![]() While it is now considered mandatory, some older wiring may even omit the ground wire. The reason is that since the switch consumes no power, the only wire that needs to go to the switch box is the one you will be turning on and off. Figure 1 - A typical no-neutral light switch circuit.Ī circuit like the one depicted above used to be common in residential wiring. Figure 1 demonstrates an example circuit where this is the case. This simplicity meant that it was sufficient to run what is effectively a single wire from a light source into a switch, out the switch and back to the light. The reason is quite simple: light switches used to be straightforward devices that physically connected or disconnected a wire. You might wonder how it's even possible to have a situation without a neutral wire since we just said we need both hot and neutral for a functional circuit. Why the smart switch neutral problem existsĪfter understanding the basic concepts of an AC electrical system, we can see that a circuit requires, at a minimum, a hot and a neutral wire to function. This safety is critical because otherwise, a human can touch a hot wire accidentally, completing the circuit through their body and resulting in a nasty and potentially lethal electrical shock. The idea is that if a wire were to come loose, break, or otherwise become disconnected, it would touch the grounded metal and have a safe return path. All metal in a standard electrical system is wired directly to ground. The important thing to remember about the ground wire is that its primary purpose is electrical safety as opposed to something that is actively used regularly. A third wire is also required virtually everywhere: the ground wire. The main distinction between hot and neutral is the voltage each line carries. These complexities are not too significant so long as we remember that in practice, current flows in both directions in an AC circuit (hence the term alternating current). It is also the designated return path for the power lines, though, in real life, AC is quite a bit more complicated than "in" and "out" current. Neutral is so-named because it is at a nominal voltage of 0V. In this case, the nominal voltage is around 120V (volts), but this varies by region. ![]() In practice, the hot wire is responsible for carrying the voltage appliances need to function. With that in mind, the standard convention dictates that AC circuits contain three main wires: "Hot" or "Live", "Neutral", and "Ground". We will also be using the North American electrical standards, but note that the concepts apply everywhere, with the main difference being naming and wiring conventions. In most places in the world, residential electrical systems use Alternating Current, so that's what we will focus on today. The names we use to describe these power lines vary based on the region and whether we are talking about a Direct Current (DC) circuit or an Alternating Current (AC) circuit. No Neutral Wire? Top 3 Solutions for Smart Lighting, but here's a recap of the vital information.Īll electrical systems have two main paths for power, one going in and one coming out. We dove into detail about why this issue exists and how it becomes an issue for smart devices in my article Project Image Gallery The No-Neutral Problem - Why is it so difficult to solve?.Comparison with Eve Neutral-Required Smart Switch.Evvr No-Neutral Smart Relay - HomeKit, Zigbee, and Z-Wave.Leviton DN15S Decora Smart No-Neutral Switch.What does electrical code require in the modern day?.Why the smart switch neutral problem exists.The No-Neutral Problem - Why is it so difficult to solve?.
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