Hey guys have a light that i would love to remotely turn on. I have several Ge zwave switches only problem with doing that…no neutral wire in this box. Is there an zwave switch that can handle led without neutral? Or I was thinking about a connected bulb, which do you think? Stay zwave, or is it ok to go the zigbee route? Any help would be greatly appreciated bulb would be in an enclosed lantern with opening at bottom.
There is a Z-Wave switch that I think will do it without the neutral wire but I can’t remember (I’m sure someone will chime in!) but otherwise yes, a Cree Connected (if it’s an A19/E27 bulb) or a GE Link bulb will do the trick. Both of these are ZigBee.
I use the Cree Connected bulb for all four of my outdoor lights, they work perfect.
All my outdoor lights are zigbee bulbs, mainly GE Links. In my opinion is not worth the money to invest in non neutral zwave switches for lights that are less likely to be operated manually. Mine are all set to turn on/off at sunset/sunrise, at various dim levels based on motion sensors and home modes. Oh and the most important, never had a problem losing any of them since I moved from Wink a year ago!
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GE Dimmers don’t require neutral. That is what I used in a couple locations I have no neutral
Which GE dimmer did you use? This seems to be contrary to what everyone else has experienced and indeed myself.
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Do you mind providing a model number? l have a few GE 12724 dimmers and those require neutral.
I can’t say for sure, but I picked them up at lowes after reading they didn’t require a neutral. I’m using 2 of them w/out issue. I had to swap one set of bulbs (light with 3) to an led that was capable of dimming. And the other one runs an outdoor set of floodlights.
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Fair play, if there is any chance you can find the model number people will be chomping at the bit to know since no one else has been able to find one that works without neutral!
GE used to make a switch, the GE 45612, that did not require a neutral but that model has been deprecated in favor of the new model does require neutral. You can still occasionally find the older model at some retailers, but many only carry the newer ones.
Cooper still makes a light switch that does not require a neutral. Note that it is only compatible with incandescent bulbs, not LEDs or CFL’s. You can try it and see if it will work, sometimes it does. But you may get flickers or buzzing.
I believe the only regular smart bulb which is rated for outdoors is one of the GE links.
One other option to consider is the Lutron caseta switch. Lutron holds a number of lighting patents and they have a light switch which does not require a neutral. However, it uses their own proprietary protocol, and it is not directly compatible with SmartThings. But it does have an IFTTT channel. So while the lag might be too slow for regular “walk into the living room and turn on the light” it might be just fine for controlling outdoor lights on a time schedule where a bit of lag may not matter. The switches are expensive, though, and you also need the bridge so you can communicate with the Internet. It’s not an option that will be worth it for many people, but it is something to consider for some households, particularly if you have several switches.
We should also say that it’s quite often possible for an electrician to “fish up” a neutral from somewhere else in the wall, particularly if there is a wallplug nearby. So I just mention that as well.
Awesome, thanks buddy!
If someone can confirm, I think these were the ‘older’ switches?
Yes, the 45639 is one of the older switches. No neutral required, but note the instruction in the manual “intended only for use with permanently installed incandescent fixtures.”
It is not intended for use with CFL’s or LEDs.
So if you’re intending to use it with incandescents, you should be fine. But it may not work with dumb CFLs or LEDs, which is what most people use these days in the U.S.
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I bought special dimmable leds for the one switch and put a normal bulb in with a cfl in the other. So you can make it work either way.
The manufacturer disagrees, as specified in the user guide.
The point is, you might be able to make it work with a CFL. Or dimmable LED. It’s going to depend on a combination of the Circuit, the fixture, and the bulb. Some will work, some will not. Enough will not that the manufacturer says it is not designed for that purpose.
Since Lowes has a good return policy, there’s no problem in getting it and trying it. You’re not going to burn down the house it’s just a matter of whether you get flickers and buzzes which are unacceptable. You can even try several different bulbs.
So if you get lucky, great. Go for it. Just know what you’re buying. 
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That’s because the device was released before dimmable led’s and cfls were mainstream. In any case, I don’t really care what the manual says. If you use certain led’s/cfls it will work and if you use an incandescent bulb you definitely have no problem.
I have been using a Hue Lux bulb in my outside porch light. I live in NY and it works like a charm!
Thanks for the feedback everyone! Definitely gonna go bulb route with all the good results. Seems like any is a good option, don’t want to attempt the switch to only have it flicker or buzz.
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I got a cree is there some sort of secret to this its literally a foot away from the hub and can’t find it!
Got it! Thanks again!
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I was going to say, the Cree’s have been the easiest devices I have worked with, glad you got it sorted.