On Wednesday, December 11, 2019 at 10:49:00 AM UTC-5, Mark Lloyd wrote:
On 12/10/19 7:48 PM, Clare Snyder wrote:

[snip]

That's true about the relays, but all modules will pass a small current
through the load when "off". This allows the "local control" feature,
and can cause trouble with small or inconsistent loads.
On a relayed system the ghost current does NOT run through the load
if properly wired.

Where would it go, and what good would it do? It's there to sense the
operation of the load's switch.

--
14 days until the winter celebration (Wed, Dec 25, 2019 12:00:00 AM for
1 day).

Mark Lloyd
http://notstupid.us/

"A hundred thousand lemmings can't be wrong."

There are two types of X-10 or similar devices. One type uses the path
through the load for a small current to power the devices circuitry,
eg the RF receiver. That small current poses no issues with incandescent
and similar loads, but if it's an LED or CFL, then it probably will flicker
or partially light. Those devices just use two wires, no neutral. An
example is an X-10 wall switch. The advantage is that it can go into
any switch location, it does not use a neutral.

The other type uses the neutral so that it doesn't have any current flowing
through the load when the device is off. An example of that is the X-10
appliance module that plugs into a receptacle and then the load plugs into
it. It gets it's power between hot and neutral at the receptacle.
Like the other poster said, it uses a relay for the load, there is no current
in the load when it's off.

The code has been updated to require a neutral at all switch locations,
that will allow switches that connect to the neutral to be used,
eliminating the problems with LED, CFL flickering or partially lighting
with the switches that don't use a neutral.