3-way hanging hallway light with NO neutral wire

I'm looking for a replacement for an old 3-way hallway light that has NO neutral wire. I originally bought a Zooz before I found out there's no neutral. This is in the older part of the house where visitors stay, so I prefer switches not too complicated for guests.

I found a Lutron Maestro (MSCL-OP153MH-WH) which also has motion sensing. I won't have to replace the second switch, either. But it doesn't look like this works with the Lutron Bridge 2, but I'm still trying to confirm.

I also found a Lutron Caseta (P-PKG1P-WH-R) which will work with the Lutron Bridge 2, doesn't appear to need a neutral wire, but looks a bit complicated for those unfamiliar.

I'd welcome thoughts on the above and also if there are other alternatives that will fill the bill of what I'm looking for.

are you sure there is no neutral in one of the switches or at least behind one of them in a bundle..

I'm nearly certain there's no neutral. I worked with Zooz support, took some pics, checked some things with a volt meter, and we're now all in agreement there's no neutral in either switch box. It's pretty limiting, but I'm not eager to pay an electrician to run one. That fails the Spouse Acceptance Test!

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I did a lot of work in the Inovelli community, helping folks with installations etc.

I'm going to guess the switches are controlling the HOT line (which is to code). In such a situation it might be possible to replace all three switches with:
1 Dimmer
2 Aux switches. Aux switches basically become a mirror of the main dimmer paddle. Operation is instantaneous and does not require a hub.

There would be some reassigning of wire functions. I could show you how to wire them if I knew more of the current wiring.

Great product, and not complicated to setup. No neutral, easy 3-way using Pico mounted in old switch box.

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This is a dumb dimmer with a motion sensor built into it.

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I have P-PKG1P-WH-R in my dining room and find that many of my elderly guests get flummoxed by it. So I'm a bit reluctant to put it in the guest hallway. I haven't ruled it out, but I'm checking to see if there are better options. The Maestro is "dumb", but I figure that the motion sensor will handle most situations and the switch is a typical one that isn't likely to confuse.

Of course, I could use the Caseta and a motion sensor to get something similar, but that might not pass the Spouse Acceptance Test.

You don't need a remote dimmer for this, you can use a Pico remote. And you can get a Pico with just two buttons if that fits the use case, e.g., only need to turn on/off.

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I'm guessing you've got something like the photo below?

Besides just replacing the switches, what would you like to accomplish here?

Dumb dimmer or the ultimate in "local" control? Depends on your perspective and your goal. If all you want is motion operated lights... this might be the ideal solution.

If you want full-on automation capabilites, it might be easiest to wire the fixture as "always on" and install a smart bulb. Then you could extend the neutral into the downstream switches and install a pair of smart switches in "smart bulb" mode. This assumes your wiring is similar to the photo, which it may not be.

Dumb in the sense that it has no ClearConnect radio in it, so it cannot be controlled by any of Lutron’s smart lighting systems like Caseta, RadioRA 2, RA2 Select or Homeworks.

How about a zwave relay (Shelly??) in the light box, extend neutral and power to the switch boxes, and put a zwave (GE?) in each. They could be associated and would work fast and without a hub if that ever became unavailable.

Shelly devices are WiFi, but an Aeotec Nano Switch (or dimmer) would be equivalent in Z-Wave.

Thanks. I thought there was a z-wave relay made for that purpose.

I also live in an older home with no neutral. Everything is switched hot.

Three way switches are in abundance.

The solution that worked for me was to use smart bulbs with motion sensors, thereby leaving the house wiring alone.

not a greqat solution.. tried that and if people turn off the switch smart bulbs don't work..

This Aeotec Nano is interesting! I see that the Nano Switch needs a neutral wire, but supposedly the dimmer does not. But the link to the dimmer is broken, so I'll have to dig a bit, it seems.

The Shelly Dimmer works the same way, but uses wifi... still local control, though. Also has a native hubitat driver.

The reason they work without a neutral is they allow a small amount of current to "leak" through the device. This is just enough to power the controls, but usually not enough to cause the light to be on. In some cases I understand that some bulbs will flicker with the slight amount of leakage current. In cases like this Aeotec makes a bypass that might help. I've never used one, so I've no experience. Just what I've read/heard.

A smart bulb would likely function very similarly, BTW. It's a bit of a horse apiece whether you use a dimmer module or a smart bulb. Either would need to be paired with smart switches.

The Shelley Dimmer is interesting, for sure. But their "knowledge base" has "coming soon" for every area. Looks like they're just getting started?

Do you have access behind / above the light fitting itself? Where there will be switched live and neutral.