32
votes
Accepted
What could be causing changes to a smart bulb to affect a regular bulb on the same circuit?
You're looking at the problem upside down. You are thinking the smart bulbs are causing it. Actually, the Lutron Caseta dimmer is causing it.
The smart bulbs are behaving normally, however their ...
26
votes
Techniques to wrap the innards of electrical switches and outlets with electrical tape?
There is no need for tape inside a device box except perhaps as a wire colour marker (phase taping, etc). Outlets, switches, device boxes, cable, clamps, breakers - all of these devices have clear ...
- 1,383
25
votes
Dimmer without neutral?
Not junk bought mail order
Noting that the seller is not Amazon. You're dealing with the ugly side of the platform, which is essentially eBay. It's populated by cheap junk from Alibaba. A quick ...
25
votes
Why was this lighting fixture smoking? What do I do about it?
Running a standard 'old' transformer from a dimmer (doesn't matter whether the dimmer is LED rated or not) is almost always a bad idea. The way the AC waveform gets 'chopped up' by a dimmer causes '...
- 7,178
20
votes
Can a 12 gauge wire be clamped onto a light switch using the side screw?
Using the hole(s) in the back is called a "back stab", and, while technically code-legal, they're frowned upon because they can come loose and cause arcing and, if left alone long enough, ...
- 47.9k
18
votes
Why do LED Lights Flicker on Low Dimmer Setting
LEDs on AC Power Don't Like to be Dimmed. Period.
(LEDs on DC can actually be dimmed quite easily - just look at an older battery powered LED device (like handheld computer games from the 1980s) and ...
15
votes
Accepted
Why do LED Lights Flicker on Low Dimmer Setting
The specifications of the LED lights you have say they will dim down to 10% without any flicker or buzzing. Some lights don't go down that far, and some will go even further.
Based on the manual for ...
- 28.2k
15
votes
Can a 14 AWG pigtail be used with a smart switch with a 20 amp breaker?
but when it comes to smart switches, manufacturers don't seem to follow this code.
No. They follow UL standards, which are what apply to equipment design, and take into account design considerations ...
14
votes
Accepted
Can someone explain how this makes sense electrically?
However, if I only turn off the lights breaker, and go into the switch panel with my voltmeter, I am still detecting 100V AC across the switch (with it off), even though the lights stay off when I ...
- 4,054
12
votes
Incorrect voltage at light sockets
In residential interior wiring, voltage irregularities generally are only a concern when over-voltages are seen and not under-voltages. Incidentally however, when there is an under-voltage, there is ...
- 4,847
12
votes
Techniques to wrap the innards of electrical switches and outlets with electrical tape?
If you are going to do it you go 3-4 times around the outlet so it covers the metal and doesn't slip off. Also do not use the cheapo stuff that comes in at $2 for 5 rolls.
This shouldn't be a ...
- 50.1k
12
votes
Accepted
Can a 14 AWG pigtail be used with a smart switch with a 20 amp breaker?
It is not that the 14 AWG wire will zap you. Properly insulated (just the original insulation, no need for extra tape) will protect you from being zapped.
The concern is heat, because heat leads to ...
10
votes
Accepted
Incorrect voltage at light sockets
It's a floating neutral.
But it's only the one circuit.
Find, re-strip, re-splice, and tighten down all of that circuit's neutral connections. If it goes directly through an outlet, pigtail it.
- 13.5k
10
votes
Accepted
Can I connect the neutral wire ends via a single switch terminal (without a pigtail)?
"Never" is a bit strong.
This is not a plain "screw terminal" where that would be true. This is a "screw and clamp" and appears to be designed to correctly hold 2 wires, ...
- 223k
10
votes
Can a 12 gauge wire be clamped onto a light switch using the side screw?
Yes, I see several problems.
Wire just stuck under a screw, and not using a proper shepherd's hook with a more than 180 degree bend (i.e. squeezing it together after forming it. Watch a Youtube ...
9
votes
Accepted
Dimmer switches have no ground wire
Add some ground pigtails
Take the existing bundle of bare (ground) wires, and add a couple pigtails of bare or green wire to the bundle, making sure the bundle is joined properly using a wirenut or ...
- 85.2k
9
votes
Accepted
Changing Out a "Vintage" Dimmer Switch
You have a "single-pole" arrangement, i.e. one switch controlling the load (the light). You simply need to turn off the circuit breaker controlling this circuit, remove the two wires from your ...
- 36.3k
8
votes
Electrician connected LED dimmer to halogen bulbs, worried about safety
From the link you posted:
The dimmer is rated for up to 210W of halogens with or without transformer. So if you have 6x 20W 12V halogen bulbs, total 120W, it's okay. You should check the power on the ...
- 10.3k
8
votes
Accepted
Is it required to connect ground wire to light switch?
Since you have a plastic box, an explicit ground wire connection is required. With a metallic box it's generally not, for switches, as they can ground by connection to the metal box, which should be ...
- 223k
7
votes
Why are my some of my LED lights flickering?
Simply put, you have the wrong type of switch for the bulbs you have installed. Most (not in every scenerio) LED bulbs require you to install an ELV type dimmer. What you have installed is a standard ...
- 206
7
votes
What should I do to increase the dimming range of LED bulbs?
The LED is the most dimming-friendly light source ever made. The problem is that most people are using screw-in "incandescent replacement" LED modules, with obsolete dimming schemes** intended for ...
7
votes
Incorrect voltage at light sockets
Everything you are saying depends on where the electrician checked the voltages. Dimmers will affect the voltages on the load side. So did the electrician check for voltage drop across the dimmers ...
7
votes
How can I wire 3 Lutron Caseta dimmer switches in bathroom?
We gotta do something about that mess
There's no way to avoid the fact that this many wires will be a huge mess in this box. It's already a huge mess and efforts were made to keep it neat.
Your ...
7
votes
Can someone explain how this makes sense electrically?
Rundown in layman's terms:
Light switch to outlet. You will see a lot of these in older homes. By code for a long time in a lot of areas you had to be able to turn on a light from a switch accessible ...
- 50.1k
7
votes
Why are ground wires sometimes not insulated?
Cost, mostly
Whether your grounding conductors are bare, insulated, or not even a wire to begin with depends on what wiring method you are working with. NM, because it's made in large quantities, ...
- 85.2k
6
votes
Is it okay for an electrical switch to get warm?
Short answer, most dimmers do get warm when in use. If the dimmer does not have a mechanical method of turning completely off. Then there is a good chance that you are still getting some electrical ...
6
votes
Accepted
How can I wire 3 Lutron Caseta dimmer switches in bathroom?
OK, here goes:
What you have now
The power from the panel seems to come in in the middle of the bottom of the box. That black wire is always hot, and is connected to all of your switches via the ...
- 8,891
6
votes
Can someone explain how this makes sense electrically?
Switch switching outlets. That's normal enough. Often the outlet(s) switched are far from the switch, because that is where the installer thought you would want to put the light. The installer was ...
6
votes
Changing Out a "Vintage" Dimmer Switch
Based on the instructions and Single Pole installation (i.e., one switch rather than 2 switches), this should be quite simple:
Line - Hot
This is one of your black wires. Hard to tell from the old ...
6
votes
Accepted
How do I replace this very old dimmer switch with a standard switch
Referring to the image below:
Carefully tuck these back into the box
Carefully tuck these back into the box
Connect this to one screw on the new switch
Remove the wire nut
Bend a hook into the the ...
- 47.9k
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