Need some wiring advice... {dkim-fail}

[ned+xtension at mrochek.com]

> On Sep 5, 2014, at 5:44 AM,  Jerry — MacSolutions <jerry at stlmacguy.com> wrote:

> > My question to the intelligencia is: Can I wire a simple X10 switch (WS467)
> > in there without causing a dangerous issue with no ground wire?  I’d hate to
> > burn down the house while she’s away as you might guess.  And if I can, is
> > there any way to alleviate the situation?  I cannot run ground wires to the
> > outlets where they are placed without ripping out ceilings, etc.

> I don't think a ground is necessary for the switches at all. The X10 switches
> (and many kinds of newer zwave switches) are designed to power themselves by
> running a tiny current actually through the load which is why they can run
> without a neutral wire for their own use. This works very well with
> incandescents and also works well with a short list of newer LED bulbs, but
> doesn't normally work at all with CFL bulbs.

And if the switch requires a neutral, you should not use a ground wire as  a
substitute. Grounds are there for a reason, and it isn't to serve as an active
current carrier, never mind how they happen to be wired back at the panel,
never mind the current will be very low.

All that said, I agree that replacing a regular 2-wire switch with a 2-wire X10
or Z-Wave is perfectly acceptable.

And the only time you really need to worry about the absence of a ground is on
outdoor, kitchen or bathroom outlets and other things that people touch where
there's likely to be water present.

In the case of outlets, those sorts should be replaced with a GFI outlet. (In
fact this should be done even if they have a ground.) Note that such outlets
work without requiring a ground wire and it is code most places to use them
this way.

Other stuff is a little trickier. If you can't pull in a ground - which is
normally the case - the other option is to replace the circuit breaker with a
GFI-enabled one. These are available for most panel styles, but may cause
issues because they sometimes take up two slots instead of one.

> So yes, I think you should be able to put in a regular X10 switch without
> difficulty.

Agreed.

> The ground is more there to provide safety to the humans than to the house.
> If something goes horribly wrong in the wiring it just provides an alternate
> low resistance path back to the box so that in a hard short it will blow the
> circuit breaker. Otherwise the metal parts of something will become hot and be
> just waiting for YOU to become the path of lease resistance back to the box or
> down to ground. Like Eric already said, if it's in conduit, then the metal
> conduit should be grounded.

In theory, maybe. The problem is conduit connections corrode a lot more
than wire connections do. And a lot of conduit is poorly installed, mostly
because it's a PITA to do correctly.

And given the vintage of the house, I'm guess that it will one of the
early attempts at Romex. If it is, be careful about bending the wires, because
the old insulation can crack and flake off.

FWIW, I did work as an electrician in the distant past.

				Ned