I had asked the electrician during the kitchen renovation whether it was possible to ‘pull’ a neutral for a smart light switch.
Our relative had recently bought a smart light switch and advised us to consider adding neutral cables in our light switch during our renovation.
Why neutral cable for smart switch?
There is no power supplied when a classic mechanical light switch (without a neutral cable) is ‘off’. A neutral cable is required as smart switches require permanent power for the wifi relay controllers and for touch control. It needs to be in constant communication to the wifi network and the power supplied needs to be independent of the lighting circuit.
Piglet was okay with it provided that there was minor hacking and plastering work. The electrician mentioned that he could ‘pull’ it from the doorbell. However, the doorbell cable was from a blue phase and the light cable was from a red phase. Both were from 6 Amps MCBs. He mentioned he could do it if the neutral cables were all combined in the distribution box.
Scratch head…
What does that mean?
He explained that most housing developers has planned the house wiring in such a way the live cables are 3 phase wiring but neutral cables are all jumbled together. If the electrical works was done privately, the neutral might be split to the 3 phases respectively.
Electrical Works
Wall was hacked to Pull ‘Neutral’ Cable from the Doorbell Cables that is Currently Not in Use
There is a vertical conduit above the switch so minimal hacking was done.
It was a minimal charge of RM50 but had specifically mentioned that if he was to do that specific job only he wouldn’t be keen to do it. It was too much work and not worth his effort.
Installing the Smart Light Switch
The electrician had offered to install it for us but we had not obtained the smart light switch then. So it was a mini DIY.
The electrician connected a light bulb to the black tape cables to test it.
Steps:
1. Switch off MCB in the distribution board.
2. Remove the wall plate. Unscrew and remove the switch plate.
3. Use tester screwdriver on the live (red) wires.
4. Identify cables and label it.
5. Remove the original light switch and pull out wire. Remove extra live wires.
6. Compare new smart light switch with the original one.
7. Screw wires into the new smart light switch.
8. Hack the wall if the wire and switch cannot fit into the back box.
9. Screw the smart light switch into the back box and test it. App downloaded and device paired.
10. Push the wall plate back in place.
11. Clean up.
12. Consider adding the device to the home hub. Now it works with voice recognition.
Just a note.
I’m a current google home user but my next device will certainly not be a google home. Alexa is a superior product. Routine in google home app or broadcast is limited to US users only…
You might wonder…
Why a smart home?
- Comfort and Convenience
- Timer setting can switch off devices when not in use.
Why not a smart home?
- Complexity- Smart home needs ‘smart’ users who are technology savvy and can troubleshoot if anything untoward occurs.
- Internet blackout- When the internet is down, it brings the smart home system along with it.
- Security Concern- It is also susceptible to being hacked.
- Privacy Concern- Is your hub e.g. Alexa or Google Home overhearing all your conversion and share information?
Addressing the issues above…
My light switches still works manually if there is internet blackout or issues with the user interface. It is also quite straightforward for piglet or me to change it back to a classic mechanical light switch. I am only planning to connect only 2 set of light switches and it will not be constantly connected to the main hub that has voice control recognition but just the app.
Any thoughts about it?