"Wireless" switching

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ishium 80439

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I have a customer who has a room that has two entrances but the light in the in the center of the room is controlled only from a single pole switch. She would like to be able to control the light from each entrance but running a wire from point A to point B is not feasible. In the past I have used the Leviton devices that send a signal through the neutral so all that you needed was power at each switch location and power at the fixture. It has been quite a few years since I've dealt with these products so I'm not familiar with what the latest, greatest is for an application like this.

If anyone has any thoughts/ suggestions/ input I would be appreciative.
 
ishium 80439 said:
I have a customer who has a room that has two entrances but the light in the in the center of the room is controlled only from a single pole switch. She would like to be able to control the light from each entrance but running a wire from point A to point B is not feasible. In the past I have used the Leviton devices that send a signal through the neutral so all that you needed was power at each switch location and power at the fixture. It has been quite a few years since I've dealt with these products so I'm not familiar with what the latest, greatest is for an application like this.

If anyone has any thoughts/ suggestions/ input I would be appreciative.
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What is making fishing wires UN-feasible?
 
ishium 80439 said:
... In the past I have used the Leviton devices that send a signal through the neutral so all that you needed was power at each switch location and power at the fixture. ...
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??? Just curious, is this how you think a 3 way switch works, or is there some other technology I am unaware of?

Anyway, make sure your customer understands that wireless switches have batteries that need changing. Some people don't get that and you will get a call back to explain it to them later.
 
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Jraef said:
??? Just curious, is this how you think a 3 way switch works, or is there some other technology I am unaware of?
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No, I'm quite aware of how a 3 way functions. I may be incorrect on how the Leviton system operates but that was the way that it was always explained to me. And the devices that I've used in the past did not need batteries. You fed a switch module with 120V and set a code that corresponded with a code you set in a module that was installed at the fixture (also fed with 120V). When the switch (which for all intents and purposes looks like a Decora switch) was pressed it sent a signal through the house wiring where it was picked up by the module in the fixture.

The reason I started this thread was that I was installing these close to 20 years ago and haven't dealt with them in 5 to 10 years and I was making a guess that there would be something more advanced on the market, but perhaps there is not.
 
ishium 80439 said:
I have a customer who has a room that has two entrances but the light in the in the center of the room is controlled only from a single pole switch. She would like to be able to control the light from each entrance but running a wire from point A to point B is not feasible. In the past I have used the Leviton devices that send a signal through the neutral so all that you needed was power at each switch location and power at the fixture. It has been quite a few years since I've dealt with these products so I'm not familiar with what the latest, greatest is for an application like this.

If anyone has any thoughts/ suggestions/ input I would be appreciative.
Click to expand...

I'm a big fan of Lutron PICO for for applications like this. Reasonable, reliable, and looks and acts like the real deal.
 
Jraef said:
??? Just curious, is this how you think a 3 way switch works, or is there some other technology I am unaware of?

Anyway, make sure your customer understands that wireless switches have batteries that need changing. Some people don't get that and you will get a call back to explain it to them later.
Click to expand...

No batteries required in the Leviton LevNet series. http://www.leviton.com/OA_HTML/SectionDisplay.jsp?section=38812

They work on kinetic energy, like your BBQ grill ignitor.
 
Jraef said:
??? Just curious, is this how you think a 3 way switch works, or is there some other technology I am unaware of?

Anyway, make sure your customer understands that wireless switches have batteries that need changing. Some people don't get that and you will get a call back to explain it to them later.
Click to expand...
I believe he was referring to a device that sends or receives data/signals from another device and sending that information over existing lines. The remote device is more of a passive device instead of direct acting on the controlled circuit. One advantage over a completely wireless version is the remote device could still be powered by premises wiring instead of having to change a battery when it is used up.

cpinetree said:
Yea, that too :ashamed1:

It takes the kinetic energy from your thumb pushing the button :D and transforms it to piezoelectric.
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May have to study some basic physics but I seem to recall kinetic energy being more less "stored energy" like a spring under tension just waiting for something to happen to release that energy. But once it is released it is no longer kinetic. Your thumb pushing the button is not stored energy it is actually something at work, even if a low amount of work, and not storage of energy. The act of compressing or stretching the spring is not kinetic either, but when it remains in that compressed or stretched state is when that energy is stored.
 
kwired said:
I believe he was referring to a device that sends or receives data/signals from another device and sending that information over existing lines. The remote device is more of a passive device instead of direct acting on the controlled circuit. One advantage over a completely wireless version is the remote device could still be powered by premises wiring instead of having to change a battery when it is used up.
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LevNet does not require a battery, so it will never get used up.

What advantage is there to having a device that is powered by premise wiring, if you can't get the wire there?
 
Stored energy (in the compression of a spring or raising a weight against gravity) is called potential energy.
Energy of motion (a moving weight or spinning flywheel for example) is kinetic energy.
One form of igniter stores energy in a spring as you push the button, transfers it to kinetic energy of a plunger as the spring mechanism trips, and then transfers that kinetic energy to electrical energy when the plunger hits the crystal.
"Kinetic" energy is energy "of motion".

Tapatalk!
 
cpinetree said:
LevNet does not require a battery, so it will never get used up.

What advantage is there to having a device that is powered by premise wiring, if you can't get the wire there?
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If there is no wire at the secondary location at all then yes you do have some problem, but at same time you do not necessarily have to extend wiring all the way to the first location like you would with a three way switch circuit, just grab whatever is nearby and send your signal over existing lines. Now a true wireless system does have the advantage of no additional wiring necessary, and some of what is out there today is probably better then what we saw 20 years ago. One of the most common things I have seen is the wireless door bell buttons - most of them I encounter do not work, may be more then one reason why, but I would guess dead batteries in the majority of them. You can press that button all day and nothing, knock on the door and they answer it

GoldDigger said:
Stored energy (in the compression of a spring or raising a weight against gravity) is called potential energy.
Energy of motion (a moving weight or spinning flywheel for example) is kinetic energy.
One form of igniter stores energy in a spring as you push the button, transfers it to kinetic energy of a plunger as the spring mechanism trips, and then transfers that kinetic energy to electrical energy when the plunger hits the crystal.
"Kinetic" energy is energy "of motion".

Tapatalk!
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Sorry, I had it wrong, and I did know that information but somehow had one of those moments where something just did not seem right about it.

I still have no problem with bringing it up and hashing it out even if I make a fool of myself on occasion - keeps us all on our toes with this kind of information.
 
Maestro Wireless by Lutron, with the Pico controller. You can put the pico in a plate, on a tabletop unit or just stick it on the side of the jam of the door.

I stock 2-3 on my van. (I actually stock Ra2 devices, see below)

http://www.lutron.com/en-US/Products/Pages/SingleRoomControls/MaestroWireless/Overview.aspx

If you do RadioRa2, the switches/dimmers come with the wireless protocol built into them. Just need to order the right pico for dimmer or switch. They will not work together.
 
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