Re: Newbie question on external lights

[Marc_F_Hult <MFHult@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

On Wed, 19 Jul 2006 14:22:41 +0100, Jamie
<Jamie.Higgins_NOSPAM_@xxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
<e8daa$44be322d$c2abfc64$1560@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>:

>Hi,
>
>In my back garden I have a shed which has power, fed through a cable
>buried deep underground and into the house through the conservatory. In
>the shed I have a pump running 24/7 for my pond and I also have a number
>of external lights which are connected to a timer switch within the
>shed. Instead of being on a timer switch in the shed I would like to
>have the external lights switchable from inside my house. Can anyone
>recommend the simplest (and cheapest) way to achieve this. I guess that
>I could get some kind of wireless switch (the Shed is about 20 feet from
>the house) or alternatively some kind of switch which talks to the
>external lights via the power lines (e.g. X10).
>
>Many thanks for any advice,
>

This is a good application for the INSTEON three-way dimmer kit

 http://www.smarthome.com/2494m3.html

which consists in a pair of INSTEON dimmers that come pre-programmed "so
there is no setup or programming required in order to control one light
with these two switches".

The pre-programmed pair costs $79.99, but if you are willing to forgo some
extra LEDs (which some folks like me find distracting ;-), and to do a
usually 'simple' tap-switch-to-program set up, you can accomplish the same
thing with two ICON dimmers at $19.99 each
http://www.smarthome.com/2876dbg.html

Three caveats:

1) You _may_ experience some flickering if the lighting load is more than
~200 watts _and_ dimmed to below 50%. The dimmers come standard with a
2-year warranty that can be extended (for the pair) to 7 years for an
additional $7.99. Smarthome knows about the flicker problem and has said
that it will be announcing its 'solution' in the next few weeks. If you
use the dimmers in ON-OFF (not dimmed) mode, it won't be a problem in any
case as I understand it and if you do, it will be covered by the standard
two-year warranty. (FWIW, I have about 16 INSTEON devices and none exhibit
flicker.)

2) It _may_ be that the system would benefit from a pair of signal
enhancers. This will depend on the specifics of how your wiring is
arranged. http://www.smarthome.com/2442p.html also available less
expensively in starter kits, especially the
http://www.smarthome.com/2492.html (Recommended).

3) The installation requires that there be a neutral wire in both switch
boxes.

Note that this approach requires no PC and no home automation controller
-- nor any 'home automation' for that matter. But the installation is
fully compatible with a wide range of home automation approaches from a
variety of sources should you decide to get fancier.

HTH ... Marc
Marc_F_Hult
www.ECOntrol.org