Hi all,
I’m currently using some of the old GE/Jasco dimmers with the old wiring in my home. The problem is that I don’t have neutral wires. Smart bulbs work well in rooms with single-bulb overhead fixtures, but I have a couple of rooms running multiple incandescent lights on the old GE/Jasco dimmers, but I’d like to switch them over to LEDs if possible.
Does anyone know of SmartThings compatible in-wall switches that are LED compatible and don’t need a neutral wire?
Thanks!
Sorry, I don’t think there are any. There still one Cooper switch being made that doesn’t require a neutral wire, but it only works with incandescents.
An electrician may be able to fish out a neutral, but that can get expensive if you have to do a lot of switches.
Alternatively, depending on how your house is wired, you might be able to put an aeon micro relay at a junction box or in the circuit box. But that will control everything downstream from that relay so if you have multiple outlets/fixtures on the same circuit it will turn them all on and off at the same time.
Think your out of luck for a switch without a neutral. You can always install one of these on the first light in the series where the power is coming into. Then you can use any switch you want on at the wallplate.
Aeotec Dimmer
Aeotec Switch
That’s the micro I mentioned, but it does require a neutral.
http://aeotec.com/support/1218-micro-dimmer-wiring-schematics.html
Sometimes (not always) it is possible to put the micro in the fixture box itself, but it’s really important to know what you’re doing to make that work safely and to code, so speaking for myself I prefer to have an electrician review that set up before trying it.
You can try leaving one incandescent light bulb in there and switch the rest to LED.
I know some people have used Copper RF9500, I have it on my want list for the one light switch in my house that doesn’t have a netural. It is battery powered so no neutral needed.
http://www.amazon.com/Cooper-RF9500WS-Wireless-Battery-Operated/dp/B004I6S0LS
Code to get it to work can be found in this thread:
The Cooper RF9500 is an auxiliary switch, it can’t actually control the current to the light, it can just tell another networked device to do so. So you still have to have some networked Master switch wired to the light fixture. So it’s a good aux, but I don’t know if it solves the original poster’s issue.
Offers remote wireless operation of other Aspire RF devices
As far as mixing incandescents and LEDs in the same fixture…might work, might not.
Don’t try it if the fixture is fully enclosed, either a lantern type or with globes. The LEDs are generally much more sensitive to heat.
If the bulbs run in series then results can be unpredictable as far as what lights up when.
Mostly, though, you won’t get the same color temperature, and as the bulbs Dim, this will be more pronounced. So the incandescent will almost always look different. If the fixture is shaded, but not completely enclosed, you may not notice. Otherwise you probably will.
Hi, I want to add a ST compatible light switch to control my 4 outside LED lights (advertised as dimmable LED’s). Would like dimming capability from switch - to dim at a certain time at night, and brighten if motion is detected.
My question is on the switch. It’s a single switch, but upon opening and looking only see three wires, no nuetral wire that I can see…
Please help what switch do I need to connect this my new ST install?
This is what you should see in your switch box, the white wires are typically neutral. If this is not what you see and you only have 2 black wires and 1 copper wire then you will need an electrician to run a neutral for you before you can use almost any automated light switch.
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