9/20/2023 0 Comments Smart switch no neutral hack![]() ![]() Since there’s no neutral to draw power off, instead the smart switch is installed in series with the light bulb: Lutron Caseta wiring without neutral, showing the switch in series on the hot line ![]() This works fine overall, but it causes problems for smart switches which have to have their own (small) power supplied to it in order for the smart functionality to work. When the switch is off, the circuit is broken and no power flows. The switch completes the circuit: when it’s on, the circuit is complete and the load-hot supplies live power to the bulb – turning it on. The switch then runs another hot cable – called the load hot or switch leg wire – to the light fitting. Hot and ground go into the switch, and the hot – called the supply-hot – is a permanent live feed from the house’s mains power. The above wiring diagram is fairly typical of modern American houses, and much of Europe (whose switches and sockets have had neutrals for a while)īut whenever a neutral wire doesn’t exist, a simple 2-wire circuit is used to power a light. Otherwise the electrical circuit is broken, and the light doesn’t come on. Only when the switch is turned on (either physically, or via the smart functionality) will the circuit be complete and the power will flow to the light. In this configuration, the smart switch will control the power to the light via the load-hot (red) wire. In this way, smart switches are wired in between neutral and supply-hot and thus will draw power in the usual way.įor example, if you have a dimmer switch with one black, red, white, blue and green cable, the resulting cabling for a Lutron Caseta dimmer would look like this: Lutron Caseta wiring diagram with a neutral wireĪ more technical wiring diagram is below: Lutro Caseta wiring diagram with a neutralĪs can be seen, the smart switch’s own electrics can readily draw power as needed from the supply-hot line and the neutral line. The majority of the smart switches on the market require a neutral wire, and this is because any American houses built from the 1980s onwards should have a neutral (white) cable running into light switch back boxes. The two following sections look at this in more detail. The smart switch can then be communicated with (securely) over the internet.Īlternatively, smart switches can sometimes use different communication protocols such as ZigBee and Z-wave, which use a bit less electrical power and can be more reliable than WiFi.Įither way, the main thing to know is that a smart switch has to draw some power (with or without a neutral wire) so that it can be smartly managed via your app or a smart speaker. This ‘communication protocol’ is usually WiFi, meaning that the smart switch connects to your home’s network just like your TV, phone and other devices do. Once they’re wired into your house, smart switches draw electrical power (more on this later), and then use a communication protocol to ‘speak to’ a central hub, allowing you to use a smartphone app or a smart speaker to turn the switch (and hence lights) on and off. Smart switches are perfect for this, especially since some models have motion sensors built into them which automatically turn the lights on as you walk into these rooms. Therefore they can ultimately only control the light bulbs that the switch previously controlled (unlike smart bulbs which can be independently managed as long as power is flowing to them).ĭue to this, smart switches are great for many ‘utility’ or ‘task’ based rooms, such as kitchens, utility rooms and bathrooms because you’re likely to just want the lights on or off in these rooms. Smart switches are wired into your house’s electrics, replacing a room’s existing light switch. ![]() ![]() For example, Philips Hue lights can be set to turn blue if it’s raining outside or red if you just got an email from your boss, through the IFTTT service.Smart light switches are a useful invention and some people prefer them to smart bulbs, because they allow you to turn lights on and off in a room in a fairly natural way. Color-changing bulbs are fun for parties and events but also useful as a notification. Syncing your lights to the color of the sun throughout the day has been shown to help you feel more energized when you need to and start to wind down when it’s time. Health and wellness - Waking up to a gently increasing light is less jarring than an alarm and actually works.At night a single command or schedule can turn everything off, then back on again in the morning. Motion sensors turn lights on automatically when you walk in a room and then off when you’re gone. Convenience - If you often fall asleep with the bedside light on, it can shut off automatically.Use motion sensors to trigger outdoor lights at night without any wiring. Security and safety - Never come home to a dark house again set lights to turn on randomly while you’re away to deter miscreants. ![]()
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