Occupancy Sensor

wireday

Senior Member
Location
New England
Occupation
Master electrician
Adding a line voltage 277 Occupancy Sensor at a commercial building, metal boxes with EMT. It's a switch loop but I will drop a neutral from overhead.
The OS from Leviton gives a choice of getting a neutral or a egc. the wire has a color sleeve, for white or green. Is there a OS that will give me both a ground as well as the neutral?
 
Is there a OS that will give me both a ground as well as the neutral?
What do you by "give me both a ground as well as a neutral"? The neutral is there for the operation of the sensor. If there is no neutral present as the location the sensor will use the EGC instead.
 
Adding a line voltage 277 Occupancy Sensor at a commercial building, metal boxes with EMT. It's a switch loop but I will drop a neutral from overhead.
The OS from Leviton gives a choice of getting a neutral or a egc. the wire has a color sleeve, for white or green. Is there a OS that will give me both a ground as well as the neutral?
Current editions of NEC require you to use a neutral for that conductor, it is a current carrying conductor for powering the electronics of the device.

The device yoke if metallic is what needs connected to an EGC. direct contact to a metal box or contact devices between the screw and the yoke is sufficient to meet that requirement, or if it has a separate EGC pigtail that is also acceptable.
 
Usually the sensors are made of plastic, so no exposed metal parts that need bonding, so if no neutral is available, such as a switch retrofit, then, as others have said, the ground provides a return path to power the electronics. It is a very small current.
 
Usually the sensors are made of plastic, so no exposed metal parts that need bonding, so if no neutral is available, such as a switch retrofit, then, as others have said, the ground provides a return path to power the electronics. It is a very small current.
I just installed a Lutron branded one last week and it came with a removable sleeve to change the color on the neutral conductor for when the location lacked a neutral.
 
I just installed a Lutron branded one last week and it came with a removable sleeve to change the color on the neutral conductor for when the location lacked a neutral.
The manufacturers started doing that a few years ago. (Providing the colored sleeves) Using the neutral is preferable, because if the lights are on gfi protection, it can cause nuisance tripping.
 
Top