GE In Wall Smart Switch Howto for older houses

[JDRoberts]

@navat604 and the other electrical experts in the community can say more, but you should not use a ground in place of the neutral. First, it won’t be to code, and second it won’t be safe.

Remember that your goal is not to get the single switch to turn on and off. It is to safely integrate the switch into your house’s electrical wiring.

See the FAQ on this topic:

FAQ: Neutral and Ground Wires are not Interchangeable

Continuing the discussion from Current Device Deals & Best Prices: They are both wires, but they serve very different purposes in a residential home circuit. One is grounded and one is grounding. If most of your experience has been with battery operated devices, or in a physics lab, you are generally working with direct-current, and,the ground and the neutral may well work in a very similar way. In these environments you do sometimes hear the statement that the ground and neutral are interchangeable. However, in a house, the ground will often be connected to a metal appliance such as a washing machine or a toaster, and normally carries very little current. Its purpose is to be used when there is a fault in the normal live circuit so that the extra current has someplace to go. The ne…