London Period Home Smart Lighting, No Neutral Wire

Location Uxbridge, LondonSize 3 BedroomsProject value £15,000 ex. VATCompleted February 2025Type Full Smart Home

Project overview

This period home in Uxbridge came to Luxeia with a challenge common to older properties: no neutral wire at the light switches. The client wanted full smart lighting control throughout the house, inside and out, without opening up walls, chasing new cable runs, or disturbing original finishes and décor. Having previously used Control4 in another property, the client was moving into this new home and began researching alternative smart home systems. That search led them to Home Assistant, and shortly after, to Luxeia. They wanted a system that gave them the same level of control and polish as Control4, but with the flexibility and no vendor lock-in that Home Assistant provides.

Technologies & products

• Zigbee Lighting
• WiFi Network
• CCTV
• Alarm System
• Climate Control
• Window Treatments
• Control Tablet

Scope of work

The project centred on lighting, but touched almost every room in the 3 bedroom property. The brief covered:

• Full indoor and outdoor lighting control, with the ability to build custom automations and scenes room by room.
• A mix of dimmable and standard (non-dimmable) fittings across the home, including several 4-gang switch plates combining both types.
• A network upgrade carried out while on-site, to ensure reliable WiFi coverage throughout the property.
• Integration of existing security and access systems (alarm, CCTV, gate) into a single smart home app, alongside a newly fitted gate intercom.
• A bathroom lighting upgrade with colour-changing capability, plus bringing an existing bathroom TV into the smart system.

The challenge

Retrofitting smart lighting into an older home always comes with constraints, and this project had two working against each other. First, there was no neutral wire at any of the switches, which immediately rules out most mainstream smart switches on the market. Second, the client's chosen light fittings were a mix of dimmable and non-dimmable types, often on the same switch plate, including 4-gang switches where up to four different circuits sat side by side.

The easy option would have been mismatched switches: rocker switches for standard lighting, rotary dimmers for dimmable circuits. But that compromises the finish throughout the home, and on a 4-gang plate it looks particularly inconsistent. We needed a solution that solved the wiring problem and kept every switch in the house visually identical, without any new cable runs, and without requiring follow-up repairs or redecorating.

Our solution

We fitted Candeo Zigbee dimmer modules throughout the property. Candeo's modules are designed to work without a neutral wire, which meant we could deliver proper dimming control on the existing wiring, with no chasing into walls and no additional electrical work beyond the switch back boxes themselves.

For the non-dimmable circuits mixed in alongside them, particularly on the 4-gang switches, we used dummy dimmers. These are switches that look and feel exactly like a rotary dimmer, but instead of turning, they push, functioning as a standard on/off switch. We wired Sonoff Zigbee relays behind these to bring them into Home Assistant. The result is a home where every switch matches, regardless of what it's controlling, which was important to the client both for the finish of the home and for day-to-day usability. Nobody wants to explain to guests which switches turn and which switches push.

In the bathroom, we installed an RGB+CCT LED strip, giving the client full control over colour and colour temperature for relaxed evening lighting or bright, functional light during the day. While setting this up, we found an existing TV in the bathroom that wasn't part of the original brief. We brought it onto the network and integrated it into Home Assistant, so it could be included in scenes alongside the lighting, meaning a single tap now sets the mood lighting and turns the TV on together.

Elsewhere in the property, we installed two Unifi access points, one upstairs and one downstairs, to give complete WiFi coverage in every room, which everything else in the smart home relies on. The client's existing alarm system, CCTV, and heating were all in good working order, so rather than replace them, we integrated each into Home Assistant. We also fitted a new gate intercom. All of it, security, access, climate, and lighting, now sits behind one control app, replacing what would otherwise be four or five separate manufacturer apps.

Results

We achieved complete smart lighting control both inside and outside the home, with every switch matching throughout the property, even across mixed dimmable and standard circuits on the same plate. The client can now arm and disarm their alarm, view CCTV footage, see and speak to visitors at the gate, unlock it remotely, and control every light and scene in the house, all from a single app on their phone.

Project gallery

What we installed

• Smart Lighting ControlAutomate, personalise, and fully control your home's lighting for comfort, ambiance, and energy efficiency.
• Smart Home Security SystemsProtect your property and family with fully integrated, locally controlled smart security designed for premium homes.
• Home Assistant Installation & SetupGet a professionally installed Home Assistant smart home system built for reliability, privacy, and long-term performance.

Is your home similar?

Coming from Control4, or living in an older home? You do not need to compromise on polish. Every project starts with a free 15-minute discovery call, and you can see what other projects cost in our smart home cost guide.

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