Great question — answering as the UphillTech team:
Lots of questions in one here, but one answer. Standard switches do not use or need the neutral wire. However the cable supplying the circuit often brings the neutral into the junction or switch box. The neutral is not needed by the switch, but the circuit and the load that it controls does need it. So the neutrals are tied together to provide continuity and a path back to the breaker box. That is the required code. How do you identify them? The north American electrical standard is that white is used for a neutral wire. There is no reason to believe in your instance that is not the case. If the smart switches you purchased work as you desire, there is no need to change them to those that...
Full answer by RMDman: https://diy.stackexchange.com/a/332122 (CC BY-SA 4.0).
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