got them in the kids rooms and bathroom

 

[sparky 1971]

Are these being used as a night light or as some type of indicator, whether on or off, light?

 

[jb3]

They are indicator lights in a 2 family apartment building. Each apartment has 3 of these fire starters.

One illuminates to show that a front porch light is on, the two others illuminate to indicate a back staircase light and basement laundry room light.

The concept is pretty clever I guess but weirdly complicated. Each of these shared spaces has two independent light circuits with a pair of over head bulbs 1 foot from each other.

Each apartment has all the controls for the shared spaces inside the apartments, so the indicators remind you to shut off these lights

 

[kbuhagiar]

Wow. Disconnect that permanently and terminate the wire. What a fabulous fire hazard, even in an LED.

It certainly wouldn't be my preference, but if lamped correctly what makes this more of a fire hazard?

 

[mike93lx]

They are indicator lights in a 2 family apartment building. Each apartment has 3 of these fire starters.

One illuminates to show that a front porch light is on, the two others illuminate to indicate a back staircase light and basement laundry room light.

The concept is pretty clever I guess but weirdly complicated. Each of these shared spaces has two independent light circuits with a pair of over head bulbs 1 foot from each other.

Each apartment has all the controls for the shared spaces inside the apartments, so the indicators remind you to shut off these lights

Ah, I thought they were nightlights

 

[gba2331]

A quick search for pilot light wall switch finds clear switches that are illuminated which seems much safer than this….

 

[sparky 1971]

They are indicator lights in a 2 family apartment building. Each apartment has 3 of these fire starters.

One illuminates to show that a front porch light is on, the two others illuminate to indicate a back staircase light and basement laundry room light.

The concept is pretty clever I guess but weirdly complicated. Each of these shared spaces has two independent light circuits with a pair of over head bulbs 1 foot from each other.

Each apartment has all the controls for the shared spaces inside the apartments, so the indicators remind you to shut off these lights

The night light option won't be a good replacement. It has a sensor in it that will prevent the light from turning on unless it's dark in the room where the switch is. The best bet will be the lights in post #4 or a lighted pilot switch and a blank insert in the hole where the light currently is.

 

[yatg]

toggle switch filler


+ 120v LED indicator

 

[Bert_]

I'm going to assume they are overlamped if anything is melting

 

[jb3]

I'm going to assume they are overlamped if anything is melting

That is possible but I think all these covers were originally metal. One still was. During subsequent renovations they got replaced with regular plastic stuff which both looked bad (whole panels glows, not just light switch) but start to get torched

 

[sparky 1971]

Wow. Disconnect that permanently and terminate the wire. What a fabulous fire hazard, even in an LED.

It's a fire hazard because...?

 

[scooby074]

Replace it with a pilot light switch and you'll have the same functionality as you have now.

 

[Zeke]

It's a fire hazard because...?

Exactly. With an LED there is little to no heat. Failures seem mild. That's what is important.

 

[walta]

I am afraid you will find the neon pilot lights will be much dimmer than the current lights and in a brightly lit room it will be almost impossible to tell if the light is lit.

Consider maybe it is time to get rid of the switches and stop counting on someone to turn off the light or worse yet having someone turn off the light on a dark night while someone is climbing the stairs with a new born and the required supplies.

Seems like you need to upgrade to a timer or motion sensor.

Walta

 

[dscheidt]

I am afraid you will find the neon pilot lights will be much dimmer than the current lights and in a brightly lit room it will be almost impossible to tell if the light is lit.

Consider maybe it is time to get rid of the switches and stop counting on someone to turn off the light or worse yet having someone turn off the light on a dark night while someone is climbing the stairs with a new born and the required supplies.

Seems like you need to upgrade to a timer or motion sensor.

he can't do that, because the lights are in common areas, but are wired to the tenant's meter. hard to make a motion detector understand which tenant to charge for the lights being on.

 

[kbuhagiar]

I am afraid you will find the neon pilot lights will be much dimmer than the current lights and in a brightly lit room it will be almost impossible to tell if the light is lit.

I beg to differ...

I'm not sure which neon pilot lights you are referring to, but I have several Decora switches in my house with the integrated neon pilot light.



They control the outdoor lights. I can easily see when these pilot lights are lit, even on a bright sunny Escondido day, at 20ft, and without my glasses on. And I'm an old guy with less-than-perfect vision.

 

[Jack Ryan]

I beg to differ...

I'm not sure which neon pilot lights you are referring to, but I have several Decora switches in my house with the integrated neon pilot light.

They control the outdoor lights. I can easily see when these pilot lights are lit, even on a bright sunny Escondido day, at 20ft, and without my glasses on. And I'm an old guy with less-than-perfect vision.

Is that a Pozidrive combination screw?

Perhaps pozidrives are more common in your neck of the woods.

Jack

 

[mike93lx]

Is that a Pozidrive combination screw?

Perhaps pozidrives are more common in your neck of the woods.

Jack

That's standard on all receptacles and switches in the US. I use a #1 square drive on them

 

[Jack Ryan]

That's standard on all receptacles and switches in the US. I use a #1 square drive on them

OK, thanks. I thought Phillips outnumbered Pozidrive in the US by a large margin. Perhaps they do as you use a square drive to turn them.

Jack

 

[mike93lx]

OK, thanks. I thought Phillips outnumbered Pozidrive in the US by a large margin. Perhaps they do as you use a square drive to turn them.

Jack

Yeah, I don't even own a Pozidrive, but the klein 10 in 1 and 11 in 1 drivers include #1 and #2 square, and I bet most people that do enough electrical for it to matter own at least one of those.

 

[gahrajmahal]

Recently I replaced some switches in a friends house that were old and sparking with these lighted switches. I liked them so well I replaced all our bathroom and also the laundry room switches with them. They put off an amazing amount of light and have a good heavy action to them. Wish I remembered where I got them! Dooh!

 

[CJ7VFR]

The house that I grew up in had a similar small light set up right next to the switch that turned the basement lights on and off. As others have mentioned, if the small light was on it meant the basement lights were on. If the small light was off, the basement lights were off.

It was also installed using two three-way switches, one near the basement door where the small light was and one switch just inside the door coming into the basement from the outside of the house.

The funny part was, that after the little light bulbs would burn out, my dad would just tell us to open the basement door to see if the lights were on or off. He would say he never trusted the small light being off as an indicator that the actual basement lights were indeed shut off, of if the little bulb was just blown out again.

When I sold the house back in 2019, there was still no working small light bulb in that thing for what I would guess would be at least 25 years. I will say that when that small light worked, it was really bright, and you could see it even in direct sunlight!

Jim

 

[Jack Ryan]

The funny part was, that after the little light bulbs would burn out, my dad would just tell us to open the basement door to see if the lights were on or off. He would say he never trusted the small light being off as an indicator that the actual basement lights were indeed shut off, of if the little bulb was just blown out again.

The fridge light must have been torture.

Jack

 

[walta]

I beg to differ...

I'm not sure which neon pilot lights you are referring to, but I have several Decora switches in my house with the integrated neon pilot light.



They control the outdoor lights. I can easily see when these pilot lights are lit, even on a bright sunny Escondido day, at 20ft, and without my glasses on. And I'm an old guy with less-than-perfect vision.

I don’t fine the word “Neon” on any of the Leviton.com pages describing the switch shown in your photo. I have never seen a neon indicator lamp I would call bright. The lamp in the switch could well be neon. Neon is 1920 technology and updating to LED seems likely to happen sooner or later.

https://www.leviton.com/en/products/5629-2w