Countertop push button air switch for lighting.

Get the lever kind that allows you to dim the light to you liking.

Helen you'll hafta explain just what sort of switch. As far as I know almost all such are called an "air switch." Of course a mercury switch can use a vacuum

http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/air-switch?r=66

And forgive me Helen but what's an "air button"

http://onelook.com/?w=air+button&ls=a

And guess I'm far behind the times but is an Insinkerator a garbage disposer

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/InSinkErator


Forgive me Helen as I'm sorta kiddin'. For others of us who don't Google much,

https://www.google.com/?gws_rd=ssl#q=air+button+controls+Insinkerator

Thanks for the reply. I am hoping to use a switch like this: http://www.lowes.com/cd_What+Is+A+Sinktop+Switch_1321888674_ . We have a large island with a sink and 3 pendant lights above. I think it would be nice to be able to control the lights from the island itself and don't want to use a regular toggle type switch due to the flat surface and the wet environment.

Here is the type of switch I intend to use: http://www.lowes.com/cd_What+Is+A+Sinktop+Switch_1321888674_. There will be one for the disposal and one for the lighting. Would prefer to have the ability to either dim or switch the lights to a low setting. The switch that is shown actually only turns a socket on and off giving power to whatever is plugged in but I want to add some sort of switch that could be activated by the puff of air from the button to turn the lights on and to a lower level when desired. I know there are spst, spdt, and dpdt switches compatible with these buttons but don't know the proper switch to get or how to configure to lower the light brightness.

Hope that clears things up a bit.

Yea, thanks Helen. Now someday I gotta access that link myself to learn what it's all about

Meanwhile though for the benefit of certain lazy slobs (me) you might clarify "puff of air from the button"

What you are looking for is not something that is normally found in a Home Depot or Lowes. Spst, spdt, and dpdt are all on off switches of various kinds. With a double throw switch you could have another switch on the wall somewhere that allows you to dim the lights but your air switch would only turn them on or off to the dimmed level set on the other switch.



You need an electronic dimmer of some kind that can tell how many times the switch has been pushed and then set the dimmer accordingly. On the wall it would be something similar to this which has 2 settings, dimmed or full on....
http://www.lutron.com/TechnicalDocumentLibrary/030866a.pdf
They are making it to the home with more buttons with smart home products.
http://www.smarthome.com/insteon-2334-222-keypad-dimmer-switch-dual-band-8-button-white.html?src=Froogle&gclid=CMzktcSZoMoCFYQ6aQodoMQM5A



To do this with an air switch would mean the air switch isn't turning the light itself off/on but is instead controlling an electronic device that does the dimming. It would be possible to create one controlled by a small computer like a raspberry Pi but I don't know of anything specifically on the market to do this out of the box.


There are touch switches for LED light strings that do this but I have no idea how you would turn it into an air switch.
http://www.homedepot.com/p/Hampton-Bay-200-Watt-3-Way-Under-Cabinet-Touch-Dimmer-White-EE081WH/202518779

parados, Good info. We're not in the market for air switches, but your info was very helpful to educate some of us interested in this kind of 'stuff.'

Parodos, thank you for your most thorough explanation of the problem and solution. Sounds like you have convinced me to stick with a single light amount and not worry about the dimmer at this time. Maybe adding some led's under the cabinets would be a better choice if I want some low lighting capability in the kitchen. I may look into the use of a Raspberry Pi to see if there is any easy solution there.

Forgive me again Helen and no offense whatever but still, what's meant by "puff of air from the button"

It is an air switch. What is pushed is a button that forces air down a tube. Here is a picture of one.



They are used in hot tubs and spa tubs to isolate the button from the electrical connection.

Aha! thank you Para. yes, on our sauna we have one