Hi, I posted this in the Custom Installers Lounge but felt I should post it here as well.

I am in the process of trying to figure out lighting control for our new house ( 9 months old). Never had any type of lighting control in the past, just dimmers on almost every switch. I’ll give a little background on what we are dealing with. All of our audio and video equipment is centralized. Whole house audio uses 2 B&K CT610s going to 12 zones. Video distribution uses Channel Plus equipment. Currently have three 4 port modulators into three 1x6 video distribution amps. When my lower level is finished I will add another 1x6 amp. All control is done with Xantech IR receivers, MX700s, and the CT610s. Our house is about 5400 sq ft with an additional 3000 when the lower level is finished.

As far as lighting goes I would like to be able to have somewhat centralized control over them. My thought would be to have at least a controller in the kitchen area, master, and bar area on the lower level. I would like to be able to create scenes and such. I think I have a total of about 70 switches that I am dealing with. At a minimum these would be dimmers. Probably half or more would also be part of the scene control. I’ve done a little research into RadioRa and have also looked into X-10. X-10 seems to have more flexibility but also seems less reliable. I’m not sure how my wife would feel about my newest project if all of a sudden lights started turning on in the middle of the night.

None of the house was wired for lighting control. I do have a couple of strategically placed boxes with AC wire to them where I thought a controller might go. Also, all switches put in by the builder are rocker switches right now but everything is Decora style.

So I would really appreciate some recommendations. As with everything cost is always a consideration but quality and the right user interface is the first priority.

Hi Jeff,

With that many switches and the need for a reliable system that can handle the scenes and whole house scene control, what you really need to get is a Lightolier Compose system.

We sell all kinds of X10 compatible products and by far the most flexible and reliable is the Compose system. With the Lightolier X10 firewall installed, you take to as close to a bullet-proof system as possible without having to go to a dedicated wired system.

Please feel free to contact us with your questions or to help you configure your system. We are a factory trained Master Distributor for Lightolier Compose systems.

Thanks,

Martin Custer
Martin@AutomatedOutlet.com

Martin, thanks for the reply. I've looked into the Lightolier a little bit...seems like it's well above the other X-10 stuff but still concerned with reliablity compared to something like RadioRa. I've done quite a bit over the last few years with audio/video distribution but this is my 1st attempt at lighting control (besides a boat load of individual dimmers). Do you have clients with the Lightolier in the 8000 sq ft and plus range?