Like the title says, I have a 20yr old manufactured home with nothing but single pole speed boxes everywhere. All the wiring is 12-2 Romex (black/white/ground). So no neutral wire. Is there a Treatlife workaround or alternative I should be looking at?
I know there’s GE Cync and Lutron Caseta. Caseta might be a little too pricey for me. But I only have first hand experience with Treatlife, so not sure.
Old school dimmers don’t need a neutral or pull a neutral to the switch box from the easiest most accessible plug or j box. If there are two sets of Romex in the switch box one of the whites is likely a neutral. Quick check with a multimeter…
Do a little research on Shelly switches. The Shelly, one does not require a neutral. I have several installed in my house without neutral and they work great.
Black= current carrying conductor, white= grounded conductor (neutral) bare= grounded conductor which is bonded to the white in the service panel.
12-2 is common… and has neutral. If your house did not have neutral, then either you are on a 240v circuit, where both legs are considered “HOT”, or otherwise, nothing would work.
What you MEAN to say, is you don’t have neutral at your light-boxes.
This, is because, way back when, the way to wire light fixtures- your main wire goes into the light-fixture. Then, you run a seperate 12/2 or 14/2 from the light-fixture, down to the switch, and this switches the “hot” leg.
There are a few ways to address this.
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You can pull new 12/3 or 14/3 from your light fixture, down to the switch. I did this in a few key locations, when I put in z-wave switches. Generally doesn’t take that long.
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You can use a shelly hidden inside of the electrical box, above the light fixture. You would connect hot/neutral to it, and then, connect the 12/2 heading to the switch to the shelly as well. After this- you have an automated switch, which you can remotely control, as well as, you still have a physical wall switch. I did this in a few areas as well.
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The only advice I offer is to hire a licensed electrician before you electrocute yourself and/or set your home on fire.
Your only option are those higher-cost proprietary systems like Caseta, a wifi system like Treatlife uses requires a neutral.
Your other options is a control is at the fixture where a neutral is present rather than the switch and getting battery remotes, or running a neutral wire.
+1 use a zwave or zigbee relay in the fixture junction box where a neutral has to exist. Use the existing switch as the local control for that relay, and that should work. I use the same setup in a couple spots in my house where pulling a new run with a neutral would be a pain.