I recently purchased a business for which I would like to control the lights using a Vera lite. Unfortunately I took all of the switches out and there is no neutral on any of them. All of the ones I have replaced in my house had a neutral so it was no issue. But all of the GE/jasco switches and even the aeon labs modules I have used require a neutral. So now that I’ve uncovered that none of these light switches have neutral running to them do I have any z wave options or am I screwed?
You have 2 options.
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Use 2 wire zwave dimmers that don’t need neutral. Very few LED lights work with these but most halogen and incandescents do.
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Find and electrician to run neutral from each light to each box (switch) so you can use a 3 wire switch.
[quote=“BOFH”]You have 2 options.
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Use 2 wire zwave dimmers that don’t need neutral. Very few LED lights work with these but most halogen and incandescents do.
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Find and electrician to run neutral from each light to each box (switch) so you can use a 3 wire switch.[/quote]
Are there any 2 wire z wave switches that are not dimmers? The lighting is all fluorescent tubes… I don’t want to do dimmers. I always wondered why all of the 2 wire models were dimmers and not switches …
THere are no 2 wire switches. This is due to the fact the internals in the switch need a constant power source. With a switch it is on or off so a neutral is needed to create a circuit while teh switch is off to power the internals. With a dimmer, it can be on like 1% which is enough to power the internals but make the light look off. That is why older dimmers don’t need a neutral. Newer ones do so they will work correctly with LED bulbs.
Your best bet unfortunately is to have an electrician come in and run neutrals…
If there is no neutra at the switch there is usually one at the fixture you can try putting an aeon micro switch in at the fixture where there is likely to be a neutral wire.
You might still be able to find some old Cooper RF9518 switches that don’t require a neutral but may not work with your lights.
You could also use a Caseta Lutron Clearwire system (they work with the Wink hub which can also be connected to the Vera with a plug in. But they only have dimmers.
Why not using a Fibaro-Dimmer and configure him as a switch?
If I used a dimmer and configured it as a switch, would someone still be able to dim (or try to) the lights at the switch itself? The place is filled with kids and they will inevitably mess with the lights 
the lighting system consists of 32 overhead fluorescent lights. If someone tries dimming them I’m sure it will start messing things up.
Also isn’t fibaro not available in the U.S.?
[quote=“shallowearth”]If there is no neutra at the switch there is usually one at the fixture you can try putting an aeon micro switch in at the fixture where there is likely to be a neutral wire.
You might still be able to find some old Cooper RF9518 switches that don’t require a neutral but may not work with your lights.
You could also use a Caseta Lutron Clearwire system (they work with the Wink hub which can also be connected to the Vera with a plug in. But they only have dimmers.[/quote]
That’s a good idea about checking for neutral at the fixture, however I am dealing with 32 separate fixtures. So that is pretty much out.
I’m not familiar with the cooper switches. How would I know if they would work with my lights or not ?
[quote=“shallowearth”]If there is no neutra at the switch there is usually one at the fixture you can try putting an aeon micro switch in at the fixture where there is likely to be a neutral wire.
You might still be able to find some old Cooper RF9518 switches that don’t require a neutral but may not work with your lights.
You could also use a Caseta Lutron Clearwire system (they work with the Wink hub which can also be connected to the Vera with a plug in. But they only have dimmers.[/quote]
That’s a good idea about checking for neutral at the fixture, however I am dealing with 32 separate fixtures. So that is pretty much out.
I’m not familiar with the cooper switches. How would I know if they would work with my lights or not ?
If the Fibaro is configured as a switch, it simply works as a switch and the dimming funktion will no longer be available. Meanwhile should Fibaro even available in US, or not?
Reading the Fibaro dimmer manual, it does need a neutral connection. Even on 2 wire. Granted, you could stick it at one of the fixtures but then you lose the manual switch on the wall unless you run wires to it from the Fibaro. Or am I reading the manual wrong? I’m looking at a solution for 2 rooms that have no neutral and need a switch rather than a dimmer.
I’m wondering how long it would take an electrician to run 2 wires from the fixture to the box in the wall that holds the switch? (11x16" room, walls are drywall and the attic is accesible. Trying to get a ballpark time/cost) I figure 2 wires as that would give me a neutral and a secondary line for the fan light to be controlled independently
I’m using some Fibaro dimmers in switchboxes where Neutrals are not available and configured these dimmers as switches. Everything works fine, I’m able to switch the lamps with the switches/alternatevely with Vera on or off, just as expected. You may even have a look here: http://www.vesternet.com/resources/application-notes/apnt-1#.VZlM2xpdarU
Just to update, I got lucky and had an electrician friend run the needed neutrals. It wasn’t too bad, he was able to run them thru the existing conduit from the lights. I haven’t hooked up the z wave modules yet but I will soon.
I have same issue, wish they had some aaa battery powered ones or something
I have same issue, wish they had some aaa battery powered ones or something[/quote]
If you want battery operated then you might be able to use a Aeon Labs Aeotec Z-Wave Micro Smart Energy Switch, 2nd Edition (DSC18103-ZWUS), at the fixture where the line comes in, to control the light. Then use a battery powered scene controller like the GE 45631 Z-Wave Wireless Keypad Controller or the Cooper RF9500AW Wireless Dimmer, Aspire RF Battery Operated Switch - Alpine White
I’d rather run new cabling.