hi there all first of all thanks for any help and advice given in here.
Any way im having a little trouble installing a zwave light switch to replace my current switch. Now my current light switch is a dual switch faceplate controlling 2 ceiling lights independently and has 4 red wires into the back and on the back of the switch itself are label L1 & L2 and is one set into each switch and the new switch has 4 wire sockets labelled L,L,N and 3 now I think the red wires are a 2 live wires and 2 wires going to the lights them selves.
You also might want to post a photo of your current switch that shows the wiring.
It sounds like your “dual” switch is a space saver. That is - you have a single switch box with two independent switches. You have a problem right off the bat as I’ve not seen a Zwave switch from any manufacturer that will accommodate two separate circuits. It’s also a bit of a concern that the wires are red. Red is usually used on a three way circuit as the traveler wire. Are you sure there isn’t another switch someplace that also controls those lights?
Are you planning to control both lights from the one z-wave switch? While it should be the case, you should make sure they are on the same fuse or breaker. Always use a voltage checked to test for live wires even after you think you have the power off.
ok here is a pic of the current switch and as far as the wires being red i can only asume its because of it being a crappy council house and they just used any wire they had lying around.
Based on what I can tell in the pictures…you are in the UK, I guess. Being in the USA, I would hate to venture a guess on a countries wiring that I am not familiar with.
The only single switch box 2 load control z wave switch I am aware of (might only be for USA) is the Leviton VRCS2-MRZ. It is a 2 button scene controller with 2 local loads. I only have one of these installed and it works well.
It looks to me that you have two lighting switch-drops in your wall-box. These would come from the ceiling roses where the lamps are connected. Two of the wires are likely to be Live feeds and the other two are switched Live back to the lamp. This was common wiring practice in the UK a few years ago.
Although you have two Live wires, they should not be connected together as they originate from different places. This precludes the use of dual-circuit switches that have a common Live terminal. You also don’t have a Neutral in your wall-box so that rules out a lot of switches and modules. Some dimmers can be used on two-wire circuits, though.
Are you aware that your TKB switch has only one local output? The other paddle is there to send Z-Wave commands to a remote switch. You can use it in Vera scenes/PLEG to switch something else though. The TKB needs a Neutral so cannot be used with your two-wire switch drops.
In your position, I would consider installing dimming modules in or above the light fixture. The Fibaro FGD-211 would be suitable. I would replace the wall-switch with two momentary (like a bell push) switches for local control of the two modules.
In theory, you could run two FGD-211 modules in two-wire mode at the wall-switch but it is very unlikely that there would be eough space in the wall-box.
OK - you are in the UK, so you’ll need to be careful with the reference material and advice you find on the web. The problem is that in the UK, they don’t typically bring the neutral to the light switch - it stays at the junction box. All that comes to the switch is the line (red) and ground (green), with a load (red) return. Here’s a graphic:
That’s what I see in your photo, and council houses are usually pretty good at meeting building standards. Short of getting an electrician in to extend the neutral and expand the switch box, I’m not sure you’ll be able to do much yourself.
[quote=“KenJ, post:8, topic:184971”]OK - you are in the UK, so you’ll need to be careful with the reference material and advice you find on the web. The problem is that in the UK, they don’t typically bring the neutral to the light switch - it stays at the junction box. All that comes to the switch is the line (red) and ground (green), with a load (red) return. Here’s a graphic:
That’s what I see in your photo, and council houses are usually pretty good at meeting building standards. Short of getting an electrician in to extend the neutral and expand the switch box, I’m not sure you’ll be able to do much yourself.[/quote]
sorry so does this mean with out that neutral wire i souldnt be able to install this switch?
also would i be perfectly ok to install it into this switch.
[quote=“Grwebster, post:10, topic:184971”]Rex seems to have the best approach. Two modules with momentary push buttons where your switches are. More than you were planning for I am sure…
Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk[/quote]
ok i gotta be honest with ya know all that just went over my head lol im very new to all this z wave stuff
If you don’t follow @RexBeckett’s excellent explanation, I would really recommend you get an electrician to do this for you. It’s not “Z-Wave stuff” so much as it is household wiring. Forging on ahead with household wiring while not understanding what you’re doing can lead to fire, injury, or death by electric shock.
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