Wiring for freestanding lights?

[Alan Ambrose]

In our present place, built about 30 years ago - in the sitting room we have a bunch of small round pin sockets for wall lights - they're all controlled by a single switch. This kind of thing below.

 

Is there a more modern version? Anyone doing this?

 

[garrymartin]

That's still the modern way of doing it. It's a 5A socket used almost exclusively for lighting (table, floor, beside, etc.) and they're almost always operated from a wall switch. You see them a lot in high-end lighting installations.

[-rick-]

Definitely the way to go if you want to control an outlet from a light switch hard wired. But with todays 'smart' products it seems a somewhat unnecessary complication. Even if you don't want smart stuff anywhere else, wiring it into free standing lamps and a switch on the wall to control them gives you a lot more flexibility. ie, you can move lamps around, add extras, etc, no need to predetermine locations or run special cables.

 

It doesn't even have to be that smart if you just want on/off. Quinetic switches are an option there https://www.quinetic.co.uk/

[Nestor]

We have them in all rooms and use them most of the time instead of the overhead pendant lighting.

Not another socket! 

[Mike]

3 hours ago, -rick- said:

Definitely the way to go if you want to control an outlet from a light switch hard wired.

Yes, very useful. It's one thing that I wish we had here in France - instead we use regular sockets on a lighting circuit (2 maximum, unless a contactor or the like is used) & rely on intuition to distinguish them :(