First post here, after spending many hours reading through the very valuable contributions here!
I think I’ve arrived at the right conclusion, but want to check first.
Our new house has 3 sets of outside lights, all with separate switches in different parts of the house, none of which have neutral wires. We’re adding a fourth set of lights, running from the power source in the garage as that will be far, far simpler than adding to an existing run of lights.
What I’d ideally like is to be able to control these from my phone, and to be able to be set automations for these. Currently we have c. 10 wifi plugs running internally, controlled by the Smart Life app. 98% of the time it’s “set and forget” but it’s very useful to be able to turn on and off remotely. I’m not set on Smart Life as the sole single app - I already use Link Tap for my watering system - but that would be an added bonus. I’m not set on wifi per se either if it’ll connect somehow - Smart Life says it supports zigbee for example
Questions
From reading, I think I can’t “simply” replace the existing switches as there isn’t a neutral wire. I’ve read about adding a micro in line, but I’m not clear where I could add in this set-up unless there is space in the lights themselves and I could ensure they were weatherproof (or have I misunderstood?) Are there any alternatives? I think the answer is no, but hoping I’m wrong!
For the new switch, I assume there will be a neutral wire available, so that should be more straight forward (ha ha ha, like everything has been in this house so far…not!)
Thanks in advance for any help given!