Just wanted to toss this out there if anyone is currently or future remodeling: best to run 3 wire electrical wiring for today's smart switches (ex: light or fan switch) such as 14/3 or 12/3.
My house was built in 2007 so I may be ok (NEC code did not require running neutrals til 2011'ish?). I have to investigate this coming weekend to see if I have all white wires in a wire nut behind my existing manual switches and do some testing to ensure they are indeed the required neutral white wire for smart switches.
I'm no stranger to doing my own DIY electrical wiring work. My 2 car garage came with a single light bulb and a single 15amp outlet. After lots of research and having the city inspector come pass my inspection, I have a subpanel, 12 110v, 5 220v receptacles and T5 lights everywhere (it's my wood working shop).
But this neutral wire required is...confusing. I'll be talking to some electrical industry buddies about it for clarification. What confuses me is many talk of using 14/3 instead of the standard 14/2 to give you that extra red wire. But then, many talk of re-using the 14/2 white wire and putting black tape upon it to re-identify it as a load wire.
I guess (i'm no electrical expert, I just play one on TV) if you are curious about smart switches in your house in the future and are remodeling now, talk to a licensed electrician about neutral wire requirements for a smart home.
My house was built in 2007 so I may be ok (NEC code did not require running neutrals til 2011'ish?). I have to investigate this coming weekend to see if I have all white wires in a wire nut behind my existing manual switches and do some testing to ensure they are indeed the required neutral white wire for smart switches.
I'm no stranger to doing my own DIY electrical wiring work. My 2 car garage came with a single light bulb and a single 15amp outlet. After lots of research and having the city inspector come pass my inspection, I have a subpanel, 12 110v, 5 220v receptacles and T5 lights everywhere (it's my wood working shop).
But this neutral wire required is...confusing. I'll be talking to some electrical industry buddies about it for clarification. What confuses me is many talk of using 14/3 instead of the standard 14/2 to give you that extra red wire. But then, many talk of re-using the 14/2 white wire and putting black tape upon it to re-identify it as a load wire.
I guess (i'm no electrical expert, I just play one on TV) if you are curious about smart switches in your house in the future and are remodeling now, talk to a licensed electrician about neutral wire requirements for a smart home.