PDA

View Full Version : Remote control for light fixture



Paul Greathouse
01-24-2010, 10:23 AM
Has anyone used a remote control for home lighting? The following link is for a possible solution I found while searching with Google http://www.prestostore.com/cgi-bin/pro17.pl?ref=lightningonlineorder1867&pg=11055&rdf=go.

I am remodeling our kitchen and need to control a light fixture without a conventional light switch. The kitchen is downstairs and has a bedroom above it so access for running wiring for a switch would be difficult and costly. The light fixture was previously controlled from a pull chain and LOML says no more pull chain, she wants something nicer without a pull chain.

Any other inventive ideas would also be welcome and appreciated but I am really looking for something simple and quick. I'm willing to pay for the $30 transmitter and $50 receiver if its the best solution. Are there any other companies with a similar product that I'm not finding with Google?

mickey cassiba
01-24-2010, 11:08 AM
Some time back(five or six years IIRC) Black and Decker had a line of household remote accessories under the name of "FreeWire. I still see them in the service centers at bargain prices. I've used some of them with pretty good results.
Mick

Perry Holbrook
01-24-2010, 12:59 PM
That kind of system has been marketed under several names, Radio Shack, Leviton, and others. I think a search of X-10 systems will get you started. Radio Shack still carries them, I think.

I've been using them for at least 20 years, mostly to control all the lamps in the house.

The systems are called PLC or Power Line Carrier. I sold the Leviton system as a sales rep to commercial and industrial customers many years ago.

Perry

David G Baker
01-24-2010, 1:51 PM
Paul,
A great addition to almost any kitchen is a ceiling fan. Many ceiling fans have lights and fans that are controlled by built in remote devices. I have been using one now for around 10 years and have never had any problems. I tried using the older versions of the X-10 units and had a lot of problems with lights and appliances turning on and off by themselves when they should not have. They may have improved over the years with all of the advancements in electronics.

Paul Greathouse
01-24-2010, 6:01 PM
Thanks for the suggestions,

I saw a couple different brands on Home Depot's website so I stopped by there after church and didn't find anything. I think the Leviton was one of the ones on the HD website.

David, the ceiling fan suggestion would be great except that where the light is located, a fan would be in the way of cabinet doors.

I'm going to check some of the electrical supply stores in town next week and see what I can come up with. I really like the idea of how the system works in the link, I may end up getting it. I'll give a report on it if I do.

Todd Franks
01-24-2010, 10:28 PM
I've been using Insteon from SmartHome with success in my home. I've mostly been using it for automation (turning outside lights on at night, turning lamps off at bedtime) but it will also do what you are asking. It's based upon the initial X-10 concept but much more reliable IMHO.

-Todd

keith ouellette
01-25-2010, 1:55 AM
I bought a ceiling fan/light fixture for the bed room and it had a remote. The remote is great in that instance.

It worked out so well we bought a second remote, one for each night stand.

either my wife or I can just reach over and turn on/off the fan or the light without getting out of bed.

It has resulted in a few instances of fan wars though. Luckily they all ended peacefully with no blood shed.

David G Baker
01-25-2010, 3:57 PM
Keith,
My first wife and I used the rock, paper, scissors system to dictate who had the power. She never caught on to the fact that I could always tell what she was going to use for her selection.

Paul,
A ceiling hugger fan may clear your cabinet doors or a fan with smaller size blades.

Matt Meiser
01-25-2010, 4:54 PM
We've got the ceiling fan remote controls from Lowes and Home Depot in a three rooms of our house and they work great. In our bedroom, we did something kind of like Keith and have one standard wall unit and 1 remote on LOML's night stand.