I never said 4 wires, check it out, I said three
If nobody clarifies, this is my rough understanding about the neutral wire ā¦ (disclaimer ā Iām not an electrician)
The ordinary switch box is inline, which means if the switch is in the OFF position, thereās no current going through.
If you want some smart electronics onboard (like a WiFi module) that requires power, then it must be on another circuit. The hot wire and the neutral wire comprise that second circuit.
So the blurb, āreturn wire ā¦ to complete the circuit ā¦ā, I suspect is referring to the circuit that powers the onboard electronics.
Or those devices that need constant power could have a battery.
I donāt understand the reluctance of switch and outlet manufacturers to do this. Sure, the consumer has to replace batteries from time to time ā which is inconvenient ā but not as inconvenient as rewiring.
There are indeed such battery-powered smart switches that donāt require neutral wires. I had one a long time ago which used lithium-ion ābuttonā battery. But it was before the advent of rechargeable button batteries, so I had to change batteries regularly. I havenāt checked lately, maybe the rechargeables are now in use.
Edit ā there is still the issue of only being able to recharge the batteries when the switch is on. Thatās why the neutral wire is still a better solution.
And this is exactly what Iām proposing here. The Wyze plug already has all the tested electronics to do this function. It just needs to repackage stuff. For example, the prongs can be replaced by a small box that lives inside the switch box.
Standard North American light switches do not use the neutral wire. The switch just breaks the hot wire but you use a standard 14/3 cable so; black comes from hot to one side of the switch. White goes from the other side of the switch to hot on the device. This white wire is marked black to indicate that it is hot when the switch is on. The graphic shows the opposite but either way works.
If a light switch has a device within it that requires 120v (timer) you will need a neutral wire.
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I am aware that this is an old thread. Iām a new Wyze user and have knob and tube (i.e. 2 wire) wiring throughout most of my house. I have two newer circuits which are 3 wire compliant.
My Wyze outlet has been successfully used with both 2 and 3 wire circuits. Under the 2 wire setup, an NEC compliant GFIC duplex outlet was installed and this is the circuit which the Wyze plug has been successful switching a table lamp.
As an aside, I do have a Wyze wall switch which requires a 3 wire set up (hot, neutral, ground)ā¦though it coexists well with the Wyze smart outlet (which is on a 2 wire circuit).
There are very few Wifi wall switches that do not require neutral.
yup, thatās right. I was just acknowledging that the wall switch does require 3 wire system but the Wyse outlet, while it is configured for the std 3 prong standard, it does not require 3 wire to function.
I installed a new circuit for the Wyze wall switch and it controls the Wyze outlet which was plugged into my knob/tube 2-wire system. Iām very pleased with the setup and this will work fine until I win the lotto and can replace the K/T wiring with 3 wire/ground system.