Lighting/switching question

[riverrat56]

So today at school we got handed the blue prints for the house we will be wiring this year and I am sitting at home and want to get a jump start on designing the wiring

I have (amoung other things) a covered porch to wire. This porch is also the front entrance to the house. It is more or less L shaped with the bottom of the L leading up to the door and the long side going down the house. Got it? Good cause I sure dont....

There will be two lights up the steps and to the door (lights A), and 2 more down the long side of the porch (lights , I would like to put lights A on switch #1 so you could illuminate that portition while leaving the house, so that is simple. But then I want all 4 lights to come on when I flip switch #2.

I have been drawing out this circuit and can't figure out if it will work/if it is even possible, I'm leaning towards it's not, any ideas?

[Tom7227]

Put them on motion detectors and that way they'll only turn on when you need them. You might even get extra points for being more 'green'.

[pinkfloyd4ever]

I have no idea on this and you're the one in school, but there isn't some sort of 3 way/setting switch you could rig up for switch B ?

[Surface Tension]

I've never seen anything like it.

If your going to have two switches its not going to be hard to turn both on if you want all four lights on. Two on A and two on B. You'll have more options that way also. A, B or both.

[JohnMickish]

Install a switch "C". Put two lights on a three way, switches A and B, and put the other two on switch C. That way from one location you can turn on just the two, and from the other location you can turn on two or four lights. You can't do what you want to using conventional methods. Now, if your willing to get into a PLC system for a house then pretty much anything is possible, for a price.

[lenny7]

If I HAD to do it, I'd use a couple of lighting contactors. If you still need to solve this problem PM me. I have it sketched out but my scanner's not working. Basically Switch 1 energizes Contactor 1, Switch 2 energizes Contactor 2. Wire an N.O. contact from each contactor in parallel and connect to the A lights, and an N.O. contact from Contactor 2 to the B lights. Switch 1 now turns on just the A lights and Switch 2 turns on all lights.

But if I had a choice, I'd put the A lights on Switch 1 and the B lights on Switch 2 and just flip them both when I wanted all the lights on.

[1lkstage]

Nick just wanted everyone to do his homework so he could go fishin!!!

[riverrat56]

We just went with two switches, thanks for the ideas thought guys...

1lkstage....you were mostly right...