Hey, all. A friend of mine has a lamp on a switched outlet that he’d like to get into his smarthome system. A smart switch feels like the right solution, but he doesn’t have neutrals, and it’s a pretty low-wattage LED lamp. Is there a way to use a bypass in this situation, or are they only safe to use for wired light fixtures?
I found some old questions in the forum along those lines, but that was before Inovelli made any non-neutral non-dimming options. Now it has the Blue Series (in on-off mode)! So the question seems germane again. Any thoughts? Thank you!
Smart switches, Inovelli or otherwise, aren’t the solution for switched receptacles. In fact, if you are in the US, the NEC prohibits it. Switches controlling receptacles need to be rated for any potential load that may be controlled and unfortunately, smart switches can’t support a 15A potential load.
I understand the intention is only use the switch with a minimal load, but recommendations that are not in accordance with electrical codes aren’t generally favored here.
This would be my suggestion as well. Should be quite simple to replace the plug and wire so both plugs are always live. Then throw in a zigbee smart plug and bind it to the switch. OR put a zigbee smart bulb in the lamp and bind it to the switch. Either way it would be very simple to do.
FYI, the unswitched plug is likely wired with a neutral. And once you wire the plug to be always hot, you’ll just happen to have a wire going back up to the switch that you can send power AND neutral up to your switch. This may not work though if the switch is wired to overhead lights too.