Smart light switches

[Saba'a]

Have now 1 x 3 gang, 1 x 2 gang and a 3 way switch installed.

Need at least one more 2 gang and a 3 way switch.


Other points not that critical to be smart lights.

 

[Not_original]

Nope he didnt know what he was doing. Turned out no neutrals.

Thus if you bother to read everything you'll see I have pulled and still need to pull 7 neutral wires.

My handyman is an idiot. Luckily guys on forum spotted it.

Your handyman isn't very handy hehe. Well best of wishes getting those neutrals in, not too complicated just a drag. Hopefully the glued the conduits proper then you can just use a pull cord, tie it to the live, pull back and bring a neutral with it from the dB, alternatively you could tap one of the light which is relatively close by

 

[Rick Sanchez]

With light switches no standard for live wire colours.

But connect a switch and see. I did and only when it didnt work did I realise neutral is actually live.

Testing not sure as a buddy checked wires and pulled wires. Sure someone here knows.

Hi adielk,
Thanks for you response, much appreciated.
I see, mmmm. I will give that a shot, I will switch off the mains. Thank you.

Easiest is to measure live, if you measure the live wire coming into the switch and the supposed neutral you will measure 220 VAC (round about there give or take a bit)

Safest way, switch of main power, leave earth leakage on, measure continuity between the neutral and earth, it should be very low

Hi gertvanjoe,
Thanks for your response, much appreciated.
Awesome, thank so much for the tip, I will look into it. I first need to get a nice multimeter, any suggestions and where to get a decent one? I don't have a lot of money at the moment. Thanks!

Kind regards.

 

[Saba'a]

Any hardware or electrical store or TA.

Average R200 for a basic one.

 

[AxField]

Hi adielk,
Thanks for you response, much appreciated.
I see, mmmm. I will give that a shot, I will switch off the mains. Thank you.

Hi gertvanjoe,
Thanks for your response, much appreciated.
Awesome, thank so much for the tip, I will look into it. I first need to get a nice multimeter, any suggestions and where to get a decent one? I don't have a lot of money at the moment. Thanks!

Kind regards.

I don’t want to dampen your enthusiasm here, but I genuinely think you should get a sparky out to check for you. 220vac is lethal and I’m not getting the impression you are experienced enough to mess with this. I’m trying to say this in the nicest way possible

 

[Rick Sanchez]

Thank you everyone for all your information and concerns. So, I asked my dad to check and confirm about the light switches and such as I remember him replacing that light switch and a couple around the house many times before. He said that, that cable, the black one was always neutral, and all the switches have neutral as well. So live, neutral and earth are all present at the switches. Yup, thank you. So smart switches now...

 

[Not_original]

Thank you everyone for all your information and concerns. So, I asked my dad to check and confirm about the light switches and such as I remember him replacing that light switch and a couple around the house many times before. He said that, that cable, the black one was always neutral, and all the switches have neutral as well. So live, neutral and earth are all present at the switches. Yup, thank you. So smart switches now...

If you live on a property built in the last 2 years in a very modern suburb, you may have it, if you live in a run of the mill house, nope. No reason to.. Except maybe if the builder wanted to be fancy with dimmers those years

 

[Not_original]

Thank you everyone for all your information and concerns. So, I asked my dad to check and confirm about the light switches and such as I remember him replacing that light switch and a couple around the house many times before. He said that, that cable, the black one was always neutral, and all the switches have neutral as well. So live, neutral and earth are all present at the switches. Yup, thank you. So smart switches now...

Most likely the black wire your seeing is just a semiskilled who gets shouted at all day to hurry up, trying to save some time by not taping red over the black wire from the surfix wire the used. One is supply, one is load (goes to the light). If you are not seeing 3 wires and earth in there for a single switch, your SOL

 

[Not_original]

Hi adielk,
Thanks for you response, much appreciated.
I see, mmmm. I will give that a shot, I will switch off the mains. Thank you.

Hi gertvanjoe,
Thanks for your response, much appreciated.
Awesome, thank so much for the tip, I will look into it. I first need to get a nice multimeter, any suggestions and where to get a decent one? I don't have a lot of money at the moment. Thanks!

Kind regards.

Forgot to say, if you are doing this live, switch must be closed, otherwise you'll measure the drop over the switch.

However, as much as I freely share my knowledge as a qualified electrician, reading through the comments I would advise getting help. Multimeters are cheap,skilled labor slightly more, houses aren't

 

[Not_original]

Hi adielk,
Thanks for you response, much appreciated.
I see, mmmm. I will give that a shot, I will switch off the mains. Thank you.

Hi gertvanjoe,
Thanks for your response, much appreciated.
Awesome, thank so much for the tip, I will look into it. I first need to get a nice multimeter, any suggestions and where to get a decent one? I don't have a lot of money at the moment. Thanks!

Kind regards.

Major tech is OK, but I hate their back lights, goes of after a few seconds and they though it nice to wash out the reading with some pink leds when measuring live. Yes Major tech, I know there is power, I left it on to measure.

Fluke is great and their new palm sized meters well priced although I never used it as I have ve my trusty Fluke 177 but yeah they come in a hefty price.

 

[Rick Sanchez]

If you live on a property built in the last 2 years in a very modern suburb, you may have it, if you live in a run of the mill house, nope. No reason to.. Except maybe if the builder wanted to be fancy with dimmers those years

Hi thanks for the reply. The household was renovated completely in 2010, with plumbing and electricals redone. My mom made sure it wasn't the run of the mill electrian. There's quite a number of dimmers around the household. The ones you press down to dimm or brighten up, and double click to switch off. The switch depicted in my original post, was originally a dimmer where my dad swap it out for the basic one. So yeah. Thank you much appreciated.

 

[Rick Sanchez]

Major tech is OK, but I hate their back lights, goes of after a few seconds and they though it nice to wash out the reading with some pink leds when measuring live. Yes Major tech, I know there is power, I left it on to measure.

Fluke is great and their new palm sized meters well priced although I never used it as I have ve my trusty Fluke 177 but yeah they come in a hefty price.

I see, thank you. I will look into them, when looking at my budget and all. Solid fuses would be helpful as if one messed up once then...

 

[Rick Sanchez]

Forgot to say, if you are doing this live, switch must be closed, otherwise you'll measure the drop over the switch.

However, as much as I freely share my knowledge as a qualified electrician, reading through the comments I would advise getting help. Multimeters are cheap,skilled labor slightly more, houses aren't

I see, thank you. I also realized that if I switch off the mains, I wouldn't have any voltage to measure on live or the hot wire. I see, I will see if my dad can assist and maybe an electrician as well. Thank you for the advice, much appreciated.

 

[Rick Sanchez]

Most likely the black wire your seeing is just a semiskilled who gets shouted at all day to hurry up, trying to save some time by not taping red over the black wire from the surfix wire the used. One is supply, one is load (goes to the light). If you are not seeing 3 wires and earth in there for a single switch, your SOL

I see, I will inquire about that and maybe check the other switches well. How many wires would one expect in 2-Gang and 3-gang? I am not going to touch the 3-gang and 4-gang dimmable switches at this stage, as I think they are fine at the moment. Thank you. Best regards.

 

[Not_original]

I see, I will inquire about that and maybe check the other switches well. How many wires would one expect in 2-Gang and 3-gang? I am not going to touch the 3-gang and 4-gang dimmable switches at this stage, as I think they are fine at the moment. Thank you. Best regards.

A standard switch would be supply, earth and a return wire for each of the gangs. One more wire (which "should" be clearly marked) would imply a neutral. And for anyone reading thinking to use earth as a Neutral, just NO, don't do that ****

 

[Saba'a]

Treatlife Smart Dimmer review: A generic switch with generic performance

The good news is that adding this Wi-Fi switch to your smart home won't cost much.

www.techhive.com

Using the 3 way switch in main passage way with absolutely no issues at all thus far.

Love fact that it has a button that can be used to switch on or off and that only one needed, retaining other original traditional light switch. Yet voice control and app control as well.

 

[Vaughankzn]

Every single light switch in my house is a Sonoff T1 or T3. I have from the single to three switch units.
My wife likes to use a switch most of the time, I like to use automations or Alexa to turn things on and off. The Sonoff's satisfy both needs nicely.

Hi , could you tell me if the Sonoff light switch fits our normal light switch box or do you have to install a new one. thanks Vaughan

 

[zarf]

Hi , could you tell me if the Sonoff light switch fits our normal light switch box or do you have to install a new one. thanks Vaughan

The US version of the Sonoff T0/T2/T3 fits 2"x4" (5cm x 10cm) ZA switch boxes. If you have a 4"x4" switch box there are a couple of adapters available on Thingiverse that will accept the 2"x4" Sonoff (usually in landscape format) and cover the whole 4"x4" box.

 

[Saba'a]

If anybody looking for 3 way smart switches. I have 2 spare Treatlife ones available. They work via Tuya Smartlife app.

Installed 2 x 2 gang qualitel smart switches. Ennerdale Builders has stock. And cheaper than Qualitel who doesn't have stock.

Edit Apologies its Builders Edenvale

 

[Saba'a]

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B083LJZGFK/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_fabc_n572FbKWJ0YEC

This sonoff switch only requires a LAN connection. The new trend for IoT I suspect?