Electrical wiring challenge

[Travelover]

You could do it with three wires if you stepped into this century and used remotes. They would definately cost less than the additional wire wire, too.

I think the X10 controlers would save a ton of money given the price of copper these days. I have used these in my home for the past 15 years. They just plug in and receive signals through the wiring.

Home Automation Index : X10.com!

 

[MossRoad]

I think the X10 controlers would save a ton of money given the price of copper these days. I have used these in my home for the past 15 years. They just plug in and receive signals through the wiring.

Home Automation Index : X10.com!

Yep. Most of the lights in my house are on X10 controllers. I can control most lights in my house from the same remote control that runs my T.V. All of my holiday lighting is on there as well. My day goes like this...

5:00am the closet lights come on at 30% so my wife can see in the bedroom. The kitchen and basement lights come on at 5:10 at 30% so she can see her way to the basement to work out. At 5:50 my kid's aquarium lights start ramping up a bit more every 5 minutes to get them used to the lights. Living room side lights come on at 60%, too for me. At 7:00 the pool pump comes on and runs for a few hours. It runs several times thoughout the day. At 7:30 most lights turn off, except for the gecko cage... he needs light all day. Lights are on when we come home and go dim towards bed time, etc... They really work well for the price. There are newer controls that cost more but work even better as they can start dim, remember settings, etc...

We also have x10 floodlights. The nice thing about those is that they can be programmed so that if the floodlights on the back of the house get set off by the motion sensor, it sends a signal to all the other ones and they come on as well. No place for badguys to hide. They also adjust for sunrise/sunset throughout the year.

 

[hitekcountry]

I think the X10 controlers would save a ton of money given the price of copper these days. I have used these in my home for the past 15 years. They just plug in and receive signals through the wiring.

Home Automation Index : X10.com!

Thanks for the web page, I'd have to agree that looks like the better way to go.
Let me see if I understand this. The lighting fixture just has power connected to it P,N and G. with a receiving module at the light fixture. Then the switch has power connected to it P,N and G which it is only using as a signal path. Then because each receiving module has an individual address it can also be controlled by other controllers.

Few questions:
Are the receiving modules more like relays or solid state switching devices?
How many watts do the modules draw?
What is the limit in amps that these modules can switch?
Do they come in both 120v and 240v?

 

[Travelover]

There are several modules - some low current ones are solid state and can dim a light for instance. Higher amperage modules are a relay - just on and off.

Their power draw is fractions of an amp -they are solid state

Site does not specify amperage, but appliance module can run air conditioners, coffees pots, etc. so I'd say at least 1000 watts.

I don't think they are available for 220v.

 

[MikeD74T]

Don't underestimate your power needs only to have to run more wire later. Figure your greatest load & run 4 wires to a subpanel. Run another low voltage conduit & use relays to switch the lights. MikeD74t

 

[bones1]

Mossroad, what software are you running to control the x 10's?.Activehome.

 

[MossRoad]

Mossroad, what software are you running to control the x 10's?.Activehome.

Yep. I'm still running the original Active Home on an old 486 running Win95. The nice thing is, I fire up the PC once or twice a year or whenever I want to make a change like add or remove a timer, then set up the times on the Active Home software. Then I download the timers to the cm11a controller and shut the PC off. That's it.

Here's a link to Smarthome.com. X10 Activehome Kit with Computer Interface. They still sell that original kit. Mine came with some add on stuff like a couple lamp and appliance modules. If I was getting into it again, today, I'd check out the Insteon products. Buy INSTEON-Compatible Home Automation Products at Smarthome

Make no mistake... some X10 things are cheaply made. But they work as advertised. The cheapest lamp modules, for instance, bring the lamp on at full volume each time you address it. Then you can dim it from there. More expensive modules can bring items on at a predetermined level or up from zero. That is a nice feature, but costs more. There are many companies that make X10 compatible stuff.

For the original poster's scenario, a light inside a shed and a light outside a shed to be controlled from the shed or the house, here's what I'd do.

Replace the two light switches in the shed with two of these $13 dollar switches:
Wall Switch Module - WS467

In the house I would use one of these $13 controllers:
Mini Controller (Black) - PHC01B

$40 bucks and you're done.

If you don't want a table top controller like the one I linked to, you could use one of these in a wallbox:
KeypadLinc 6郵10 Compatible Transmitter
It's only $30 bucks and has LEDs that let you know the shed lights are on, too. It will control up to 4 seperate X10 addresses.

The possiblities are endless. Cheap to start with, add on to the system as you feel like it.