Many of us have used reed switches for controlling lights in buildings and other places where we need a hidden control of an electrical switch. Reed switches are controlled by magnets. The primary advantage of the reed switch is that the actuating magnet will act on the switch even when it is separated from the switch by a thick wall or roof. The bistable or latching reed switch is a special kind of reed switch that remembers how it was last set (on or off). On the contrary, a basic reed switch is normally open, and when a magnet is brought near it, the switch becomes closed to make the electrical connection. The catch is that the magnet must remain near the switch to keep it in the closed (connected) position. Using the magnet in this way is okay for buildings because you can often disguise the magnet as a trash barrel or some other object that does not look out of place.
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