i have a couple single pole switches for which i'd like to have a motion
sensor switch instead. the current switches have two wires connected: a hot
coming into the bottom and then the switched hot going out of the top to the
light bulb. when i looked around at the motion sensing switches it has four
wires (black, red [for the load], white and green) and says it requires a
neutral. i've never come across a switch that has a neutral hooked up to it.
what am i missing here?
tia,
c

aptpupil wrote:
i have a couple single pole switches for which i'd like to have a motion
sensor switch instead. the current switches have two wires connected: a hot
coming into the bottom and then the switched hot going out of the top to the
light bulb. when i looked around at the motion sensing switches it has four
wires (black, red [for the load], white and green) and says it requires a
neutral. i've never come across a switch that has a neutral hooked up to it.
what am i missing here?
tia,
c


Hmmm,
What I have on my garage door hallway is sensor and switch with
settings; off-on-auto. I leave it at auto and sensor controls the light.
It has two black wires for hook up and green wire for ground and a
little pot for adjusting turn off delay. Got it from HD.

aptpupil wrote:
i have a couple single pole switches for which i'd like to have a motion
sensor switch instead. the current switches have two wires connected: a hot
coming into the bottom and then the switched hot going out of the top to the
light bulb. when i looked around at the motion sensing switches it has four
wires (black, red [for the load], white and green) and says it requires a
neutral. i've never come across a switch that has a neutral hooked up to it.
what am i missing here?

That the sensor has to have a current to operate...

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"aptpupil" wrote in message
. ..
i have a couple single pole switches for which i'd like to have a motion
sensor switch instead. the current switches have two wires connected: a hot
coming into the bottom and then the switched hot going out of the top to
the light bulb. when i looked around at the motion sensing switches it has
four wires (black, red [for the load], white and green) and says it
requires a neutral. i've never come across a switch that has a neutral
hooked up to it. what am i missing here?
tia,
c
Some of these switches require a neutral to power the device itself, some
don't. For example RAB makes a model LOS 800 occupancy sensor which requires
a neutral, and a model LOS 1000 , which does not : Here's a link:
http://www.prolighting.com/rabocse.html

"aptpupil" wrote in message
. ..
i have a couple single pole switches for which i'd like to have a motion
sensor switch instead. the current switches have two wires connected: a hot
coming into the bottom and then the switched hot going out of the top to
the light bulb. when i looked around at the motion sensing switches it has
four wires (black, red [for the load], white and green) and says it
requires a neutral. i've never come across a switch that has a neutral
hooked up to it. what am i missing here?
tia,
c

The hot (black) and neutral (white) are to power the electronics in the
switch for the sensor. The red wire is switched and usually goes to the
light and then the other wire from the light goes back to the neutral.

thanks to all who didn't have a smart ass answer. it makes sense that the
electronics within the device would need a neutral to be powered, so this
illuminates (ha ha) everything for me.
-c

"Ralph Mowery" wrote in message
...

"aptpupil" wrote in message
. ..
i have a couple single pole switches for which i'd like to have a motion
sensor switch instead. the current switches have two wires connected: a
hot coming into the bottom and then the switched hot going out of the top
to the light bulb. when i looked around at the motion sensing switches it
has four wires (black, red [for the load], white and green) and says it
requires a neutral. i've never come across a switch that has a neutral
hooked up to it. what am i missing here?
tia,
c

The hot (black) and neutral (white) are to power the electronics in the
switch for the sensor. The red wire is switched and usually goes to the
light and then the other wire from the light goes back to the neutral.

aptpupil wrote:
thanks to all who didn't have a smart ass answer. ...

I saw no "smart ass" answers????

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