I want to install smart switches and have a no neutral installation (US). All my bulbs are smart bulbs, but still want a physical switch to control them, without them being off, so that I can turn them on through automations, etc. Ideally wi-fi, but I wouldn’t mind setting up a z-wave stick on my HA box (or zigbee?). Would prefer hubbless. Initially I wanted dimmer functionality, but I would compromise if there is a cheap and effective switch option without it.
My assumption is that because they are smart bulbs, I don’t really need any relay functionality, just mqtt/scene control would be ok. Also because of this, the bulbs would never be completely off, so I don’t know what that means in terms of bypass? Do I still need one? This part really confuses me.
I thought I had found the perfect solution: Inovelli red series dimmers. They can be configured for scenes, etc, relay can be disabled, don’t require neutral, don’t require a hub, are really nice looking… But the Inovelli support team said they would not work without a bypass. I would prefer avoiding bypasses, as they would increase the complexity of the project (and the cost) significantly.
Other people have recommended Lutron Caseta, which seem to work really well with HA, but they are more expensive and honestly I find the dimmers a bit “busy” with so much buttons. I haven’t looked at the particulars of installing these (again, bypass?).
I’ve also seen Smart switches from Tuya, which I would flash with Tasmota. These seem cheap and come with a bypass. I’ve had other Tuya switches that worked great with tasmota and HA. Has anyone see a dimmer version of these that still works with no neutral?
I’ve been trying to figure this one out for a while, and I’m a bit lost with all the options. Thought it might be good to see if anyone can share thoughts or ideas.
Imagine you are the switch and you need current to flow through the circuit to power your electronics. It’s clear from the diagram that the current flows through the switch and the light. The trick is to draw only enough current to power the switch but not enough to turn on the light.
This used to be easy with an incandescent light (requires a fair bit of current to illuminate) but more challenging to achieve with LED lights given that they need little current to activate. It gets more complicated if the light is a smart bulb. Like the switch it also needs current to keep its electronics alive and isn’t designed to receive a throttled amount of current.
The Inovelli team instructed you to install a bypass (effectively a resistor across the load) because it ensures a trickle current is present (without relying on the light) to keep their no-neutral switch powered.
In my home, most of my lights are non-smart LED lights controlled by smart switches. The exception is a pair of sconces equipped with Philips Hue bulbs. There’s a neutral line available but what I’ve done is remove the old switch entirely, connect the wires, and close the junction box with a custom flush-mounted metal plate I created. Then I covered the plate with a magnetically attached Philips Hue Dimmer Switch. It’s a wireless remote-control that looks very much like a standard Decora wall switch (4 buttons: on/brighten/dim/off).
The end-result is that the Hue bulbs are always powered (no one can cut power to them short of turning off the breaker) and anyone walking into the room can still manually control them via the wall-mounted dimmer switch.
Similarly, I have two tablelamps in another room outfitted with Hue bulbs. I wall-mounted a Hue Dimmer Switch in a convenient spot to allow anyone entering the room to easily control the lamps.
Thanks @123, very nicely explained. But because the bulbs are smart, I don’t want the switch to throtle the amount of current, in fact I want to disable the relay completely and have the switch control the bulb via mqtt. I had a setup very similar to yours in my old apartment that did have neutral wires, with a Treatlife switch, but the bulbs weren’t even connected to the switch. All control was scripted. There, they were in parlell because there was a neutral wire, so there was no issue. In this scenario, with both bulb and switch permanently on, would I still be able to wire them in series without a neutral?