The neutral wire is a wire that continuously carries currents back to the source of power.  This wire is different than the ground wire, which is not insulated like the neutral wire is.  The neutral wire has no safety features, like the ground wire does, but it is still easy to mix the two of them up when you are installing new switches. 

When you choose to install smart light switches in your home, you are going to need to make sure that you have a neutral wire in place.  The reason for this is that smart light switches need to be on at all times and that cannot happen if you do not have it connected to a neutral wire. 

Your house definitely has a neutral wire, because they are all wired that way.  However, that doesn’t mean that this neutral wire has been placed in all your switch boxes.  Most homes built after the middle of the 1980s have neutrals everywhere throughout the house.  Any switch boxes that use an outlet nearby will also have neutral wires in place. 

It is easy to check for a neutral wire for the switch boxes you want to utilize, but first, make sure you turn off the electricity and ensure it is off before you start touching wires.  When you pull out the wires, you will be looking for a white wire. 

You can check the voltage of that wire and the black one, which is usually the hot wire.  If you have a neutral wire in place, you will be more than ready to install a smart light switch.  If you do not have a neutral wire, you may be tempted to use the ground wire.  However, that would be a major mistake! 

Choosing to use the ground wire will not have you meeting current electrical or building codes and a whole bunch of issues can pop up if you choose to do it anyway. 

You will have three options if you do not have a neutral wire in place.  While you can find a smart switch that doesn’t require a neutral wire or use dimmable smart bulbs, your best option is to run a neutral wire.  The reason for this is that there are not too many smart switches that don’t require neutral wires available or that many dimmable smart bulbs either. 

Installing a neutral wire is something that an electrician should do, especially if you are not well-versed in electricity.  An electrician can easily rewire your switch box or simply rewire your entire home, so you can continue to install more smart home features in the future. 

The neutral wire may seem small and insignificant, but it is a major item when it comes to much of this new smart home technology that you are going to love once you get it installed.