I have two lighting circuits in a TV room I want to control with a T3 system. What's the simplest and cheapest option without resorting to anything nasty like X10. I have an RP6 located fairly close to the two lighting switches so I could use RS232 or an IR repeater if needed.

One circuit is a single switch with a handful of cans (<400w) and the other is a two way circuit with a second switch and about the same load.

Thanks

Morph

Look at Lutron Spacer System... IR control window on front and back of the switch.

I agree. Spacer is quick and easy.

Run a wire to the existing box, splice on an emitter, get creative on how to get the emitter to flash the back of the box and use the routing features of the RP6 to isolate control to individual dimmers if desired. They have 4 presets plus all off, dim up and dim down. With the IR routing you can expand the scene control beyond the intended 4 preset limit because you will have 4 x the number of controls you are using.

lutron radio ra dimmers with rs232 interface at rp6. overkill but robust. system could be expanded to other areas of house.

do you have to point the remote at the switches when you turn them on?

not if your using an RP-6

With an emitter on the back of the Spacer

Mirro (Watt Stopper Legrand)has a nice little line for around $100 a switch and they are accessable from a rs232 station. Not sure on the price of the 232 station. Here is a link

[Link: wattstopper.com]

Be sure to read the specs on the controller to be sure it will switch and/or dim the type of light you have. Incandescent are no problem, fluorescents have to be made to be dimmed and incandescent dimmers will silently die if used with them....

RP-6 with one port outputing IR to the spacer. Works. I would take it over the funky serial with the RA. If I was going to work a RA into it I would get graphic RA and the IR connector.

That ramp then stop on release is annoying when you don't have 2-way.

How are you getting the wire into an existing electrical box? What about codes regarding cat5e in electrical box?

What are your experiences with Spacers?

Integrated with a few different Lutron systems, but have always used rs232. Looking to use this with simple lighting systems in theaters.

grafik eye mr series, with the infared interface.

For a simple application, I've used some of the higher quality X-10 products and thier IR controller w/ an RP-6 with excellent results. Just did a theater room with 5 lighting zones, and it works very well. If I were going to expand it to the rest of the house, I'd probably look for a different soultion...but I do like this one better than having to route IR to the switch.

I actually stole the idea from David (RTI Installer)... He showed me on one of his jobs. Glue an emitter to the back of the dimmer, spray it black (if controlling several in the same box) and splice to the CAT5 outside of the box (draped over the front lip through the gap in the rock). separate emitters and painting the backs allows you to increase the scene potential from 4 to 4x the number of switches. I did one with two 2 gang boxes controlling lights in several rooms open to the family media room including the kitchen. This allowed them to control them individually and to create many more scenes beyond the media functions. One fun thing I did for an older couple is that when they shut it down at night, the lights will dim in a slow sequence following them out of the room but still giving them time to gather their things. That said... I did a couple of times just to do it and now it is off my radar.


No Comment!

They work well. I have used them several times both in the multiple gang scenario described above and via direct line of sight and reflecting off of the TV wall to the dimmer behind).

I see potential for several applications... one or two legs with good line of sight or dependable reflection (especially if lights dim automatically for DVD watching). If multi-location dimmers are used, a set could be placed in a hidden location behind a rack or in a service area so that you could "blast" them OR route them with IR covers over the window of the individual switches (just like the cable boxes). This second application would allow you to achieve a fairly sophisticated control scenario on the cheap, however, you would quickly bump into the cost of simply using a Graphic eye with 4 or more loads.

Does paint type matter? How warm do the dimmers get? Would automotive paint be recommended or just regular spray paint work?


Thats what I thought.

Thanks