I am a newbie, and I am looking for advice (lights, no neutral)

[JDRoberts]

@n8xja

I’m not an electrician so I hope someone smarter than I will correct me if I get any of this wrong. I don’t think anyone will likely tell you any advise that is contrary to what is proper via code. As I understand it, another approach to control your 3 bulb fixture is to use a dimmer switches,which does not require a neutral.

The problem is that almost all of the Z wave and zigbee switches that work with SmartThings do require a neutral. In fact, I think all of the switches on the official “works with SmartThings” list require a neutral.

https://www.smartthings.com/compatible-products

There used to be GE zwave dimmer switches that did not, but they have been discontinued because, like most similar switches, they only work with incandescent bulbs. And these days everybody wants dimmable LEDs.

Cooper still makes one z wave model that does not require a neutral, but again, it only works well with incandescent bulbs.

Lutron makes excellent networked switches that do work with dimmable dumb LEDS, their Caseta line, but unfortunately SmartThings has never added direct support for Lutron. You can get indirect support through IFTTT, and that is much discussed in the forums, The short answer is it will work OK for anything except when you want to have a SmartThings controlled motion sensor turn on the Lutron switch. Then the lag may be too long.

Smartbulbs like Phillips Hues are the easy solution. You can certainly put three of those in one fixture. No neutral required. Then you have to figure out what to do about the light switch but we have an FAQ for that.

FAQ: Philips Hue and Other Smart Bulbs - What sort of light switches to use with them? (Long FAQ)

Thinking on a big move to Hue lights, the real question is - what switches to use with them? If they’re all automatable via ST and other devices, do I really want to put them all on controllable switches too? There’s the advantage that I can arrange to ensure those switches are on so that the the Hue bulbs would be too…but it also leaves open the ability for folks to just turn them off and leave them off. Hmm. Thoughts?

But as far as smart dimmer switches themselves, while it is true that there are some on the marketplace that do not require a neutral, there aren’t any that work directly with SmartThings except for the Cooper, and while it’s a good switch, it doesn’t work well with LEDs.

Dimmers/Switches that don't need a common (neutral) wire? (2016)

I’m having a terrible time trying to get a three-way switch automated. While the rest of my switches in the house all have a common wire (and are easy to install the GE Z-Wave Dimmer) our Kitchen overhead recessed lights have the simple tap side “cheaped out” with no common wire available. Having an electrician run such a wire through our attic will be $$$$. When I started with Insteon most of their stuff required a common wire but for situations in older homes or where the wiring was expedient (like this situation) they offered an RF Dimmer Switch that didn’t require it. I don’t suppose there’s anything anyone makes for SmartThings type Hubs that could also work without a common wire? It irks the hell out of me since this is a light I really need to automate (and be able to dim).