Mix of Light Switch Types

[cyclistca]

I'm about to install a bunch of smart light switches in my home. My original plan was to go with TP-Link. They have good reviews and are not too expensive. The issue is they require a neutral wire for power. When I started open up my light switches I discover almost all the ones on our first floor are wired with no access to the neutral. Now the weird thing when I checked our second floor all of them have an exposed neutral wire.

Here are my option

1. Go without on the first floor

There are several rooms were I would really like to install smart lighting such as the mud room and our TV room

2. Get an electrician to rewire the switches on the first floor

Additional expense. How easy is it to rewire? Could it be done with taking down the drywall?

3. Switch to a system that does not require a neutral (Lutron Caseta)

Lot more expense per switch and require a bridge. I also like the look of the TP-Links as they look like regular light switches.

4. Do a mix of Lutron Caseta and TP-Link

What are the drawback of having two different systems? Would save a lot of money on light switches.

5. Do smart light bulbs on the first floor

Might be an option as I'm only replacing single light bulb applications in a few rooms

What are some good forums for smart home discussions?

If I have metal boxes for my light switches will that be a problem?

 

[Greenman]

Adding neutrals will be big money. Can't help you with the rest as I'm not a fan of, or interested in, home automation.

 

[herm0016]

the neutrals should be wired together in the back of the box, just add a pigtail?

do you mean the ground? maybe take a pic of one opened up for us.

 

[Greenman]

the neutrals should be wired together in the back of the box, just add a pigtail?

do you mean the ground? maybe take a pic of one opened up for us.

If it's a simple switched leg there often isn't a neutral.

 

[Paperdoc]

That certainly can happen, and here's how. When you supply power through a switch to a light located elsewhere, there are two ways. One is the power supply (Hot (Black), Neutral (white) and Ground (bare)) cable comes into the switch box from the breaker panel. A second cable with the same wires then leaves from the switch box and feeds onward to the lighting fixture mounting box. In the switch box the two bare Ground wires are twisted together and anchored to the screw in the back of the box to establish a Ground connection to the box itself, as well as connecting the two cables' Ground lines. The WHITE Neutral lines from the two cables are joined using a "wire nut", typically, but these have no use within the switch box normally. The Black lines from the two cables are attached to the terminals of the switch, thus enabling control of power on the Hot line to the light fixture.

The second layout reverses the logical position of the power supply cable from the breaker box. The power line from the breaker panel goes to the mounting box for the lighting fixture. Then a second cable of the same type goes from there to the switch mounting box. In the FIXTURE box the two bare Ground leads are twisted together and anchored to the box screw as before. The WHITE (neutral) lead from the breaker panel cable is connected to the Neutral terminal of the lighting device. The BLACK leads from both cables are connected with a "wire nut", thus passing all power on the Hot line out to the switch box. At the SWITCH box, the bare Ground line again is secured to the box back screw to Ground the box. Then the Black AND the WHITE lines of the only cable entering this box are connected to the two switch terminals. The effect is that the WHITE line on this cable becomes the SWITCHED HOT line that returns power to the FIXTURE box when the switch is closed. Back at the FIXTURE box, that WHITE line is NOT a Neutral, it is the Switched Hot feed of power, and it is connected to the Hot terminal of the lighting deivce. In many jusrisdictions such a use of the White line as a Switched Hot line requires that it be marked, often simply by wrapping black tape around it inside the boxes. It is THIS type of layout that results in having NO Neutral line at the switch box amd that is a problem when you need a Neutral line as OP does here.

One remedy is to re-wire the equipment of the second layout type. Usually the simpler version of that is to convert it to the first type of layout. That is, you must install a new power line from the breaker panel to the SWITCH box, DISconnect and isolate the power supply iline from the breaker panel to the FIXTURE box, and change the connections of the line between the two boxes to match the first layout design. In some construction systems that can be done by "fishing" a new cable into the Switch box. But if the walls have horizontal pieces of 2x4 between vertical studs to act as fire stops, that might require cutting small openings in walls to get through those, then patching. Only way to know is to ask a few contractors to investigate the details and provide quotes.

Just the way the first post was written prompts me to ask whether OP is sure about what is observed. He/she says all switch boxes on the first floor have "no access to the neutral ", whereas on the second floor "all of them have an exposed neutral wire". I guess it's the work "exposed" that caught my attention. I hope by that word he/she does not mean "bare" wire believed to be "Neutral".

 

[cyclistca]

Thanks all. I've decided to go with option 5. Will do TP-Link smart switches on the second floor and smart light bulbs on the first. Our TV room is on the first floor. Thought I could have some fun with it using colored light bulbs.