This is still RossO. I got a message, “You’ve reached the maximum number of replies a new user can create on their first day. Please wait 22 hours before trying again,” so I had to create another account…
The white (neutral) wire was connected to the neutral port on the dumb switch.
@Take2 - If this a dumb switch (two black screws) then this is not a neutral. It is a two wire bringing down panel power on one wire and bringing it back up to the light with the other wire in the bundle. So, if that is the Case, then neutral is at the light and this switch won’t work for you since it requires the neutral. However, the dimmer model will work for you in a non-neutral setup. Unless you can find the neutral in that box, you may want to return it and buy the dimmer model (perhaps the unboxed version cuz it’s cheaper)
Thank you, harjms! I’m going to ask my master electrician neighbor to come over to see if he can find a neutral in the gang box. If he can’t, I’ll get the dimmer model & hopefully use my LZW30-SN somewhere else in the house. I appreciate all your help tonight!
Success! There were neutral wires in my 3-switch gang box. Following the Inovelli instructions, the LZW30-SN switch is connected to a SmartThings hub, and now my porch lights turn on for 3 minutes after my Ring Pro video doorbell last detects motion. Thank you for your quick help! I’ll be buying more Inovelli Red Series switches.
@RossO - Just be cautious by using just any “neutral”. If the neutral is part of another branch circuit, then that is a NO-NO. If this neutral is the fed by the same circuit breaker than you are good to go. I’ll assume you had your neighbor come back and check it out?
Yes; he checked it out. I turned the breaker off, wired it up, and asked my neighbor to check it out. He gave it the thumbs-up, I screwed the switch back into the gang box, turned the breaker back on, and…success. Thank you for making sure!
I don’t understand your caution about the neutral needing to be on the same branch circuit. All (true) neutrals (not to be confused with white wires carrying line voltage from a fixture to a switch and back), like all ground wires, run back to a bus bar in the breaker panel (and then, in the main panel, get bonded to the ground). Only the hot wire in a branch circuit is controlled by the breaker, so even if a circuit is tripped, it’s neutral is unaffected. Think of a neutral wire like the electrical version of a plumbing DWV (drain). In essence, what you are suggesting is like saying a bath sink must tie into the same drain as that bathroom’s toilet. In the end, all neutrals, like all plumbing drains, are headed to the same place, so it doesn’t matter which drain or (high voltage) neutral you tie into.
To put it another way, in plumbing it doesn’t matter if you cut off the water supply to a sink, you can still safely pour water down the drain. By the same token, even if you cut the Line voltage on a branch circuit at the breaker, the circuit’s neutral is still fully capable of carrying neutral current (from any circuit) back to the panel.
@Breslinger - Not always true. ARCI and GFCI circuit breakers in the panel have the neutrals go to the breaker, not the bus bar. Yes, I get that all neutrals usually go back to the panel, but I do not believe NEC allows you to utilize it from another branch. Same could be said by utilizing the ground. It all ties back in the panel…
Touche’!!! I was not thinking about AFCI and GFCI breakers, and frankly, while they both wire in line with the neutral so they can “monitor” the neutral path, I have no idea if tripping that type of breaker would disconnect the neutral. However, my understanding of the function of an AFCI is that it reconciles voltage out to voltage in, so if you brought in voltage from a neighboring circuit, as I suggested, it would almost certainly create havoc with the AFCI and cause it to trip constantly.
I recently moved into a home built in 1939 which, while the electric systems have been updated, still has some “unique” wiring quirks (many circuits still have tin coated copper wires, asphalt wiring insulation, no grounds, etc) and, as you might imagine, no AFCI or GFCI breakers in the entire home. I use SmartThings and Zwave to try to make this old beauty more functional and more ergonomic. I frequently “steal a neutral” from a neighboring circuit to wire smart switches.
In light of the point you make about these types of breakers, which are in wide use in newer homes, I would have to agree, you make a very valid case regarding the pitfalls of tapping a neighboring neutral. I stand corrected.
You need to install an Aeotec bypass capacitor and use Panasonic bulbs and it’ll work fine.
You may also have to consider the the amount of current on the neutral wire. If you have 10A on circuit A and 10A on circuit B, and both are sharing the same neutral wire, then you potentially have 20A on the neutral. In this case, neither individual circuit is overloaded so the breaker wont trip, but the neutral wire is. This could lead to water damage (from the fire department).
Although you are unlikely to pull that much current for a few lights, the potential is still there.
