I have a few lighting circuits in my house where the lights have been upgraded to LEDs but the the wall switches only have a 2 wire set up (black, white, and ground) I am getting vague reports you can just wire in a microdimmer at the fixture itself rather than in the wall gang.
is this true, and if so can someone point me to a guide on how to do it?
Thanks in advance.
What micro dimmer(s) are you referring to?
I use the Aeon Labs Micro Dimmers and they require a neutral wire, so don’t believe these will work for you.
You may want to take a look at previous posts on wall switches that do not require a neutral wire, these may be your best solution.
There has to be a neutral on the circuit somewhere. There is often one at the light fixture. This is why many people do use one of the micros at the fixture rather than at the wall switch. So that’s quite a common solution, you’ll find much discussion of it in the forums.
If there’s no neutral at the fixture, again there has to be one on the circuit somewhere. So it may be possible to find one of the junction box or someplace else and use that.
As to exactly how to use it, the wiring varies somewhat by model, so you have to start with specifying the model.
When the microdimmer is installed in the box it is usually connected to constant power and the dumb switch is connected to the microdimmer as an auxiliary switch. This way the fixture/microdimmer can be turned on/off with the wall switch as well as remotely.
Usually the wall switches turn the fixture on and off. If you install the microdimmer in the fixture you need to leave the wall switch in the ON position to be able to control the microdimmer remotely. So, yes, it works but with limitations - if you turn off the wall switch you can turn on the microdimmer remotely.
This seems practical for my solution, can you point me to a wiring diagram? Thank you for the help!
I dont have a wiring diagram for mouting the relayin the fixture but, I think this will help you understand:
http://aeotec.com/z-wave-in-wall-switches/877-micro-sei-2e-manual-instructions.html
Just connect the neutrals from the switch and the fixture to "N"and the Lines from the switch and the fixture to “L”.
Checked last night there are no neutrals at the fixture nor the switch :/. Thoughts on how I can end up dimming using z wave or other echo/smart things compatible devices?
You have to have a neutral at the fixture. Light bulbs requires the path back to the panel to work.
Unless the ground is being used as a neutral, which is a safety hazard,
No neutral at the fixture is very odd unless it’s a very old house using knob and tube wiring.
There are four basic options for the switchbox that doesn’t have a neutral.
Bring in an electrician and have them “fish up” a neutral from somewhere else on the circuit. This won’t work if you have knob and tube wiring, but otherwise it will.
use one of the Z wave switches that doesn’t require a neutral. However, this will probably only work with incandescent bulbs, GE used to make some of these switches, but they are hard to find now. Cooper still makes one.
See the following thread for some of the issues:
And specific model links:
So you do have options, just depends on which direction you want to go.
Ok opened up my fixture and I’ve got a green (ground), white (neutral), and a black (hot). It’s two can lights (probably in series, i havent opened the second) a single switch. If they’re in series I just need to wire the dimmer in before it goes into the first of the two cans in series right?
