The neutral wire is used to complete the circuit even when the switch is in the off condition. You can also have an electrician rewire the switch and light fixture which is potentially more expensive.
Lightswitch Neutral Wire Australia Homeautomation
What to do with neutral wire in light switch. The neutral wire is just for the switchs internal circuits not the load of what it is powering. The most common requirement of any hardwired automated light switch is a neutral wire. Exposing your neutral wire to install your neutral wire in your switch youll need to remove the wall plate by removing the screws that hold it in place. With the help of the neutral wire the smart switch circuit is always completed which is then used to turn on or off the appliance connected to it remotely. For those of us using led fluorescent or some other energy efficient bulbs under 20w a neutral is required. Yes there are a few read very very very few switches that dont require a neutral but those will limit you to incandescent only.
The neutral wire allows the completion of the circuit and the switch to have power even when its turned to the off position when you want the lights off. Adding a neutral requires adding an additional conducting wire between the fixture and the switch. The red and black are used for hot and the white neutral wire at the switch box allows for powering a timer remote control or other programmable switch. Without this neutral wire in place the circuit is broken any time the switch is now in the off position. While you are not wrong its extremely unlikely that the switch will overload the neutral. You may have already discovered that most z wave light switches like this one require a neutral wire for them to work.
3 options if you dont have a neutral. You will find 3 wires a black hot a copper bare and a white which is your neutral wire. Because the electrical code as of the 2011 nec update requires a neutral wire in most new switch boxes a 3 wire cable runs between the light and switch. This is usually the white wire that might be in the back with a connector on it a standard light switch does not need power constantly because it does not communicate back to the main system. It remains has power when the switch is in the on mode. Wiring a single pole light switch.
If your home has switch boxes without a neutral you basically have 3 options. Then pull the switch out of the electrical box. Continue this thread level 1. Option 1 run a neutral wire if you want to use smart switches and dont have a neutral wire in your switch box you can hire an electrician to run a neutral wire between the light fixture and the switch.