These are great for diy installers looking for an effective smart lighting solution. For example lutron caseta devices do not use a neutral wire.
Why Smart Switches Can T Be Used Without Neutral Vesternet
Smart light switch without neutral wire. Now my question is this i have a single circuit in my bathroom with a switch. This is by far the easiest option. I know there are switches that will work without neutral but they are for incandescent bulbs. I believe if i understand correctly that these work with incandescent and not led because there is always a small amount of power in the circuit to keep the switch awake. Ok so my house does not have neutral wires at the switches. The bridge is needed because the programming of your login and wireless network details are stored within the hub rather than on a micro controller inside the smart switch.
This small amount of power is enough to keep an led lit but not an incandescent. A switch box with no neutral loop will usually only have three wires see image below. For smart switches that function without a neutral wire a home hub is essential. There are some smart light switches and dimmers that do not require a neutral wire. Two of the wires will be the current carrying wires that power the light. Yes you can install a smart switch without a neutral wire.
Now at ces 2020 ge lighting has another batch of new products including new smaller size smart light switches that dont require a neutral wire potentially a pretty helpful. Get a smart light bulb. Smart switches that work without a neutral wire need to connect through a bridge or hub because of the programming things like your wireless network details and login are stored in. You should be good to go with any smart switch. Here are 3 simple suggestions of what you can do to automate lighting without a neutral wire. They will usually be colored one black and one white potentially with black stripe.
You can also have an electrician rewire the switch and light fixture which is potentially more expensive. If you want to use smart switches and dont have a neutral wire in your switch box you can hire an electrician to run a neutral wire between the light fixture and the switch.