So we’ve just bought a home and the basement switch is 3 way: one switch at the top of the stairs and there’s another switch downstairs as you enter from the garage.
The problem: the basement is finished and the living room downstairs only has 2 receptacles and one of them is on that switched circuit along with two ceiling lights.
We have the AV system down there, which is currently wired to said switched receptacle and right now every time I go downstairs and turn everything on to watch something, I unscrew the bulbs to get the lighting set up. When the GF gets to the top of the stairs, she toggles the switches because it’s dark and shuts everything down. Argh!
So what I’m looking for is the ability to control the lights from both the upstairs and downstairs switches, but without switching the power at the receptacle. It seems like some kind of smart switch maybe the way forward but been flailing around looking for the right combination.
Seems like replacing the existing switches are the first step, but anyone have any thoughts on the next?
On the switched outlet - is only one of the outlets switched and the other always hot? That’s the normal way that a switched outlet is wired.
If so, just rewire the outlet to not use the switched feed. Wire both outlets to the line that’s always hot.