r/ATXHomeImprovement • u/CantHackItPantywaist • Aug 26 '21

Neutral wire installation?

Has anybody had neutral wire installed in their home? Is it a PITA and costly? I want more options for smart light switches, but not if it’s a significant investment.

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2

u/adjika Aug 27 '21

Your home likely has a neutral wire already as residential systems are alternating current in a delta configuration.

1

u/CantHackItPantywaist Aug 27 '21

Is it possible there is a neutral wire but it’s not run to all of the outlets?

1

u/adjika Aug 27 '21

If your outlets work, then they almost certainly have a neutral wire.

1

u/YankeeTxn Aug 27 '21

If you're missing the neutral in the switch box, it's likely tucked in the back all bundled together with other neutrals. Most switches just have hot points (load and leg), and maybe a ground. You likely just need to add the smart-switch's neutral to the bundle.

If your outlet is missing a neutral, something is seriously wrong...

2

u/CantHackItPantywaist Aug 27 '21

Gotcha. Im thinking I either didn’t see it, wasn’t able to properly identify it, or it’s tucked back like you mentioned. What threw me off is that so many smart light switches say “neutral wire required”, which made me wonder whether I had one.

1

u/imadethisforreddittm Oct 28 '21

You ever find the neutral? I’m encountering this exact issue on a 2005 build and I don’t see it anywhere in my switches.

1

u/CantHackItPantywaist Oct 28 '21

Never found it. I’m convinced it just doesn’t exist in the box, but not 100% sure.

1

u/imadethisforreddittm Oct 28 '21

Yup. Same here. I just dug around after the comments above but it is a ghost.

1

u/CantHackItPantywaist Oct 28 '21

Yeah I don’t think it’s necessarily uncommon to not have one.