Outlet boxes too small, is the answer the Aeotech Micro?

Morning all-

I’ve been wiring up zwave switches for a few years now and I’m sure most of you have run into the tight spaces in the electrical boxes. I’ve got a friend who has 4 gang outlets and wants to put smart switches in them to control outdoor lighting. He’s contemplating just doing smart bulbs, (but we know the switch has to be in the on position at all times.)

Do you guys reccomend the AeoTech micro switch as a solution, or is there something else out there? I’ve seen gang plate extenders etc., but would like to just fit them in the existing box if possible.

Thanks,

You could go that route but as you stated, switches, in my opinion, are better.

Are you sure you can’t squeeze the switches in the box? You might have to do some rewiring keeping the circuits the same but reducing the amount of wires.

I had one 4 gang box that was tight but managed to get all 4 switches in. Also had a spot where I retrofitted a 4 gang. Took a little drywall work but no biggie.

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That looks good…I’ve done some drywall work in the past, so wouldn’t be a huge deal, was just trying to figure out the least invasive if those little microswitches worked.

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The aeotec “nano” is their smallest line if you do want to go with micros. Another option with the micros is to move them to either the light fixture or a junction box on the same circuit branch—they don’t have to be in the switch box. So you should be able to find a solution one way or another. :sunglasses:

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If you are into replacing the box, there are deep boxes available. I’m not sure if they are available in a 4 gang, but the certainly are in 1 and 2 gang boxes.

Also, the depth of the switches can vary. I recently replaced a GE switch with an Inovelli Red and was pleasantly surprised that it was not as deep as the GE.

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I’d +1 the box / switch route. Old work retrofit boxes are cheap and easy to install if its drywall and most modern switches are getting smaller, even the GE’s The new Enbrighten switches are significantly smaller and as Bry mentioned, the Inovelli’s are not very deep.

Also if your electrical in the box allows, I usually wire all the switches together daisy chaining the hots and neutrals before I put them in and it ends up with a much cleaner install with less rats nest in the box. Then its just connect the pigtail to the neutral bundle, wire in the hot and all the loads. Easy Peasy.

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