electrical: lack of neutral wire at switch

fordmaple wrote: ↑ I've seen in many newer breaker panels that neutral is bonded (tied/strapped) to ground. Your smart switch might work by putting the ground wire to the neutral post of the switch. Don't quote me on that as I have no insight on when your house was built or the breaker panel design. Not ideal and considering its not a gfci circuit the light switch "should work". Others can chime in and keep me honest.

esoxhntr wrote: ↑ I have a light fixture in our basement currently controlled by a simple on/off switch. i want to put a smart switch in it's place but there does not appear to be a neutral wire at the switch box.

the circuit is wired so that power from the panel goes to the light fixture first then on to the switch

like this (except the installer did not bother to put black tape on the white in switch box grr)



am i correct in assuming that all i would need to do is run a new wire with a neutral from the light fixture to the switch? there will (has to) be a neutral at the fixture, correct? i have not decided yet whether or not to call a pro, partly because this *is* something i could potentially DIY -- none of the wiring is hidden behind drywall all along the exposed ceiling. just trying to gain an understanding.

i know there are smart switches that work with 3 wires but they need dimmable bulbs. i want to control non-dimmables.

cba123 wrote: ↑ yes, you could pull a new 14/3 Romex wire from the light box to the switch to replace the existing 14/2 Romex wire since the basement is unfinished.

CANbike wrote: ↑ Buy a smart switch that doesn't require a neutral wire. Usually labelled "no neutral required".

i.e. Lutron Caseta Smart Lighting Switch

esoxhntr wrote: ↑ They are expensive and you need to use dimmable bulbs for these - I want to be able to use regular bulbs. They don't really 'turn off' the light, they dim it so that no light is emitted but enough power still flows through the circuit to power the wifi connection in the switch.

kramer1 wrote: ↑ It is easier to just get smart bulbs. The source had the bright ones on sale for like $4 recently. After being flashed to Tasmota, they work really well with HomeAssistant. Bought like a bunch of them 2 years ago, and just keep replacing them if they fail. So far only like 3 have failed so pretty good

esoxhntr wrote: ↑ thanks, that makes sense. forgive stupid question; there *HAS* to be a neutral at the light box for me to tap, correct? as in, that light would not even work right now if there was no neutral there.



They are expensive and you need to use dimmable bulbs for these - I want to be able to use regular bulbs. They don't really 'turn off' the light, they dim it so that no light is emitted but enough power still flows through the circuit to power the wifi connection in the switch.

fordmaple wrote: ↑I've seen in many newer breaker panels that neutral is bonded (tied/strapped) to ground. Your smart switch might work by putting the ground wire to the neutral post of the switch. Don't quote me on that as I have no insight on when your house was built or the breaker panel design. Not ideal and considering its not a gfci circuit the light switch "should work". Others can chime in and keep me honest.

esoxhntr wrote: ↑I think I got it. When I replace the 14/2 between the light and switch with 14/3, the end result will look like below but the neutral (grey in this pic) will be connected to the smart switch, not capped as illustrated. i wish i saw this first. actually looks really simple since everything's out in the open. hope it helps someone in the future. if your switch is before your light or you have a 3 way switch this will look different obviously

esoxhntr wrote: ↑ I think I got it. When I replace the 14/2 between the light and switch with 14/3, the end result will look like below but the neutral (grey in this pic) will be connected to the smart switch, not capped as illustrated. i wish i saw this first. actually looks really simple since everything's out in the open. hope it helps someone in the future. if your switch is before your light or you have a 3 way switch this will look different obviously

fordmaple wrote: ↑ I've seen in many newer breaker panels that neutral is bonded (tied/strapped) to ground. Your smart switch might work by putting the ground wire to the neutral post of the switch. Don't quote me on that as I have no insight on when your house was built or the breaker panel design. Not ideal and considering its not a gfci circuit the light switch "should work". Others can chime in and keep me honest.