Maker Pro
Maker Pro

Wireless 3-way light switches

R

Rob Stirling

Jan 1, 1970
0
I have a large room with a door at each end. There is a light switch
near one door and I want one near the other door (3 way light switch)
but I can't rewire inside the walls.

I wonder if there is a wireless solution where I can add a 2nd wireless
switch that transmits to a receiver inside the existing switch. I'm not
looking for a full home automation setup costing megabucks though.

Thanks in advance
R
 
M

mark jb

Jan 1, 1970
0
I have a large room with a door at each end. There is a light switch
near one door and I want one near the other door (3 way light switch)
but I can't rewire inside the walls.

I wonder if there is a wireless solution where I can add a 2nd wireless
switch that transmits to a receiver inside the existing switch. I'm not
looking for a full home automation setup costing megabucks though.

Only thing I can find that may help would be a wireless IR remote switch
from HPM
(hpm.com.au, products, electronics & automation, excel range remote
controlled switch)

Install in place of one switch, secure remote where you want "switch #3" to
be located.

-mark
 
D

David L. Jones

Jan 1, 1970
0
Rob said:
I have a large room with a door at each end. There is a light switch
near one door and I want one near the other door (3 way light switch)
but I can't rewire inside the walls.

I wonder if there is a wireless solution where I can add a 2nd wireless
switch that transmits to a receiver inside the existing switch. I'm not
looking for a full home automation setup costing megabucks though.

I saw a wireless light switch at Bunnings a while back, can't remember
details though, worth taking a look.

Dave :)
 
R

Runtime

Jan 1, 1970
0
to have 3 way switching ( not wireless ) the intyermidate switch in the
middle is conected to the other switches ( it is a special switch) The
only way I can think of doing what you want is to use a product similar
to hunter pacific fan controler it uses wireless remote control which
can be set to only work with that controler. This would be conected to
the light (receiver) and controller ( transmitter) can be placed in
room say near door or carried with you. NOTE this controler also has a
light output. The standard model is about $60 and the deluxe $100.
 
R

Rob Stirling

Jan 1, 1970
0
Thanks to all who replied. I used the solution from Bunnings mentioned
by Dave - thanks!

This consisted of a SwitchLink 240V AC receiver ($40) and two
SwitchLink 12V battery-powered transmitters ($30 each). The receiver
is about the size of a deck of cards and I installed it inside the
ceiling light fitting - if you had space inside your wall cavity behind
the light switch you could put it there - and it was a breeze to wire
it up. The transmitters are also about the size of a deck of cards and
stick to the wall with double-sided tape. They use radio frequency
with a range of about 50m and there are 256 channels to avoid
interference. I then needed a 3-gang light switch ($10) to replace the
4-gang one, since the receiver is now always on. Came to $110 all up,
plus half an hour's work.

The only thing I don't like about it is that the transmitters do not
look much like a normal light switch. I looked at putting the
transmitter's electronic guts into a normal light switch case, but it
is not trivial because the transmitter uses two momentary switches for
on and off. So now I have a SwitchLink transmitter with a normal light
switch next to it for the other lights. Oh well... still much cheaper
and less messy than cutting a channel into the walls and repainting.

Cheers
R
 
D

David L. Jones

Jan 1, 1970
0
Rob said:
Thanks to all who replied. I used the solution from Bunnings mentioned
by Dave - thanks!

This consisted of a SwitchLink 240V AC receiver ($40) and two
SwitchLink 12V battery-powered transmitters ($30 each). The receiver
is about the size of a deck of cards and I installed it inside the
ceiling light fitting - if you had space inside your wall cavity behind
the light switch you could put it there - and it was a breeze to wire
it up. The transmitters are also about the size of a deck of cards and
stick to the wall with double-sided tape. They use radio frequency
with a range of about 50m and there are 256 channels to avoid
interference. I then needed a 3-gang light switch ($10) to replace the
4-gang one, since the receiver is now always on. Came to $110 all up,
plus half an hour's work.

The only thing I don't like about it is that the transmitters do not
look much like a normal light switch. I looked at putting the
transmitter's electronic guts into a normal light switch case, but it
is not trivial because the transmitter uses two momentary switches for
on and off. So now I have a SwitchLink transmitter with a normal light
switch next to it for the other lights. Oh well... still much cheaper
and less messy than cutting a channel into the walls and repainting.

Cheers
R

Cool.
You'd think they'd be able to make the transmitter smaller though,
keyfob size.
Definitely easier than running cable in some walls!
Are the remote buttons rugged enough to last with daily use?

Dave :)
 
R

Rob Stirling

Jan 1, 1970
0
David said:
Cool.
You'd think they'd be able to make the transmitter smaller though,
keyfob size.

The electronics is small enough, I had a look inside the case. It's
designed to be stuck to a wall. If you hardwired the frequency
selecting dials you could shrink it quite a bit.
Definitely easier than running cable in some walls!
Much!

Are the remote buttons rugged enough to last with daily use?

I think they will last, the switches are similar to what's used in a
mouse button so they should outlast the other wiring in the house! I
don't know what battery consumption is like, the battery is a tiny 12V
cell smaller than a AAA.

Chris, I don't know what the power consumption of the receiver is like,
I guess it may be written on the original packaging. Most of what is
inside the case would be a ACDC transformer, it doesn't seem to get hot
like a downlight transformer so I hope its not as much. (I found out
too late about how much power DC downlights use... I fell for the
salesperson's "240V downlights are a horrible yellow colour" pitch.
Now I have about 200W of lighting in my kitchen to get the same
brightness as a 60W incandescent... or a 14W Philips energy saver! :-(
)

Good idea of getting a spare receiver, though I'm not really lightning
prone. I could have left the original switch on the wall, but that
would have been non-optimal :).

Cheers
R
 
Rob said:
Now I have about 200W of lighting in my kitchen to get the same
brightness as a 60W incandescent... or a 14W Philips energy saver! :-(

But you wouldn't want the dismal ghostly light of one of those fluoros
would you?
 
Top