Installing a hard wired smart switch or any wall switch can be intimidating.
But in this video I'll take the mystery out of it so you can start building the smart
home you've always wanted.
This is an old Insteon switch I used to use.
But the wiring requirements are all the same on any smart switch.
There's going to be a load, neutral and line wires in addition to the ground.
There's 4 wires total and it's the same with this Teckin smart switch that I'm going to
be installing today.
But before starting, I'll turn off the breaker for this room.
This tutorial is based on a single pole switch.
That means there is only one switch that turns on the room light.
There are no other switches that control this light fixture.
Taking off the plate and unmounting the existing switch is easy.
And I'll be turning on and off the breaker several times in this installation for safety.
Once the existing switch is loose carefully pull out the wiring.
These wires are very rigid and they'll feel tight so pull them out slowly.
Now turn the breaker back on.
With my voltage tester, I'll first check to see if the batteries are good before checking
the wires I'll be working with.
Ok in the wall box there's the bare ground wire and on the left there's a the bundle
of neutral wires.
And this old switch is connected to the only other two wires in this box.
So I'm going to use the voltage tester to find the line wire.
The line wire comes from the breaker box so it should have power when I hold the tester
next to it.
The load wire sends power to the light itself so it shouldn't have power when the switch
is off.
But I can tell when power goes through it when I turn on the light.
So now that I've identified the line and load I can start the installation.
Just connect the corresponding wires together with the new switch.
So here I'll turn off the breaker before doing any work.
And I'll do one more check to make sure the power is off.
There's no power here so I'll start by removing the wire nut on the line wire.
Now I'll take the black line wire from my smart switch and tie these together.
And don't worry, the rest of the installation is going to be very easy.
Next I'll disconnect the load wire.
Remember that this is the one that sends power to the light fixture when the switch is on.
And for those of you who have never worked with wire nuts, they have screw threads inside
that grab and hold the wires together.
Just make sure the wires are lined up and twist until tight.
The ground wire is easy to identify because it's usually a bare copper wire.
So I'll connect the green ground from the switch to this wire.
And the last and most important is the neutral wire.
It's required on all smart switches and it's usually several white wires bundled together.
The reason why a neutral wire is required is because it provides constant power to the
transmitter and receiver in the switch for wireless communication.
Depending on the age of your home, you may or may not have a neutral wire.
If not you'll have to talk to an electrician about your options.
Once all the wires are connected I can turn the power back on in this room.
And here I can see that the LEDs are lit up and the switch is fully functional!
But before I stuff the wires back in the wall box, I'm going to turn off the breaker once
more.
I don't want any power going through these wires as I'm working with them.
And just so you know this is going to be a tight squeeze in the box with all the wiring
and the size of the smart switch.
But when it's all in the switch can be attached to the wall.
Most switches will include new screws for wall mounting which is nice because there
are times when I don't want to use the old screws.
And it's just nice to start fresh with everything new with this installation.
On this Teckin switch, it comes with it's own face plate but I bought my own Decora
style plate because I like the look of it better.
This Lutron plate was around $4 and I have them in other rooms in my house.
It has an inside mounting plate that needs to be installed first with the included screws.
Then the main face plate just snaps on for a finished look.
And one last time, I can turn the breaker back on and this switch is ready to use.
If you want to learn how to program and connect this Teckin switch to a smartphone, I'll include
a link to my review of this switch in the description and it includes everything you'll
need to know about setup with a phone and Alexa.
And one last thing, I couldn't have done this installation without a voltage tester.
It's only $15 and well worth it for DIY electrical projects!
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