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I’m guessing I need that neutral for the first switch? I’ve wired this a thousand different ways and it doesn’t seem to make a difference. I try turning it back on from the first switch and it doesn’t turn on either. I try turning it on from the second switch but that doesn’t work. But when I flip the first the switch they turn off and cannot be turned back on again. When I turn the power back on the lights turn on. I have the white wire connected to the R connection. I have the red wire connected to the YL/R connection. There is a 3 wire line that runs to the first switch. I added a neutral by connecting it to the bunch of whites.
![smart switch no neutral smart switch no neutral](https://i.ebayimg.com/images/g/TWUAAOSw9fFf3QT2/s-l300.jpg)
The white is bundled up with a bunch of other whites. The black is not hot so I’m guessing it goes to the light. Second Switch - A two wire line runs to the light itself. The red and white appear to be travelers to the second switch. The only way you can use a relay or smart switch in a lighting circuit is to ensure that it can be wired directly to Live and Neutral as shown in figure 4.Īt the moment I can't see how a smart switch that doesn't need neutral can be produced - but I hope someone smarter than me can figure a way to do it as there are so many things we could use it for.I know there are lots of other discussions on here but I can’t find what I’m looking for.įirst Switch - I just have one set of wires coming into this box. This is why there aren't any switches or relays that can work in a 2-way circuit without having a direct connection to neutral.įigure 3: Simple switch in a 2-wire circuit But when the switch opens, the current stops, there is no current flowing through the circuit and there is no power for the switch or relay's electronics - it's dead and you will not be able to communicate with it. Then the switch is closed, current will flow through the circuit providing power to the electronics and lighting the bulb. If we now add an electronic switch or relay (such as Z-Wave or LightwaveRF), you can see that the switches electronics are in the path of the switch. This enables you to still control the dimmer wirelessly (or manually) whether the bulb is on or off - which is just what you cant from a Smart device!įigure 2: Dimmer in a 2-wire circuit What about a Switch? This tiny current is enough to keep the dimmer and its wireless electronics powered and the device alive.
![smart switch no neutral smart switch no neutral](https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/31Dm7lEjXAL._SY300_QL70_.jpg)
There is a tiny electrical current flowing from Live through the dimmer, through the bulb and to Neutral. This means that even when you have reduced the dimmer down to 0% and the bulb is off, the actual circuit is not totally off. This is because dimmers work by reducing the current flowing through the circuit until it is so low that the bulb does not light. If we replace the mechanical switch with a dimmer, it will work perfectly fine in a 2-wire circuit (see figure 2). This circuit should be familiar to most of us as it's a basic light circuit we probably all learnt about at school.įigure 1: Classic Light Circuit Add the Dimmer When the switch is open, no current can flow and the light bulb is off. When the switch is closed, the Switched Live cable is live and powers the light bulb, this allows current to flow from Live through the light bulb and to Neutral - making the light bulb turn on. If you take a look at figure 1, you'll see that the light switch only has two wires - Live which is the permanent live to the switch and Switched Live that takes the Live supply to the light bulb. When we talk about a 2-wire lighting system we mean that it doesn't have a neutral available at the switch (See APNT-23 for more information). Note that for the majority of this article I'm not talking about simple mechanical switches, I'm referring to smart switches or relays that can be controlled wirelessly. I thought this would make a good blog post to explain just why this is the case and delve a little into how these devices actually work.
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A dimmer appears to be a more complex device than a switch, so you'd expect it to be the other way around. On the face of it, this doesn't make sense. One of the most common questions we get is "Why are there no Z-Wave On/Off switches that work in a 2-wire system", or "Which relays can I use without neutral".Īt which point we always recommend using a dimmer, as these can work in a 2-wire system, and explain that there are no switches available that can be used without neutral.
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