Is this workable for USA 110v?
What are the drawbacks - and what needs to be changed for 110v from these shown in the video?
4x 1N4007 rectifier diodes
1x 10uf 400V capactor
The biggest drawback is the safety concern of burning down your house and risking the lives of your family.
There are plenty of smart dimmer switches that do not require a neutral, which a UL safety rated for use in the USA. I would personally never use any mains-powered devices that are not UL rated. Way too much to lose versus spending a little additional money for the peace of mind that comes with a product that has been thoroughly tested.
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Please be specific and please stop the dramatic statements. What is specifically wrong with this circuit that would cause an issue and why? If you are saying it would cause too much heat, what is the solution for a design that would not?
I think @ogiewon have a point⌠there is a risk of using non-certified solutions and your insurance company may refuse your coverage if something happens and they find out it was an out-of-specifications solution.
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I agree but there should be specifics
There are situations where âdramatic statementsâ are warranted. This is probably one of those situations.
If you think you want to try it then you should have your system checked with the DIY project installed by a certified electrical house inspector.
They would likely laugh pretty hard as they were signing the failure report.
the statements above are not just for you (who have already seemed to have decided it might be OK) but for anyone else looking in on this who might be persuaded to try it based on the confidence shown in the video about how well it works. Then that person burns down their houses and kills their family since they âsaw it was safe on youtubeâ.
some things are OK in low voltage/low power situations. 120v/240v systems are usually neither.
do you have any idea what the current rating of those capacitors or diodes and the associated leads are? they donât look very big to me. Most breakers are designed to trip at no less than 15amps. There is no way those diode & cap leads are rated for 15 amps. Which means theyâll burn up way before the breaker even thinks about tripping in the case of a fault condition.
according to a quick search the 1N4007 rectifier diodes are rated for only 1 amp continuous. But they are able to handle a surge of 30 amps so thatâs better than I expected. but 1 amp continuous in a sustained overload situation isnât very much compared to a 15 amp rated breaker. And you are counting on the breaker to trip first before the diode burns up in any short circuit surge fault condition.
Is that something you want to bet your or your familyâs lives on? I wouldnât if that were me.
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Hi KruseLuds,
Iâm not here to tell you itâs a good idea or that you should do it. What the others said applies, for sure. But it is your house. Would I do it personally, sure, why not. With the fuse in there is probably safer than just relying on the house breaker.
I will say that it looks sound electrically, and that fuse/resistor is a very good idea.
110, 220, as long as the capacitor and diodes are rated for the voltage, that is fine.
The stuff they are using is rated for the higher voltage, use them.
I will also say that not all LEDâs will like this, you are lowering the voltage to them. I would test it with one of the bulbs you are using first.
Not sure what exactly you thought was so âdramaticâ? I simply pointed out that I feel using a DIY solution on 120VAC adds unnecessary risk to the safety of your home, which has the potential of loss of property and life.
I also offered that there are fully tested options available that negate the need to add such risk to oneâs house. I watched the video and it even shows that the Shelly official solution has been reported to burn up over time. In fact, if you search you will find many examples of Shelly devices in a very toasty state. Were these ALL caused by people mis-using these devices? Possibly. But the fact that they seem to burn/melt is what scares me enough from ever using them. Adding some custom DIY diodes and capacitors does not feel like it would make things any safer, IMHO.
Here in the USA, if you have no neutral in your wall switchbox, you will find that the power (line + neutral) is typically brought into the light fixture. Then the line + load pair of wires is connected to the in-wall switch. So, if you really want to use a Shelly or similar device, why not simply install it at the light fixture where the neutral is already present? This avoids the entire âno neutralâ problem altogether.
Here is a pretty decent drawing of a typical USA âno neutralâ (in wall switch box) configuration. If the Shelly device is installed at the light fixture box, then all of the necessary wiring is already present.
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Iâm an ex fire investigator (a loooong time ago)
Generally speaking us electrical is quite permissive (compare Australia) but ive seen insurance deny coverage for less.
âworking aroundâ no neutral is a recipe for disaster. Probably will never cause an issue, but the one time it does - if your insurance company gets wind of it. Get ready for a fight. UL listed gear theyâll just fight your skill of installing it but with that device you will lose the fight every time.
âso you knew it wasnât supported because of the lack of neutral and decided to hack around it anyway?â
Yes.
âDENIEDâ
Thats simply enough for me to say no. This oneâs right up with BYO own âsmart fireplaceâ - nope.
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