Switched lighting extender?

[Mike Barnes]

Is there a two-box "switched mains extender" device like this? Box A is wired in parallel with lamp A. Box B is wired in series with lamp B. With the result that when I switch lamp A on/off, lamp B goes on/off as well. Lamp A is fixed to the outside wall of the house. Lamp B is 10 metres away in the garden. It's not practical to run a switched mains supply from A to B.

I currently use an X10 lash-up which is unreliable[1] (the cable distance is about 40 metres and goes through two CUs) and inscrutable. Ideally I'd like an off-the-shelf solution using RF.

Any ideas?

[1] The X10 works fine in summer but not in winter. I've tried various brands but nothing works reliably. I could try putting in a repeater I suppose.

[Dave Liquorice]

I think we are missing some vital bit of information. Why can't B just be wired in parallel is A. It must have at least two wires (L & N) to it for it to work at present. The switch for B doesn't have to be at B...

[Mike Barnes]

I obviously didn't explain myself very well, but I have difficulty understanding what you think I meant. It's logically possible but not

*practical* to run a wire from A to B.

What I'd like is:

L+N in house ========= Switch ============= A ==== Transmitter ~ ~ ~ L+N in garden ==================================== Receiver ==== B

So that the switch in the house operates both lights A and B.

Currently the transmitter is a mains-operated relay wired to an X10 Powerflash unit[1], and the receiver is an X10 appliance module[2]. That has the disadvantage of being something of a lash-up and being unreliable because the wiring route from transmitter to receiver is long and complex. I'd like to improve on it. I see no logical reason why there shouldn't be an off-the-shelf radio-operated transmitter/receiver pair that permits one light to be "slaved" to another in this fashion. I was wondering whether anybody knew of one.

[1] (triggered by contact closure; mode 3) [2]

[Andrew Gabriel]

If you run a compact fluorescent on a photocell so it's on all night, it's going to cost around £10/year in electricity. Any solution for manually switching is going to cost lots more and take years to recover the costs. Is it worth it?

[Dave Liquorice]

on/off

switched

I think I thought you meant from A to B across the garden and couldn't see the needs for the second switch.

Ahhhh.... and presumably there is more than just lamp B using the garden mains so that feed can't be switched?

If the answer is "yes" stop reading... IIRC you mentioned that the "X10 control route" from A to B involved a couple of CU's. I was thinking that just remove the feed to B from the MCB in the CU and extend it round to be post the switch[*], note it doesn't have to reach the switch just get at the switched feed somewhere, maybe in a floor void.

[*} Presumably that is the bit you can't run, rather than my A > B across the garden.

[Dave Liquorice]

Why do you need a light on all night if there is no one to utilise that light? .

[Rob]

Why not use MK Echo range? It's wireless and uses energy harvesting technology so that the switches don't need batteries. All you have to do is run power to a receiver unit and attach the lights that need to be controlled by it. The switches can go wherever you want and you can have multiple switches in different locations to control the same lights. I'll be using it to do the lighting in my kitchen. Very handy for zoning of multiple ceiling mounted spot lights

[Mike Barnes]

Andrew Gabriel :

Well I'd still need to buy a new fitting and a photocell, but with a bit of reorganisation I could make that work, so I'll give it some thought. A timer would halve the annual cost as I could happily have it switch off at midnight. Thanks.

I'm now looking for an outdoor-rated mains photocell switch that operates when it gets dark enough for illumination to be required, unlike the ones fitted to PIR security lights which IME operate as soon as the light starts to fade, even when set to the dark end of the adjustment. The most convenient location for the photocell is unfortunately on a north-facing wall under a tree.

[mathewjamesnewton]

If I understand your setup correctly, the 'Home Easy' (http://

range of wireless transmitters/receivers will accomplish what you require with a little bit of modification.

In particular, take the transmitter module from an HE307 switch and wire it in parallel with lamp A and use an HE203 receiver module wired in parallel with the switch for lamp B.

Each device is around a tenner.

Mathew

[Andrew Gabriel]

You can buy CFL's with a photocell built in. May not operate correcty in all fittings - depends on it seeing the outside light level.

You can get photocells to fit inside the light fitting, such as

need to drill a hole for it to mount in and see though.

[Mike Barnes]

Thanks, I'd not come across them before. The price is certainly right but what I don't understand is "take the transmitter module from an HE307 switch". The web site says of that switch "no wiring" so I don't see how it could be connected to the existing mains. Do you have one that you could examine in detail and describe to me, or better, photograph?

[mathewjamesnewton]

Ah, apologies I may have been a little hasty with my reply. I have used such a module wired across a standard wall switch however it was not connected to the mains (i.e. it was just standalone). To wire it across a live switch would indeed require further isolation e.g. a relay.

If you still think it might be useful I think I do have some pictures of the modified module as I used one temporarily to convert a wired thermostat to wirelessly control my boiler and took some photos along the way. Will have a look tonight.

Mathew

[Rob]

As I understand how the Echo system works:

1 remove existing hard wired switch as it will not be needed. 2 Connect receive unit to house light 3 connect additional receiver unit to exterior light. 4 Stick an Echo switch transmitter to a convenient flat surface. 5 Configure both receivers to respond to the single switch.