Pull neutral to light switch

[oakc]

Hi all,

i am looking to install these for home automation when i move into my new home:
http://www.vesternet.com/z-wave-qubino-flush-dimmer

However these devices require a neutral wire and the house is 13 years old so pretty certain it'll just be the 2 wire circuit, They "Can" be installed at the light fixture but for convenience and in some scenarios (like hallway/landing switch) i'll need to install them into live switch back box.

my questions are:

1. How easy is it to pull neutral from light fixture to light switch
2. Ball park figure how much should i be paying if i get a sparky in to do it? it'd be 12 switches in total and live in Birmingham area... i haven't got a clue what to expect... would the work need to be "certified" or anything? although i believe neutral at light switch is standard practice now? or has been for the last 3/4 years?
3. am i right in thinking you'd replace the existing 2core and earth cable rather than just running an additional cable for neutral?

i'm pretty comfortable doing this sort of things it's just the running/feeding new cables that'd i know i'd struggle with most likely....without ripping up floorboards and wrecking the walls lol!

any advise, guidance, things to be wary of would be much appreciated.

 

[flyingsparks]

You may have neutrals at your switch positions, could you carefully unscrew a couple a post a photo here?
If you need to get neutrals there, and you have a loop in system at the ceiling rose, it may be best to just pull a new 3 core plus earth cable in to the switch. This may or may not be easy depending on how the place was built, was conduit used in the walls etc..

 

[riveralt]

I would imagine that you will also need a switch live - so you need to pull three core and earth through to the switch.
How easy it is will depend on whether you can use you current T&E as a guide.
How much - anyone's guess.

 

[oakc]

Thanks for the quick responses!! I'm not in the new home yet so won't really know until i get in just "forward" planning lol... yeah house was built in 2002 so just before current wiring standards... i'll update post once i can get my hands on the wiring!

only reason i asked about pricing is i dno what reasonable would count as for this kind of work and never used a sparky before

 

[Taylortwocities]

One can only properly price something by being on site. If there is no neutral at the switch (ie the loop in is at the light fitting) then a new length of 3core&earth would need to be run from the light fitting to the switch.

How difficult that would be will depend on ceiling access, direction of joists, if the cable drop to switch be pulled in to existing conduit (if it exists) or would the wall need to be chased out. etc etc.

And don't forget that you'll need to do a lot of plastering and redecoration afterwards..

 

[riveralt]

One other thing to consider both in terms of functionality and potential time and therefore cost for your electrician is that most of your back boxes will probably be
metal - maybe 16mm deep or 25mm deep. While this is a relatively small unit and it will fit into the 25mm back boxes, the instructions seem
to imply that you need to fit flush fitting plastic back boxes because of potential antenna problems with the metal versions.

 

[ban-all-sheds]

Good luck with that with solid walls. Can you actually buy plastic back-boxes other than the hollow wall type?

So in summary, these people have made a product which needs a neutral at the switch, something which is not the norm, and which might not work if it's in a metal back box, something which is the norm. Have they ever heard the term "fit for purpose"?