I know there's a lot of info floating out there, but not so many definitive answers.
I need product recommendation for a 3-way set up with LED ceiling lighting. I was going to use the GE Enbrighten no-neutral dimmers, but the add-on switches still require a neutral.
I'm open to Zooz and Innoveli, but not as familiar with how their add-ons or remotes or 3-way set-ups work without a neutral.
What are all you non-neutral 3-way people using?
Are you looking for z-wave options only?
I guess I'm not. Hadn't even thought about it. But no. I'm using the Hubitat, so zigbee - and I guess wifi - would also work in this situation.
I'm concerned with solving the practical problem. Not fussy whats behind the wall.
Lutron Caseta. Bullet-proof. Requires Lutron PRO hub but the integration is local and excellent.
I was hoping not to go down the Casetta road and having to buy a second $100+ hub to make one poorly wired light work.
Yeah if this is your only wall switch I can see that :). I have about 30 of them so the cost of a second hub was insignificant.
This guy has a pretty decent website that helps with solving 3-way situations. I am not sure if it's completely up to date with every available product.
I dealt with the same issue and as far as I could tell it came down to either an Inovelli switch with an aux add-on from GE or Honeywell. (see here), or Lutron Caseta.
I had multiple no-neutral 3-ways so I went with Caseta and it has been completely reliable. With only one switch to deal with it seems like Inovelli would be the way to go.
wanna trade?
Yeah, its a bit of a cluster right now. This is for my elderly father's apartment, which we are renovating before he moves in. He's hard of hearing and never wears his hearing aids, and uses a walker.
The building manager told me that the units all had neutrals, but I didn't think he meant only some of the switches and outlets.
There's two hallways I'm looking to smarten up, each with a 3 way set up. One of them has no neutrals and the other has a neutral in one of the boxes. So my GE Enbrighten switches need to go back.
GE makes dimmers with no neutrals, but their add on switch doesnt work in a 3-way setup.
One solution that might work is the GE (or Innoveli) no-neutral dimmer, and pair it with a Zooz 34 remote. It looks like a switch, so my dad shouldn't care much. (Zooz Z-Wave Plus 700 Series Remote Switch ZEN34 (Battery Powered) - The Smartest House)
As long as that will work with another brand's dimmer, I should be good.
I think that would also work. The only disadvantage over an aux switch would be the need to deal with batteries.
Thanks.
Funny that you can use the GE Add-On with an Innoveli dimmer, but not with GE's own non-neutral dimmer. When I spoke with their technical support this morning, I was shocked that they didn't have a solution using their own products when other companies did.
I have a few add-ons laying around anyway, so this is probably the way to go. Unfortunately Innoveli is out of stock until the end of august on both the Black and Red dimmers.
Can I get a more detail on the Caseta vs. the Inovelli... can I do this with more than 1 Inovelli, or does it require the Inovelli with a GE add-on?
And does this work in 4 and 5 way configurations? My house is 35+ years old, has no neutrals, and the builder really liked their 3,4,5 way switches where some are dimmers, as well as switched outlets...
I have the Nue 3A Zigbee dimmer in two different ceiling fans to control the lights. The fan is not controlled. I use two ERIA Dimmer Switches (in reality, button controllers) to turn the lights on and off when at times when scheduled lighting isn't active.
This is an easy way to do 3-way without any third wire needed. For the Eria devices, no wires are needed. I use a switch lock to lock the switches on so they don't get turned off accidentally.
So in my case, where I have 3 lights controlled by 2 switches, I would need to put a Nue 3A Zigbee dimmer in each box with each light, then use the switches to keep power always on, but act as a button controller for ON \ OFF?
What about when the HE were to lock up? I assume the lights would remain in their last state and the wall switch would have no effect?
I am out of town on business frequently, and we have frequent power outages, so even with a UPS on the router, modem, HE, if the power is out long enough the HE dies. Last outage we had, when power returned the HE was hung on startup. In that case I suspect that the switches would do nothing, and if the light was off then the wife couldnt turn it on from the wall...
I'm guessing I could go with the relay option as well. But I'm unclear whether you need to put a relay on each side of the 3-way or just in one box.
And in the case of the Qubino mini relay, I can't tell from the instructions if it will work as a 3-way without a neutral, or only as a single pole with no neutral.
Anyone with any experience here?
I have the Nue 3A in the cowling of the ceiling fan. With a different type of light, you would need to figure out where to put it. Yes, the physical switches would always be on. The ERIA buttons act as the on/off/dim. I rarely use the dim. Button 1 turns on, button 4 turns off, button 2 sets to 100%, and button 3 sets to 10%. It is tricky to control the dimming as it is not instant control. The dashboard on the computer or on my phone are better for setting specific dim levels.
Sounds like you need a bigger UPS or a standby generator if you have that many power outages and they last that long. We rarely have them since our utilities are underground. However, we have had power outages of several hours. My UPS power is sufficiently long so I have time to get out a backup generator (not standby). If we are traveling, then I would also be in a similar situation were the power to be out for several hours. My hubs are on a separate UPS from the computer and networking equipment. I am considering how to use a 100AH LiFePO4 battery to provide more usable hours of UPS power.
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