Lighting Question (1 Viewer)

[Gordon Parr]

Well...I am to that point now where the electrician comes in tomorrow!!!

I am looking for some help regarding my lighting situation. This will not be a difficult answer I am sure, however I just have a short turn around time in which I am enlisting some quick help from you guys (ladies as well!)

In my main room I am having 4 canned lights. All I want to do with these lights is to be able to dim to say 10% and raise to 100%. The problem...I do not have a direct view from my seat to the light switch. As you come into the room the you will have to reach around the door and flip the "switch". I do not need an elaborate Grafic Eye system however, I just need something that I can bounce a signal off the wall to the IR switch on the wall.

Any help here?

Thanks!

Gordon Parr

 

[Chip_Slattery]

Gordon,

If all four of your cans will be controlled together and you only need to control them from a single location you can probably get by with a Lutron Spacer dimmer:

Lutron Spacer

If you need something a bit more involved but not as elaborate as the Grafik Eye you could take a look at the Lutron Spacer "System":

Lutron Spacer System

 

[MikeWh]

If all four of your cans will be controlled together and you only need to control them from a single location you can probably get by with a Lutron Spacer dimmer

Just a clarification:

The Lutron Spacer (not System) can be controlled from more than one location, using their "Accessory Dimmer." I have mine set up that way, using their multilocation kit (SP-600M-HT-AD-)

The primary difference between the Spacer and the Spacer System is the System's ability to control more than one lighting circuit and to create scenes.

Gordon-- I had a similar desire: I installed the Spacer's IR-receiver in the front wall (near all my IR-controlled components) and installed the Accessory Dimmer on a 3-way circuit back near the entrance to the room. If I understand your situation correctly, you could do this, too.

One note: I'm currently testing a replacement for my 3-way Spacer setup using X-10 control. I'm redesigning my HT and want to do a lot more scene control and automation. I am just now testing certain X-10 components, so I can't suggest you going that route just yet, although many people use X-10 technology to do what you need.

 

[Gordon Parr]

Thanks for the info...my electrician has never done this before so I want to somehow know what I want and how HE should install it!!!

I am looking for only one dimmer to control 4 lights in the room. So I think the Lutron Spacer would work just fine.

If I installed the IR reciever in the front of the room, how do I get the signal back to the switch?

Thanks again for all of your help!!!

Gordon

 

[MikeWh]

If I installed the IR reciever in the front of the room, how do I get the signal back to the switch?

Take a look at the spec sheet for the Spacer:
http://www.lutron.com/spacer/specsheet/spacer.pdf Take a look at Wiring Diagram 3 on page 5.

As I mentioned previously, you can get a kit which has an IR-dimmer/receiver, an accessory dimmer, and a remote (SP-600M-HT-AD-). The signal gets from the front of the room (where the IR-receiver/dimmer is located) to the accessory dimmer via a "3-way lighting circuit." It's a very common type of circuit using a 3rd conductor, usually referred to as a "traveller." You have one installed any place in your house where you can control a single light from 2 locations (like the top and bottom of a stairway). Your electrician had done these a MILLION times. Just tell your electrician that you want to have a 3-way circuit to be controlled by switches in the front of the room and back at the door.

One note: The wall plates for the kit come in white and ivory. I wanted black. I took some speaker cloth and hot-glued a small piece over the front of the wall plate cover. The IR beam will transmit through the cloth, and you can still toggle the switch by pressing on the cloth. It hides the switch very well.

You can buy the switches and plates separately in various colors, but as a kit, you can only get white and ivory. :frowning:

 

[Gordon Parr]

Mike,

Thanks for the link!!!

My electrician knew exactly what I want now from looking at the diagram...I guess I can't describe things as good as I had thought!!!

Hopefully everything will work after insulation and drywall!!