No neutral switch for bulbs that require ELV dimmer?

Hi All - I am looking for a well reviewed and reliable no-neutral wire compatible Z-Wave Plus Dimmer (2022/2023 US) with well tested reliability compatibility with the SmartThings Hub. I need something right away so I will not be able to wait until the Inovelli red series z-wave 800 series is available (later this month). I found this thread but it is dated as of 2019 and I was hoping for a more current list of dimmers in this category (i.e. without the need for a Neutral Wire). Thanks!

The only two I know of that match that description are available from aeotec or Jasco.

Aeotec are in wall modules. The retailer The Smartest House sells them and has excellent tech-support if you need help figuring out the wiring.

Jasco makes devices which are then sold under several different brand names, including Enbrighten and GE.

https://ezzwave.com/

Here’s one of their no neutral models:

Shop around, as you may find cheaper prices at retailers like Home Depot or Amazon than on the manufacturer’s site.

Read product descriptions carefully, as only some models have these features.

Both are popular in the community. Aeotec provides edge drivers for their devices. Their manufacturer tech-support is sometimes limited, but if you buy them from the Smartest house, they have very good tech-support.

The Jasco devices will need community – created edge drivers to get access to all features.

You can find lots of discussion of both in the forum. :sunglasses:

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My house was built in 2018 so I’ve got neutrals which means I’ve not paid close attention to devices that don’t require a neutral.

That said, I’m not aware of any no-neutral devices from Zooz and didn’t find any in a quick look and search of their site…

My bad, i’ve fixed my post above. Thanks for catching it.

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Thanks! I went with the Enbrighten 52252. Now some basic questions…I found the custom Edge Driver for the 52252 per the path below

[ST Edge] Driver for GE/Jasco/Honeywell Z-Wave Switches, Dimmers, Fans, Outlets, and Plug-Ins - Devices & Integrations / Community Created Device Types - SmartThings Community

I already have the Z-Wave Switch and Child Mc custom edge driver on my hub for my Eaton switches (you may recall from all the help you gave me a few weeks back)

Channel and Drivers Web UI (smartthings.com)

Questions:

  • If I install the Custom Edge driver for the 52252 before adding the device, will the device automatically choose the custom edge driver? If the “Z-Wave Switch and Child Mc” driver was also compatible with the 52252 (I don’t believe it is), how would the 52252 know which driver to choose?

  • How do I know the driver I found for the 52252 is the best custom edge driver available? I couldn’t seem to find anything else, but is this a question people often ask (i.e. are there lots of different custom edge drivers that all do the exact same thing, but some are better/less buggy than others)?

If there are two custom drivers with the same fingerprint already on your hub when the device is added to your account, the system will randomly choose one of them. But when it does assign it to that one, you can just go to the device details in the app and switch it to the other one, if that’s what you prefer.

  • How do I know the driver I found for the 52252 is the best custom edge driver available? I couldn’t seem to find anything else, but is this a question people often ask (i.e. are there lots of different custom edge drivers that all do the exact same thing, but some are better/less buggy than others)?

You just have to read the author threads and see what the comments are there, or ask the question.

So far, all of the custom edge drivers that I’ve seen have been of very high-quality, but different ones do have somewhat different features, so people may have a preference for one over the other because of their own Use cases. Or someone may want to use as few custom edge drivers as possible, so their preference will be for one that they already loaded to use with a different device.

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And it’s really just a question of which driver has the features you want/need for the device.

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So I tried installing the Enbrighten 52252, but unfortunately, I am using with LED’s that require an ELV dimmer so the switch did not work (see pic below). Can anyone recommend other Z-Wave options without a neutral wire that might work (maybe one that is just a switch without a dimmer)?

If Z-Wave does not exist could I try Zigbee? I currently do not have any Zigbee devices so not ideal as I would only have 2 devices on the Zigbee network.

Almost all binary on/off switches require a neutral because the physics are different than a dimmer. So a no neutral dimmer is usually easier to find unless you go to one of the cheap Chinese brands, and I don’t recommend those as they don’t have the safety certifications.

Beyond that, as far as I know all trailing edge dimmers (ELVs) require a neutral whether they are smart or dumb.

the other alternative, especially if you’re willing to go with just an on/off switch, is to install a relay at the light fixture rather than in the switch box, because there is very likely a neutral there. Then you would have quite a few device choices.

Otherwise contact the bulb manufacturer and ask them how you can get Alexa to control their bulbs. if you don’t have a neutral wire at the switchbox. If there is a compatible smart switch they should know as it’s a very common question these days.

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Thanks! I sent a note to the bulb manufacturer. Will see what they come back with…

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